Exposure lecture with Louise Fargo-Ruskin
"Artists need to understand how to evaluate opportunities for themselves to make informed decisions about the kind of opportunities they encounter" (Artquest)
Task-
Search out a past artist residency /commission/exhibition that you find particularly interesting and be ready to share 3 slides with the group on the following next week: (The artist, The organisation and The work)
- Positioning - Where will you fit within contemporary art practice?
- Readiness - Pace yourself/ Don't burn yourself out.
- Cost effective - Deciding which competitions are worth spending money on.
- Timing - It might not be your time --> Galleries/curators may be looking for particular work at that time and your work doesn't fit into that category, but may do at another point in time.
- Relationship - Who you are going to be working with and spend time on building that relationship.
- Temperament
- Strategy - e.g. 5 and 10 year plans.
- Residencies - Gives you time to focus and develop your practice / Sometimes they provide financial support / Sometimes it can be provided with a studio space. Each residency differs from each other.
- Exhibitions/screenings - When any public platform shows your work, you increase your visibility, build relationships with other artists and professionals and build an audience for your work.
- Exercise caution!
- Do you research - What are others views, for example of competitions.
- Things to expect - A number of galleries, particularly those that are publicly funded will pay artists to exhibit their work, this can be an important investment into your work.
- Communicate - Make sure you get an agreement in writing when working with organisations in order to make sure that you are covered if anything should go wrong whilst you are working either with them or for them.
- Prizes and awards
- Commissions - An opportunity to create new work, will most likely involve some sort of specification.
- Have I applied before I know what is being asked of me?
- Is the opportunity suitable for my practice?
- Make sure an opportunity is 'Suitable' for your practice!
- Is it what I need at this stage of my career?
- Do I need to contact the organizers with any questions?
Task-
Search out a past artist residency /commission/exhibition that you find particularly interesting and be ready to share 3 slides with the group on the following next week: (The artist, The organisation and The work)
