Since Malynda owns a venue in a small place and I curate one, I think it’s apropo to actually discuss the trials of all that here. It isn’t always easy. And, sales is only a portion. Malynda deals with product mix, and I deal with the getting good artists into a venue that is not regarded as an art venue. I hope art dealers on all levels will also feel free to jump in with comments and suggestions. We can all learn from everyone’s experience. And, artists: the same holds true here, too.
The upcoming show at the Stone Church had it’s conception as I was getting ready to hang mine there. Three artists with very diverse backgrounds and very diverse art, but dealing with landscape-related themes. Sounded easy enough…and I even know people to fill that bill.
Not so fast, buddy. I approached Amy Delventhal who is like a sister, and the response was what I expected. When, where, and how do I get it there. (I picked up a fabulous assortment this last weekend). I then asked Kristen Dolloff, a co-worker who is emerging and has a tremendous amount of young talent. Done. I did a studio visit almost two weeks ago, and picked work for the show. Duncan McKee was my third. Anything but easy. His cancer is a real detriment to him showing, or doing much, for that matter. So, my #3 wasn’t as secure as I had hoped.
Since I took over the Stone Church curatorial duty, I have run a number of “artist calls” and gotten responses. Some good and some not, but it is fun to come home from my day gig, and look at what has been submitted. Liz Macchio was one such submission-or at least inquiry-and we have communicated and she will be contributing 5 pieces to the “3 Views of Country” show. She hails from New York, and I have never seen this work “live and in person”. We are both taking a gamble.
I am writing the draft for the press release. I have never written a press release for more than just my own work or a larger number of artists, so this is a challenge. Designing the invitation was a trick, too, because the work is so different, and I had to be extremely careful to balance the images. But, so far, it is all looking like the fight was worth it.
And, the Gatehouse Gallery and the Stone Church are the first active participants in the physical art exchange portion of Connect the Dots. The Creative Center in Newmarket is also quite interested in rotating and displaying work with us. We are not limited to any geographic locale, as Malynda stated. We are hoping this becomes a bit more than a few venues. And, why not international?
When the final publishable piece for the press release is done, I will post it here, too. I am very excited to share this work with as many as I can.
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