8 useful tips on how you can curate your first Art show

1. Come up with an idea:  Conceptualize the exhibition. Come up with a theme to help you pick out what you will install. It will help narrow down your ideas.  

2. Planning the exhibition part: Come up with a budget or find sponsors.  Find a venue space. It doesn’t have to be a traditional gallery. Look into unconventional spaces that would be interested in collaborating with you. Come up with the date and time. Send out invites. I invited friends, family, people that have shown interest in my art. I used Instagram and Facebook to promote the event a week before the event since I didn’t want a huge crowd. The tagging feature was very helpful and I asked my friends to share the event with their fiends. 

3. Planning the creative part: Print your work. Decide on how you will mount your pieces. Write your bio and statement.   

4. Installation: Make sure you get familiar with your exhibition space prior to printing your work and decide how you will utilize the space. Decide how and what you will use to install your work. If it's a non-traditional gallery, make plans ahead of time to make sure your display is safe to leave up in the venue. 

5. The opening: You’ve worked really hard, and now it’s time to reap the benefits. Have a back up plan, have friends or family help you start discussion, and talk to your guests. Make sure you make time to talk to all your guests. Prepare a short speech and thank everyone for coming.

6. During: Offer complimentary hors d’oeuvres or drinks. Make a leave-behind card that your guests can take home. Have a guest book to stay in touch with your guests. 

7. Wrapping up: Uninstall your work. Deliver what you’ve sold with a handwritten thank you letter. Collect contact info for future invitations and staying in touch, send a thank you text or email a few days after your show. Let them know how they can continue following your work via social media or a website. 

8. Embracing uncertainty: If you’re a perfectionist as I am, you will be pushed to your limits if you decide to curate your own outdoor exhibition. Make sure you plan for all kinds of situations, but also embrace the things that are out of your control by going with the flow.  

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