Discussion Board

10/5/11

Gallery Representation Advice

Here is some good advice for artists wanting to get gallery representation from a gallery owner in Arizona.

Stan Jones, AT administration

The Six Most Common Mistakes Artists Make When Approaching Galleries for Representation

Did you know in an average week I may be approached by as many as 20-35 artists looking for gallery representation? Most of them are ineffective. Are you making the same mistakes they are?

Before I explain, let me introduce myself. My name is Jason Horejs. I have owned Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, for more than eight years.

Last week I sent you an invitation to my upcoming workshops in your area, "Starving" to Successful | Get into Galleries and Sell More Art. I want to take just a moment to personally invite you to join me. I am writing you because I saw your work online and thought this workshop would benefit you.

This workshop comes from my experiences with hundreds of artists. Several years ago, I began to wonder why artists were when inept talking to galleries. I quickly realized most were unsuccessful because there is very little information explaining the best strategies.

That lack of information leads to these blunders:

Art For Fund Raising

I'm interested in knowing if any art group or organization has a general policy about donations of art works for charitable fund-raising. I, and other artists that I know, are constantly being asked to donate works for charity events. Currently, I have three such requests pending. Some offer a percentage of the sale price, which is often a ridiculously low silent auction bid. Other offer a charitable receipt for the sale price. Basically, it ends up that the artist (often unconnected with the charity) is the only real contributor. It would be helpful if there was some "official" policy that might form the basis for our response.

Posted by Wynn Walters OSA

11/8/10

Restaurant Shows

Have you had a good experience showing your work in restaurants or other non-traditional venues? Do you have any advice for artists? Or do you feel that artists that hang their work in restaurants are simply exploited?

11/6/10

Artist Run Shows: Some Problems

We at Artists Toronto believe that the potential for ARS (Artist Run Shows), as a viable route to actual art sales is worth exploring. These ARS's are popping up all over these days so we don't think the problems are things like securing a decent location, or even the costs borne by the artists involved -- because ARS's are always much easier on an artist's pocket book than those big commercial shows like Art Expo -- the main problem appears to be that these shows inevitably end up being more of an artists' party that's attended by friends and family, most of which have already bought as much as they ever will. This kind of scenario does not even serve the art buying public all that well. For them it can be like crashing a private party, in short not a situation that is inducive to sales. Unless we can figure out a way to entice buyers to these shows they will inevitably be an unsatisfying experience for artists wanting to sell their art.

11/4/10

The Creative Brain

Where do artists get their creativity? Maybe there's a clue here: The Charlie Rose Brain Series:

"The Creative Brain". One of my favorite artists, Chuck Close, explains that he was born with a brain anomaly -- he has a condition called "Face Blindness". I have always wondered how Close creates those wonderful giant face portraits but now that I know he must also deal with what would seem like a large handicap makes what he does all that much more remarkable. Or could it be that these perceived handicaps are really advantages -- like the link with dyslexia to artistic inclination.

9/20/10

The Discussion Board is Back

After moving this board over to ArtROOM for the last two years we're back on Artists Toronto. Here is where you can make your voice heard on all things pertaining to art in Toronto.

9/2/10

Artist run shows

Several of the artists in our collective have been involved in the creation of big group shows that are not money making business ventures that exploit artists. We are available to meet with Toronto artists who would like to get involved with this kind of undertaking. Please leave a comment or contact us at admin@artiststoronto.net

7/26/10

Edward Burtynsky interview

I love the work of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. He makes subjects that are often essentially ugly a thing of beauty. A fantastic documentary of his work, "Manufactured Landscapes", shot mostly in China, won best Canadian feature film at the Toronto international film festival. He was recently on "The Hour" with George Stroumboulopoulos. You can see the interview here -- For a longer interview that will be of interest to photographers go here

7/20/10

Attention Artists with Flash Web Sites

There was a time quite recently that I thought all web sites would use Flash. Not any more. Currently, it really is very safe to have Flash content on a website, but things are changing. Below is a fairly recent graph from the Adobe web site -- so I would not be too quick to believe these figures. With Apple's determination to not include Flash with iPhone/Touch and iPad, a point which will, I believe, prove to be very significant, Flash won't be able to hold into its position as the dominant media player for much longer. If you talk to content providers and graphic designers they will tell you Flash is staring to look like yesterday's technology. And if Apple's iPad, along with its clones have the impact that I expect nobody will want to have a web site that can't be used with these new multi-touch devices.

Posted by Stan Jones

1/15/10

Art Reviews

Artists and others interesting in posting their opinions on art openings, shows, art films and documentaries can do so here. Send us your essays and we will post them here. Contact Artists Toronto at: Admin@ArtistsToronto.net

11/10/09

The Smaller Collective Art Shows

With the summer behind us it's time to think about getting our stuff together for a show. It seems there is no end to the questionable nature of the big shows like Art Expo and The Artists' project. But what about the smaller shows? Does anyone want to share their experience good or bad?

5/19/08

ArtBreak: Selling Art on the Web

Artbreak is a new web site aimed at selling and buying art. The site is very well conceived and will feel real comfortable with the YouTube/fliker crowd. There is a 7.5% commission on sales but otherwise it's free. If any of you have tried Artbreak let us know especially if you've sold work through the site.

5/14/08

Making Comments On Artists' Work

We welcome comments regarding the artwork on the Artists Toronto site. Anyone can make a comment and it is perfectly private if you wish. There is no need to leave your actual name if you choose not to. Keep in mind that the comments are moderated.

5/3/08

The CONTACT Shows

During the month of May we will be touring the annual CONTACT Photography Festival that is showing at galleries all over Toronto. We welcome your comments on the CONTACT shows.

4/3/08

What About the Big Art Shows

Are the big, expensive art shows a realistic opportunity for artists? Or are they really just money making ventures that exploit artists? Perhaps there is a better way for artists to present their work to the buying public. ArtistsToronto wants your opinion.

4/1/08

General Comments

If you wish to comment on subjects concerning Artists Toronto and the Toronto art community that are not associated to any post, here is where to do it. Any comment that you make will be instantly relayed to all Artist Toronto administrators and will be responded to in due course.

2/5/08

Do you Have a Question or Comment?

If you have a QUESTION or wish to make a POST, or if you would just like to make a COMMENT about this Artists' Discussion Board or about Artists Toronto please do so below. At present we DO allow ANONYMOUS comments but we encourage you to NOT comment as ANONYMOUS. Better to use a false name.

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