{"id":2295,"date":"2023-05-27T19:40:46","date_gmt":"2023-05-27T23:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/?p=2295"},"modified":"2025-02-25T19:20:46","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T00:20:46","slug":"behind-the-scenes-preparations-for-a-solo-art-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/behind-the-scenes-preparations-for-a-solo-art-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Scenes Preparations for a Solo Art Exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"width: 263px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/shop.maryahernartist.com\/original-oil-paintings\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-left\" src=\"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-content\/gallery\/art-blog-images\/2023-05-02-Bayard-hanging-IMG_7530.jpg\" alt=\"Mary Ahern hanging artwork \" width=\"253\" height=\"391\"\/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Here I am on a ladder hanging my exhibition<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Most people think the amazing artwork you created &amp; have hanging on the walls at your Solo Art Exhibition is where you put all your energy. If you are like most artists who represent themselves as I do, this means that you are the person responsible for creating all the art as well as all the promotion that goes along with a successful outcome of your show.<\/p>\n<p>When I had my third solo exhibition at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River, Long Island, New York, not being a prolific artist, I worked every day for years to fill three rooms in this historic Manor House with my artwork.<\/p>\n<p>In the exhibition on display were my drawings, colored pencil works, abstract acrylics, painting in oil and mixed media paintings in acrylic and oils. Over 40 original pieces of art which I created in my studio, prepped for hanging, documented on spreadsheets, matted and framed when called for, transported and hung.<\/p>\n<p>Most people think that an artist just creates in their studio but that\u2019s only part of the process if you are a self-representing artist. There is plenty of creativity in marketing as well. Here is some more of the creativity that I put into an art exhibition.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Here is some more effort that I put into an exhibition.<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Solidify the venue, show dates, opening reception and artist&#8217;s talk dates and sign the contract, individual and shared responsibilities with the venue.<\/li>\n<li>Internalize and create towards the general theme of the show that will be the focus of the art and the marketing.<\/li>\n<li>Create a model of the exhibition space using accurate proportions for planning the quantity &amp; sizes of artwork. Use either Architech\u2019s drawings, graph paper, or a digital program.<\/li>\n<li>Create a spreadsheet for a working model of how many works you need &amp; where they are in the creation process<\/li>\n<li>Analyze the amount of time you need to create the artwork. Be realistic.<\/li>\n<li>Capture WIP images to promote the upcoming show, both stills and videos.<\/li>\n<li>Continue to post about the progress of the work on social media to raise interest in the upcoming show.<\/li>\n<li>Write about the work regularly. Some for publication and some for understanding your process &amp; progress.<\/li>\n<li>Create a postcard to snail mail and for handouts. Mail the postcards to the appropriate people in your database of contacts.<\/li>\n<li>Create newsletter content to email to your mailing list with both images &amp; text: I use MailChimp<\/li>\n<li>Send emails to your list regularly months before the show opens, showing photos of the WIPs &amp; talking about the process. Ie. the thoughts behind the work, the mediums, the tools, etc.<\/li>\n<li>Continue to post to all social media channels about the preparations &amp; creation of your work.<\/li>\n<li>Write &amp; send press releases to your publication list in your database well before the opening of your exhibition.<\/li>\n<li>Create price lists to distribute with your letterhead and contact info. I use Excel and put images of each painting next to the title so it can be easily identified by potential customers.<\/li>\n<li>Design business cards, handouts, bios, and takeaways &amp; get them printed in or out of house.<\/li>\n<li>Keep your website updated with info about the exhibition.<\/li>\n<li>Post regularly to your blog to keep people informed about the upcoming show.<\/li>\n<li>Create wall signs with the # of the piece, title and medium that corresponds to the printed price list. (more info about each piece if you have time &amp; QR code if you have them)<\/li>\n<li>Plan the delivery of your artwork, the protective packaging like bubble wrap or other protective material, the transportation, and the assistance you may need.<\/li>\n<li>Once the exhibition is up,&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>give yourself a well-deserved reward before you start working on your Opening Reception menu and Artist\u2019s Talk Powerpoint.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-content\/gallery\/art-blog-images\/2015-11-03-MaryAhernArtist-digital-artist.jpg\" alt=\"Marketing an Exhibition\"\/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most people think the amazing artwork you created &amp; have hanging on the walls at your Solo Art Exhibition is where you put all your energy. If you are like most artists who represent themselves as I do, this means <span class=\"excerpt-dots\">&hellip;<\/span> <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/behind-the-scenes-preparations-for-a-solo-art-exhibition\/\"><span class=\"more-msg\">Continue reading &rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7,10,14],"tags":[171,173,176,63,65,54],"class_list":["post-2295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art-shows","category-being-an-artist","category-business-of-art","category-garden-artist","tag-art-shows","tag-being-an-artist","tag-business-of-art","tag-exhibitions","tag-gallery-shows","tag-selling-art"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Behind the Scenes Preparations for a Solo Art Exhibition - Art Naturally<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/behind-the-scenes-preparations-for-a-solo-art-exhibition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Behind the Scenes Preparations for a Solo Art Exhibition - Art Naturally\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Most people think the amazing artwork you created &amp; have hanging on the walls at your Solo Art Exhibition is where you put all your energy. 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