How do public gallery programmes work; how do they approach artists and what do they look for in open calls for exhibition within their venues?

1. Working with Public Galleries
February 2013
Aoife Ruane, Director, Highlanes Gallery
Toradh Gallery, Ashbourne, Co. Meath
Visual Artists Ireland in partnership with Meath Co. Council
developed and delivered as part of the Visual Artists Ireland Professional Development Programme © Aoife Ruane 2013

2. Introduction to Highlanes Gallery
Highlanes Gallery mission and ideology
Artists: Relationships and Networking/ Don’ts
Other things to consider using HLG prog as
example

7. Sculpture Garden and Studio at the F.E.McWilliam Gallery & Studio, Banbridge

8. Gallery Talk, Tour of the inaugural exhibition from the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio to Highlanes Gallery, 2009

9. Highlanes Gallery Mission Statement
Highlanes Gallery promotes and exhibits excellent modern and contemporary local, national and
international art in Drogheda and the north-east region through a dynamic and diverse
programme of collection, exhibition and access initiatives.
Highlanes Gallery, a non-for-profit, permanent public institution in the service of society aims to:
• Conserve, exhibit and communicate, acquire, and research the Drogheda Municipal Art
Collection for the purpose of enjoyment, education and dissemination.
• To employ best practice in the curation, exhibition and critical engagement with the art.
• To provide an interface between the artist, curators and other specialists with the public
• To critically engage the public with modern and contemporary visual art across all levels,
from zero to specialist.
• To develop Highlanes Gallery’s core aims through partnerships
Highlanes Gallery is committed to playing a central role locally and nationally in developing and
advocating the visual arts through its collection, temporary exhibition programme and all
associated activities.

10. exhibit: collect: engage

11. exhibit

12. Brigid McLeer: One + One, Spring 2012

13. Gereon Krebber: here today, gone tomorrow, Winter/ Spring 2011

14. exhibit: collect: engage
Song of Amergin: exhibition opening, Summer 2011

15. collect

16. Laurence Fagan, The Boyne Viaduct, c. 1860, engraving of pen drawing on paper, Purchased by the Drogheda Municipal Art Gallery and Museum Committee

17. Mary Swanzy, oil painting a la mode d’Andre Lhôte, R.I. Best bequest, 1959

18. Charles Tyrrell, woodblock print (2005), edition of 75, published by Stoney Road Press, series of 4
Acquisition, donation from Contemporary Irish Art Society, 2008

19. Mary Swanzy, Cat on the Terrace
Acquisition, donation from Alison and Peter Lyons, 2011

20. engage

21. Artists Diana Copperwhite Graham Crowley in-conversation, January 2008
Eclipse of a Title, solo exhibition by Copperwhite, 2008/9

23. 5th class Sunday’s Gate School: Famine Project exhibition, 2012

25. Children’s Workshop during the temporary exhibition Precious Things: a selection of contemporary painting, 2008

26. Nano Reid and Gerard Dillon: exhibition opening, 2009

27. Drawing Workshop for adults led by exhibiting artist Samuel Walsh
January 2012

28. Drogheda Quilters: Almost 30 Years, Exhibition 2012
Katherina Weldon in discussion with Lifestyle Active Retirement Group, Ballsgrove, May 2012

29. Public Galleries in Ireland
Arts Centres – Solstice, Droichead, Draiocht, Wexford, Letterkenny, Project, West Cork*
Mostly multidisciplinary, Arts Centres historically have open submission policy (usually annual)
Others–Temple Bar Galleries, Firestation Artist Studios, National Sculpture Factory, Pallas Studios, Crafts Council
Linked with studio residency or specialism
Others–Royal Hibernian Gallery, RHA, Rua Red, The Lab, Askeaton Contemporary Arts, Ormston House, Triskel/The Black
Mariah, The Guesthouse,
Visual Art gallery and initiatives
Others– VISUAL
Emphasis on Visual Art, then theatre etc.
Municipal Art Galleries– Highlanes, Limerick, Kilkenny, Model*, Dublin City Gallery,
Having a regional collections of art
Others– Glucksman Gallery, Douglas Hyde
University Gallery (with & without a collection of art)
National Galleries– Crawford, IMMA, NGI
National Visual Institutions with collections of art

30. Relationships and Networking 1
Become Familiar with your Local and Regional Galleries
Their mission, how the programme rolls out, how often does their exhibition programme change? What’s the balance between group and solo exhibitions?
Do they work with independent curators, do they ever do calls for artists for open submission exhibitions, public programme facilitation?
Attend Exhibition Openings, Talks, lectures & Events
Make this part of how you work as an artist, constantly and casually meeting one or two new people at events. Plan and diary it and go with another
artist/friend, or someone who is interested in working in this way
Make contact with director/curator and other staff through these
Make this part of how you work as an artist, constantly and casually meeting one or two new people at events.
In casual discussion…
Prepare to be able to discuss a little about what’s going on in your studio life, your practice, or what exhibitions or projects that you are involved with
Look at building on the contacts that you’ve made
Share contact details and follow up with an email to curator/director in the following days with a casual communication
Don’t limit your focus to your region
Research galleries outside your own area to consider getting to know better, and attend maybe in summer – exhibition openings, or festival exhibitions, and
get connected further
What’s happening in London, NY, Miami, South America, Eastern Europe-keep abreast of what’s happening in the wider world…

31. Don’t expect success if
• Contact a gallery that you have never visited or know nothing about
have had telephone call/numerous emails from artists who are looking for exhibitions, telephoning from other counties and have never visited,
or know anything about what the gallery does.
• Walk into a gallery and expect to meet the curator
• Cold call - telephone or email a gallery (especially through an info email)
with the expectation of a meeting or studio visit
• Send a letter looking for an exhibition, meeting, studio visit, without any
images, cv or considered communication
• Send a group or standard letter to a number of galleries without
personalising it

32. Relationships and Networking 2
Build your Relationships…
• Ask the curator/director if you can send them a link to your site, or images
or cv
• Invite curator/director to your studio
when you have something to show, and when you would really value their opinion and critique, even look for a date in the next few months
• Put them on your email/invitation mailing /catalogue list
keep updating this with all of your contacts (artists, curators, directors, collectors, buyers, anyone interested and with influence
• When you are exhibiting in group/solo capacity
Invite the curator/director to your exhibition (opening) or just during the exhibition run
Let them build familiarity with your practice, and with you, in this way
SEPARATELY:
• Read artist’s texts, curator’s/ writer’s texts
become familiar, and develop contacts/ think of whom might expound on your practice if asked, and keep expanding…

33. Relationships and Networking 3
• Become Familiar with Arts Council Funding Patterns for artists and
galleries, initiatives etc.
Look at who got funding (artists) and maybe look elsewhere to see a related exhibition etc. and therefore how they communicated their need
• Know what institutions/initiatives do and don’t get funding, and where
from
how does this inform their planning, both short and long
e.g.. In 2012 the Arts Council invited all artforms and institutions/programme funder applicants to make application for funding in early October,
with projected programme to the middle of 2014. Therefore in general curator/directors are now thinking of programme post April 2014…
• Apply for Artist Bursary Funding yourself
remember the Arts Council becomes aware of you and your practice through this process
the Arts Council always invites external (curators/directors) to assess on these panels, so your application is seen by many more
while this is extremely competitive, and first time round difficult, it is good for you
Depending on your relationship, you could ask a curator/director for their opinion on your draft application? They understand the process
• Make applying for opportunities part of your admin practice
the most successful artists are aware of what is out there, what’s coming up, and what’s required to succeed in securing awards, residencies or
funding, and curators like this proactivity.

34. Relationships and Networking 4
Remember:
• Curators want to meet artists and to develop their links and relationships
too
Artists developing longer term relationships with galleries and
their curators means:
• The potential for your work being considered for that gallery in a group exhibition
• The potential for your work being considered for that gallery for a solo exhibition
• The potential for you and your work to be recommended to other curators/directors/studio
residencies/festivals/ group exhibitions/awards/ opportunities
• The potential for your work to be considered for collection acquisition
• The potential for you to be invited to contribute to a public programme
(workshops/events/discussions)

35. What are curators/directors looking for?
• Unique artwork
• Ambitious artwork that’s aware of its position within
contemporary art practice in Ireland and beyond
• Artists that are ambitious to make great work
• Artists that are keen to engage and make the best exhibition
possible whether group or solo
• Artists who are aware of the broader roles galleries play
within society and want to contribute

36. Other questions to consider
using HLG programme (past, present & future)
• Clarity of the artist’s intention for the artwork
• Clarity of ambition and expected outcomes for an exhibition
• The expectations and motivations for an exhibition from both
the gallery’s and the artist’s perspective
• Roles and responsibilities for both the artist and the gallery
• Understanding elements of planning an exhibition, time line,
budget and production value

37. Highlanes Gallery Exhibition Prog ‘08/09
2008
• Once Upon a Time in the West: Selected work from the Niland Collection (g Riann C)
• Exploration: an exhibition of drawings exploring some worlds (g DAF and Ruairi OC)
David Godbold, Anita Groener, Katie Holten, Jaki Irvine, Róisín Lewis, Christine Mackey, Eoin McHugh, Bea McMahon,
Tom Molloy, Isabel Nolan, Gerda Teljeur, Susan Tiger
• Precious Things: a selection of Contemporary Painting (g Graham C)
Kiera Bennett, Simon Bill, Varda Caivano, Michael Crowther, Will Daniels, Adam Dant, Jeffrey Dennis, Geraint Evans,
Paul Housley, Ansel Krut, Marta Marcé, Hannah Maybank, Zoë Mendelson, Mali Morris, Sara MacKillop, Julian Perry,
John Strutton, Joshua Thomson, Will Turner
• Diana Copperwhite: eclipse of a title (s AIB, WCAC)
2009
• McWilliam at Banbridge – a selection (s)
• Flicks – the cinematic in art (DAF Cliodhna S)
J. Tobias Anderson, Suky Best and Rory Hamilton, Jenny Brady, Martin Healy, Nicholas Jasmin, Christian Marclay, Bea McMahon,
Tracey Moffatt and Gary Hillberg and Paul Pfeiffer.
• Richard Gorman: Shuffle (s/t Mcac)
• Paul Seawright: Conflicting Account (s/t from Mcac)
• Nano Reid & Gerard Dillon (coll)

38. Will Daniels Napoleon from Precious Things, Autumn 2008

39. Diana Copperwhite: eclipse of a title, winter 2008

40. Highlanes Gallery Exhibition Prog ‘10/11
2010
• Five Golden Haemorrhoids: Noel Brennan (s)
• Ten Miles Round: Jackie Nickerson (t/s gall of ph)
• The Marienbad Palace (DAF g Jacqui Mc I)
Laura Buckley, Diana Copperwhite, Jorge De La Garza, Alicja Kwade, Haroon Mirza, Ian Monroe
• Assembly (coll/& louth colls. g)
2011
• Here today, gone tomorrow: Gereon Krebber (s)
• Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh (s)
• Utopia Ltd. (DAF g/t from Wac)
Blaise Drummond, Brendan Earley, Pil and Galia Kollectiv, David Mabb, Lizi Sanches and Mary-Ruth Walsh.
• Song of Amergin (g with lcm)
Claire Conway, Garret Mallon, Frances Lambe, John O’Connor, Sarah McKenna, Joe Lawler, Elaine Hanarahan, John Maloney, Fiona Kerbey,
Patricia Murphy, Breda Marron, Mary Cowan, Mel Bradley, Robert Kelly.
• The Surreal In Irish Art (g/t from FE)
• Thomas Brezing: The art of failure isn’t hard to Master (s)

41. The Marienbad Palace Drogheda Arts Festival , 2010

42. Thomas Brezing: the art of failure isn’t hard to master, winter 2011

43. Highlanes Gallery Exhibition Prog ‘12/13
2012
• Samuel Walsh: The Coercion of Substance (s ACTG with VISUAL/LtrknyAC)
• Brigid McLeer: One + One (s/t to Wac)
• 7:42 (DAF g/t lapua-louth)
Abigail O’Brien, Thomas Brezing, Sean Cotter and Mary Kelly
• The LFTT Library (residency and prog)
Helen Horgan, Monica Flynn, Jessica Foley & Sally Timmons
• Sarah Browne: Second Burial at Le Blanc (s ACTG with Project ac/Gac)
• Bill Viola: The Reflecting Pool-Collected Work s
2013
• Citizen: Anthony Haughey s/t to Mcac
• Kate Byrne: I am here; you are there s/Bealtaine
• Things in Translation: The Legs Foundation (g DAF c w HH)
Vivienne Byrne, Aoife Desmond, Danyel Ferrari, Jessica Foley, Helen Horgan, Aine Ivers, Susan MacWilliam, Meadhbh O'Connor
• Abigail O’Brien: Cum Panis (s awaiting poss ACTG w Lgga & Dock)

44. After Completion, Monica Flynn, in response to the
LFTT Library, Autumn 2012

46. Kate Byrne: I am here; you are there, Spring 2013
Sheelagh Harbison

48. Abigail O’Brien, Cum Panis, Autumn 2013
Still from Root

49. Conclusion…
• Make and propose excellent work
• Visually document your work to a high standard
• Write about your work, read about other’s who are similar to you, and
research writers
• Adapt and updated your CV each time you use it to communicate
• Attend openings/events/artist’s talks, and expand your professional circle,
develop links further, think long-term…
• Invite other artists, creative people/curators/directors to openly critique
your work
• Use social media carefully/ observe best practice by artists who use it
best.
• See exhibitions of all types regularly and look at how artists/galleries are
presenting work, or engaging people and audiences
• Make and propose excellent work
• Recommend VAI’s site for more info on Artists and Curators,

50. Sample Exhibition Budget