4. visibility
let people know that you exist
illustrate activity
advertise your activities past – present – future
share – give to get
5. visibility
Showing work – exhibiting work -
Giving work in progress a title
Working with people (residency)
e-mail
Printed Material
Applications (selection panels)
Catalogues/books
Portfolio sessions
Personal websites
Collective websites e.g. Axisweb
Press releases
Forums
Blogs
6.
7. How to make yourself visible
Know your audience
Make contact
Have clear marketing tools and be honest
Project a positive image
Provide strong references
Show your initiative/independence
Be aware of the competition
9. the network
(as exchange)
Write down everyone you know professionally.
Tutors
peers
galleries
curators
writers
people you have exhibited with/discussed your
work with
....also friends and relatives if appropriate
10. network
now identify who you would like to work with
(remember working with someone is an exchange)
If you would like to work with a curator - which
one? books/fine art/photography
If you would like to work with a gallery which
one(s)
This can form part of your mailing list for your MA
exhibition.
11. investment and returns
how do you measure success?
how many shows/projects do you want to do a
year?
will they get progressively bigger/push
boundaries/increase your visibility?
12. identifying goals
(direction and progression).
Identify key areas in which you would like to
develop or move into.
exhibitions / artist talks / publicity / application
success rate / number of projects each year /
regional - national - international / financial
goals also - mixed economy / workshops /
teaching / also further study / travel /creative
development / workshops/ residencies/ funding
application.
13. taking or leaving opportunities
Consider the following
Is it appropriate?
How much time do I have?
How much money will it cost?
Is there an artist fee?
Who will see/experience it?
Reviews likely? (Is this one of my aims?)
Will it lead to anything else?
What can I contribute / gain?
14. applications and opportunities
Be selective - avoid the scatter approach - focus on your
aims and goals. It’s not advisable to stretch your practice
to ‘fit’ opportunities, applications or to fit funding criteria.
Look around for something more appropriate.
Where to find things - publications such as an, also
Axisweb if you are a member has opportunities, Artquest
and individual gallery websites
Consider a mixture of self initiated and opportunity
applications. Self initiated projects you will likely need to
finance yourself or make funding applications.
Opportunities often already have the funding secured.
15. the artist statement
(as sorting process).
statements are required for applications.
They feed into funding proposals, and are
available in exhibitions and projects, on blogs,
web-sites.
16. the artist statement
Write a draft
you could start by identifying 10 keywords and
building from there.
Asking a colleague to say what they think your
practice is about can be useful and illuminating
way to start.
anywhere from 100-500 words usually.
18. the 30 second CV
just as you can develop a minimalist CV
highlighting your key points to interest an
employer or attract a funder, it is also useful to
have a verbal version of this type of CV to
communicate key points.
38. CV’s and statements
see Artquest www.artquest.org.uk it has
information about ‘how to create a CV’. Also
look at artist’s websites; axis has a particular
layout in terms of headings etc. expect to be
writing (or changing) your CV and statement for
each application or opportunity.
39. paperwork
there is inevitably lots of paperwork being self
employed as many artists are. financial,
correspondence, applications, your own image
banks etc. all need to have some kind of order so
you can locate things and manage the volume
that will accumulate over your professional
careers.
40. paperwork is likely to include some or all of the following:
• Tax returns
• Funding applications
• Using funding marks
• Correspondence with galleries
• Records of applications / statements /
proposals / CV’s
• Publicity archive
41. paperwork is likely to include some or all of the following:
• Tax returns - make sure you are aware of
statutory requirements.
In addition for each grant (from public money)
they will expect you to keep accounts which they
can request at anytime.
42. paperwork is likely to include some or all of the following:
• Funding applications - keep copies of your
application and proposal, award letters and
evaluations.
Remember to read the requirements of the
evaluation so you know what data to collect
during the project (audience numbers etc).
43. paperwork is likely to include some or all of the following:
• Using funding marks - get into a habit of
reading funding guidelines at the beginning of a
project - (size, dimension, exclusion zones,
reproduction etc) and include on all your PR
materials and communications.
44. paperwork is likely to include some or all of the following:
• Correspondence with galleries - it’s good to be
able to refer back to what you have sent, the
result and any ongoing dialogue.
Perhaps they suggested you contact them in a
year or 18 months in which case write this
somewhere memorable.
45. paperwork is likely to include some or all of the following:
• Records of applications / statements /
proposals / CV’s - you can recycle and re-order a
lot of the text you write so keeping electronic
copies is very useful as you can copy and paste.
Remember if you do this to closely proof read
your final version so it reads coherently (and not
like a copied and pasted document).
46. paperwork is likely to include some or all of the following:
• Publicity archive - most professionals and
practitioners keep a publicity archive,
catalogues, postcards etc.
Good for when you deliver professional
development seminars or similar events.
It can also act as a catalogue of your outputs
which helps to celebrate your successes.
47. expectations of people
Personal artistic skills Experience
Creative expertise Enthusiasm
Flexibility Commitment
Communication skills Reliability
Initiative
48. Following up
This needs to be done regularly, if you take the
trouble to send a proposal/application/information,
make sure you follow it up. You can use your follow
up contact to let them know about any
developments in the project you are proposing (for
example) or other exhibiting or professional
activities.
If someone consistently fails to get back
to you, perhaps you don’t want to work
with them.