Ways in which you can get work exhibited
other than with conventional art galleries - have changed over time.

LEARN ABOUT other gallery options for promoting your art 
- and how to avoid scams and keep control on what it costs you.

This page covers:
  • why all artists need to do "due diligence" on third parties before they pay money to them so they can exhibit their art
  • Rent space at a reputable Commercial Gallery - and why that can work for artists with a strong following
  • Pop-Up Spaces - an artist rents a space and holds an exhibition

Other alternatives for exhibitions

On other pages you can read about:
  • ​Art Fairs - an artist - or more often a gallery - rents a booth on an ad hoc basis after passing quality assessment by fair
  • Art Market - an artist rents a booth on a regular basis; tends to require a long term commitment.
  • Vanity Galleries - and why they are to be avoided
  • Selling art face to face - from Home
  • Ecommerce for Artists
  • Selling art online - from home coming soon
  • Commissions - coming soon
Banner Image: Gallery Hire - See Rosa Sepple sells 50+ paintings in 4 days!
CASE STUDY: Lachlan Goudie and Tim Benson rented space
at The Threadneedle Space at the Mall Galleries for a joint exhibition.
​See A Threadneedle Space Exhibition for how the arrangement worked.

What is "due diligence"?
​

Three reasons why you need to take due diligence of art galleries/fairs/events seriously
  • There are a lot of people who make a business out of exploiting those who would like to make a success out of being an artist.
  • There are a lot of people who have a bright idea but lack the competence to deliver what they'd like to do.
  • The art market is a target for financial crime. It pays to do some research about reputation if you don't want to be associated with any art fair or people who have sold stolen goods in the past.
​
Before making any financial commitment - to a gallery or an art fair or any other event - make sure you ask some questions to find out whether or not you might be wasting your money and/or damaging your reputation.
REFERENCE:
Due diligence is an investigation of a business or person prior to signing a contract, or an act with a certain standard of care. It can be a legal obligation, but the term will more commonly apply to voluntary investigations.
  1. Due Diligence | Wikipedia
the relative opacity of the art market makes it a significant target of financial crimes.
​Deloittes - Art-related due diligence

Checklist of questions​

Comparison: Vanity Gallery vs Artists' Co-operative vs Rental Space
​

Rental Space - pay to exhibit 
  • Owner pays the bills; commercial galleries / art fairs may have track record as a place to sell art (but beware of 'start-ups')
  • business model: artist-driven - the artist rents a space to market, exhibit and sell work in a commercial gallery, pop-up space or art fair
  • quality: Commercial galleries and art fairs typically do a quality assessment of an artist's work. No guarantee of acceptance. (Not applicable to pop-up spaces.)
  • cost to the artist: Best return if exhibition generates good sales. No commission paid. 
  • risk to the artist: Maximum effort cost and risk if no sales. Gross sales have to fund all expenses of rental and marketing.
Artists' Co-Operative
  • Typical a co-operative has no owner - the member artists are responsible for the gallery
  • business model: aim to promote co-op member artists and artwork and sell art on a non-profit (i.e. cover costs)
  • quality: admission to the co-op is usually juried with the co-op looking for artists with good quality art and a track record of sales
  • cost to the artist: often a combination of membership subscription and time spent doing stewarding/processing sales. No commission costs.
  • risk to the artist: relatively low cost way of getting art exhibited - especially if you can trade time for membership fees - and paint while you man the gallery
Vanity Gallery - Rent a wall
  • Typically has an owner who owns the space and pays the bills
  • business model: income derived from artists paying fees to exhibit their work (often seen as deception / a scam as galleries can masquerade as proper art galleries). Marketing targets inexperienced artists.
  • quality: eligibility is wallet-oriented; assessment of art is usually very superficial
  • cost to the artist: rental of wallspace - this can be exorbitant; may also pay commission at a lower rate than a conventional gallery; could include hidden charges
  • risk to the artist: vanity galleries on a CV are considered to be a demerit by other art galleries

Self-Promotion - how to run your own exhibition with integrity
​

Paying for your own marketing used to be really frowned on - but times have changed.

In the past an artist might not be considered to be credible if they were not taken on by a gallery who judged their art and found it worthy of putting on their walls

Today, marketing art is no longer limited to the conventional and traditional methods e.g. bricks and mortar galleries.

Art Marketing practices - have changed due to:
  • ecommerce for art - a lot of art is now bought online
  • artists can sell art without being dependent on galleries. They can now exercise much more independence and control over marketing and exhibiting their art
  • the closure of a lot of art galleries due to economic difficulties and a failure to get to grips with the internet. Many artists were 'stung' as galleries closed. Some were left with their artwork behind locked doors and a closed sign.
The critical difference with Self-Promotion is that the artist is in charge - and is not being taken advantage of. 

The artist who promotes their own work by arranging their own exhibition:
  • makes the running and weighs up the pros and cons of alternative options for marketing their art
  • determines which spaces are acceptable to them 
  • decides the length of the rental and exhibition
  • finances the rental for the space and all other costs associated with the exhibition
  • organises all the marketing, the catalogue, the Private View and Press Releases - and pays for it
  • organises and hangs the exhibition and take down
  • stewards the exhibition and processes the sales (depending on the nature of the rental agreement)
  • receives all the income from sales - without a deduction for commission

The options for exhibiting your art

Many artists have explored ways of making themselves more independent of conventional channels. Beside promoting themselves - via websites, blogs, ecommerce and holding open studios - one of the ways they can promote their art is to hire space at a reputable art fair/market or gallery and hold an exhibition.

Options for holding your own exhibition include:
  • pop-up spaces - basically just an empty space (such as a shop) which can be made available for very short term lets
  • renting space from commercial galleries
  • hosting open studios
  • running your own Gallery alongside your studio. 
  • renting a booth at an Art Fair (typically juried entry)
  • Renting a booth at an Art Market (typically juried and a regular weekly commitment if this is to work)
The outcome of self-promotion can be both high risk AND highly profitable
​
Direct sales involve a lot more work and a willingness to invest in your art - but direct sales with no commission can be very rewarding as well as risky:
  • Such exhibitions can be very successful - and very profitable for an artist with a strong following who knows what it takes to make an exhibition successful.
(For example read my post Rosa Sepple sells 50+ paintings in 4 days!)
  • They can also be very high risk and make a big loss if the artist does not have an existing following and/or does not make a significant effort to market their exhibition effectively beforehand.
General Reference:

Reputable galleries to rent in London

Two galleries in London that hire space to reputable art groups and artists are the Mall Galleries, the Bankside Gallery and the Menier Gallery. The first two are homes to prestigious National Art Societies and artists renting space are often members of the art societies.  The Menier Gallery also has art society exhibitions by those not associated with either of the first two galleries.
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The PopUP Show / Art Gallery
​

(Pop up Shops) are becoming extremely popular because they allow immense flexibility, while not requiring a large commitment of time and money. A pop-up gallery or store can be a great option for retailers, boutique shops, local artists and designers 
Tristan Pollock - Founder of Storefront
Pop up shops are temporary retail spaces, used by tenants who need a short, flexible hire instead of a traditional long lease. Vacant high street shops provide space to test an idea, launch a business or product, reach new customers and build brand awareness.  
About popuspspace
A Pop Up Show / Gallery / Shop - also known as 'flash retailing' is a great way for an artist to:
  • get your feet wet in terms of finding out how to run a promotional space/event
  • run an art event or gallery for a short period without long term commitments
  • provide a space to which you can invite your target audience and/or those you want to connect and network with
It can also help a local community and economy by providing an attractive use for an otherwise empty shop or commercial space.
You can use vacant commercial premises on very flexible terms.

​First you need to decide what you want to do....
  • size of space required (provide a range with minimum and maximum size)
  • facilities needed
  • the type of area it needs to be in
  • the duration of your pop up project  (eg a weekend for an evening event)
.....and then you need to locate a suitable space in a suitable place.
What you need:
  • an empty space
  • permission from the owner to use it - and then a licence or a short term lease
  • a budget for premises costs
  • working utilities and facilities which protect visitors/third parties from harm
  • insurance to cover your activities and third party liability
  • equipment to kit it out for a show
  • publicity to tell people about you and your show and where they can find you
REFERENCE:

What is a pop up shop?
How to run a Pop Up Space
How to find a Pop Up Space (UK)
  • Accessing Empty Spaces | ArtQuest - advice and guidance on how to develop and run a pop up to sell your art
  • Popupspace - work for potential tenants - matching them up with available space around the UK. They sort out the property for a fee
  • East Street Arts - based in Leeds and manages spaces for artists to work and exhibit
  • The popupspace website provides a lot of useful tips as well as brokering popupspaces between those with space on offer and those who need a pop-up space
  • Spare Place is a crowdsourced map of useful spaces like meeting rooms, church halls and community buildings – many of which can be used for pop up activity.
  • 3 Space provide spaces for voluntary and community groups

How to find a Pop Up Space (USA)
  • The Storefront - a website which helps you find the ideal space in the USA and talk to the people who can help you to use it​. This is how it works.
Pop Up Business For Dummies by Dan Thompson
Rated an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars by 22 UK based customers

Lots of practical pointers to the process of what you need to do to run a successful pop up event - including art shows or art galleries

This book was written by the Empty Shops Network founder Dan Thompson and published in 2012. 
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 1 edition (5 Oct. 2012)
Also available as Kindle

The Art Market - pros and cons

coming soon....
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