joeOnce the date has been set (When), the location (Where) is the next item to nail down.
Step 2. Choosing The Location
Analyze just how much wall space you’ll need to show your 1-2 dozen paintings. For most of us, this will be a combination of large, small and medium sized paintings. I know some artists who only want to paint large or small paintings, not a variety. My suggestion is to vary the sizes. In fact when creating your art, you should also consider the collector who will be acquiring these paintings and where they would be displaying them within their home or office.
Evaluate the wall space in your home or studio. Do you have enough wall space to accommodate all of your paintings for the Art Show? If so, you’re golden and ready to move on to the next step.
And before you consider which friend or associate’s home to use, consider their wall space. You’ll need to be mindful that when you take over someone’s home to display your work, you’ll need to remove everything on their walls in the Show Area until the show is over. Everyone in that house will need to be on-board with your plans. This is so critical. You do not want to lose long-term friendships or strain anyone’s marriage for this event. You want a location that is spacious in which everyone will feel relaxed, they’ll feel comfortable in lingering around studying your work, asking questions and buying.
And you’ll want a location in which it is appropriate to serve refreshments. Having refreshments induces your guests to stay longer, study your work, give them additional opportunity to purchase. Food has a way of saying, “Please Stay.†So make sure there’s ample room for your guests to mingle about, make new friends and share comments about your art.
Your location will need to have a well-stocked restroom and a place for the preparation and storage of food.
As you survey your home, studio, or guest facilities, make sure all of the convencies of home are present; telephone, bathroom, refrigerator coat storage area, etc… Also make a note as to what excess furniture and breakables in the room will need to be stored until the show is over.
I enjoy having my annual art show in mid-Spring to Summer time frame. The primary reason being I can expand my show to my wrap-around deck. This exponentially increases the wall space, gives guests additional room to comfortably view my work and creates a jubiliant atmosphere. If you do decide to use the outdoors to extend or host your Art Show, make sure you have a back-up plan for inclement weather.
So let’s review for a moment our location requirements….
Sufficient wall space for hanging your framed paintings.
Good lighting. It can be natural light or artificial light (where are the outlets?)
More than enough space for your guests to leisurely browse your paintings…..even study them.
A place for preparing/storing/serving refreshments
A place for storing coats, galoshes and rain/snow gear if necessary
It’s always better to have than one entrance/exit.
Ample and convenient parking spaces (or cab/bus service)
Adequate heating and air conditioning.
A Safe Location. You want your guests not to be worried about personal security and safe driving to your location or while at your location. Armed Guards and fixed bayonets will not make your guests feel comfortable in purchasing your art.
In my next installment, I’ll cover some who’s that should attend your Art Show. We’ve covered the When and the Where, so the next logical place are the Who$