This week, I'm pulling together some final things for my upcoming exhibition, Daughters and Saints, in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Sometimes when you're putting a show together, a gallery will give you a budget for production. In this case, that budget was $250.
Let's be real for a second: this is not enough money to produce an art exhibition. Studio space, paint, paper, shipping, framing all costs money. Sometimes galleries will pay you more than this amount -- they may cover your expenses and give you an artist fee -- but oftentimes they do not. Sometimes they give you nothing.
Many moons ago, I was an assistant for a very successful NYC artist who had a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim. The budget the museum gave her to produce the show ran out so fast, she had to hire her students as volunteers (i.e. free labor) to finish the work in time. I kid you not.
This is the Guggenheim for chrissssake.
Needless to say, whether you're showing at the Guggenheim or a local coffee-shop, being an artist requires you to be industrious. But more importantly, it requires you to figure out how to make your ideas pack the most punch, for a price you can afford. This may mean working smaller, using recycled materials, or finding ways to make your work on-site with tools on hand. For me, it's a combination of things.
Here's how I made this show happen for $250:
1. I asked for what I needed. I worked with the gallery to figure out what resources they had outside of cash (helping-hands? a photographer? an Airbnb?) and how we could leverage these resources to make the show happen. This minimized my time on install, cut my costs, and established a good rapport with the gallery.
2. I tried to figure out the essential idea I wanted to communicate, and how I could minimize my labor. I considered what I wanted from this opportunity, and how to leverage this for my creative goals.
3. I used my magical Home Depot Gift Card, which I refill when I return items I don't end up using on other projects. This helps me buy paint and tools for future projects.
6. I brought my drawings with me and framed them on site, instead of shipping them.
7. I had support through city grants,art sales, and of course, a day job which makes it much easier to bare the expense of producing a show. This should not be discounted, as it's tough to piece things together if you're also worried about paying your rent.
For those of you who are learning this information for the first time, you might be thinking: Damn, is having an exhibition worth all that work?
And to that I would say: most of the time, yes, it is. Showing your work in public and having other people see/ think/ talk about your art is one of the most fulfilling things you can experience as an artist. It's scary and amazing at the same time. It's also how other opportunities and people find you.
But!
If you're working with people who are not invested in you, don't appreciate the labor and ingenuity it takes to make your work, and treat you in a purely transactional way, then no. It's not worth it. I've had these experiences as well and I wish I had trusted myself more not to do them. If you're experiencing this - I promise, there will be other opportunities out there for you!
These are some lessons from many years of being industrious and effing up along the way. Hope it helps.
