Gallery Representation- Agora Gallery -New York
As a stereo typical ‘struggling’ artist I know that the art world can be very cold and unforgiving.
Although you have a strong online presence, social media, or a website it can take a little more to get noticed by the right gallery.
A friend of mine who studied at the Royal academy of arts suggested long ago that I should enter art competitions. That is exactly what I have done and have been doing for years now.
I managed to swing a few joint online exhibitions in Japan, but other then that it was so very quiet on the western front!
Until September of last year when I received an email that I was selected as a winning artist for a photography exhibition in New York from a reputable gallery named Agora Gallery.
Obviously, this opportunity, it was something that cannot be taken lightly, it is something I had to pursue at maximum effort!
The great thing about the exhibition is it did not cost me anything other then the entry fee for the competition. I submitted digital photographs of my teddy bear skulls. Agora gallery handled everything really. They printed out the actual phot on respectable paper and attached their own frame. Knowing the cost of shipping my artwork to different countries through Saatchi online sales, you can imagine I was extremely thrilled with this!
There were a few things that I needed to do. I had to sign a contract stating certain responsibilities as the artist. These things included stuff like collection of the work if it does sale. Copy right, using the images for press releases and so on and so forth.
I also needed to write an artist statement and send it to them via email for their programs and online promotional information.
They require a specific head shot of myself, in order to show the viewers of the gallery how ugly I am! No, that was really a feature for my exhibited profile online. The picture had guidelines and needed to be at a specific standard.
Although I did not sell the work (to my disappointment) there was a lot of interest shown in the piece. Most of all by the gallery, who offered me a position at the gallery as one of their artists.
There were certain packages to choose from for a fee. I chose to be represented by them online for a year. If I wanted to be physically represented by them next years fee would be discounted.
A contract was written up as a payment was involved and I start my representation with them in September. I postponed the representation with them until September so that I could complete my Post graduate degree.
Now all I need to do is prepare a body of work for them and then see where it takes me.