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Selling prospects at city venues

Tracy Lebenzon

New member
I have some opportunities to have some of my work shown at a couple of City Hall and similar venues. Am wanting to know if others have done this and if it is a good way to sell prints?

Thanks!
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Tracy,

I can only report from what i have observed in local community art shows. The booths are busy and folk do buy. Some prints are mounted and framed to attract attention and then others are matted and covered in transparent mylar and set in a vertical stack for folk to browse. Seems to work! but then the standard of work is usually very high.

Good luck!

Asher
 

Tracy Lebenzon

New member
Thanks Asher!

What you’ve described is the format for art shows, but this opportunity is a little different. It’s the opportunity to display works at various city-owned locations. Sometimes they have dedicated galleries that only sell/show art, while other times it’s simply on some designated public wall spaces.

I have mixed feelings about selling in this kind of venue (designated wall spaces). It’s the old story of presenting art where one is likely to buy it as opposed to decorating someone’s walls for them, free of cost. Add to that the city requires a no-liability clause, meaning that someone can walk up and take the art and the city takes no responsibility for it, and it makes me hesitant.

Hoping that someone has tried this before and has some feedback.

On the other hand, I've heard from several sources that selling at Community Center art shows is a great venue for sales and it’s one I just started investigating.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Tracy,

It depends whether you can benefit from some local advertising. What is your loss if they are all stolen? Is it totally exposed? Are there any security corners you can screw down?

Asher
 

Tracy Lebenzon

New member
The pano cost about $200-$300 or so each for materials. The risk is that anyone could walk up and take one or all, or cause damage.

Attorneys and their clients and anyone who has business with the City would see the work. It is a fairly high people volume location. The exhibits rotate monthly and regulars would be aware of them.

But I wonder how many would be receptive to art purchases in this kind of setting?

If I knew that work sold in this kind of venue or was a good resume addition it might be worth the risk, but so far I haven’t come across anyone who has done this.

The work is free hanging. i don't know if the city would or would not be amenable to using screws. I do know that my current frames aren’t designed for that kind of application
 

Ben Rubinstein

pro member
It does sound like a way for the city to get freebies to be honest. I've played that game before, never made a sale. Thing is that if you sell at a forum where people have come with the intention of being pursuaded to buy then you will have success. A show, high street, art fair, etc. Trying to pursuade casual passers by that they are interested in going into 'browsing' mode and then trying to pursuade them to actually buy something is very very difficult.
 

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Hi Ben,

It does sound like a way for the city to get freebies to be honest. I've played that game before, never made a sale. Thing is that if you sell at a forum where people have come with the intention of being pursuaded to buy then you will have success. A show, high street, art fair, etc. Trying to pursuade casual passers by that they are interested in going into 'browsing' mode and then trying to pursuade them to actually buy something is very very difficult.
This sounds logical to me, agreed.

BTW, Tracy had asked the same question at the Luminous Landscape forums and has received an extensive answer from Alain Briot. It might be worth reading if one is interested.
 

Tracy Lebenzon

New member
It does sound like a way for the city to get freebies to be honest. I've played that game before, never made a sale. Thing is that if you sell at a forum where people have come with the intention of being pursuaded to buy then you will have success. A show, high street, art fair, etc. Trying to pursuade casual passers by that they are interested in going into 'browsing' mode and then trying to pursuade them to actually buy something is very very difficult.

Thanks. Feedback from those who have done this is very helpful! One of the cities that I made an inquiry to actively promotes their displays. In addition, they hinted that were I to contribute for a city hall display might get my work into a museum display.

My broader agenda, frankly, is to build a resume to help get favorable reviews when trying to get into art shows, so I'm also looking for opportunities that serve this goal.
 

Tracy Lebenzon

New member
Hi Ben,


This sounds logical to me, agreed.

BTW, Tracy had asked the same question at the Luminous Landscape forums and has received an extensive answer from Alain Briot. It might be worth reading if one is interested.


Alain was very helpful. He maintains that direct sales is the only useful way to sell. Alain doesn’t favor galleries or other “hang and hope” venues.

Kirk Gittings also contributed to the thread. Kirk’s comments were that by showing in museums, he was able to sell to the museum.

I know another member from LL who does really well selling his works (panos) at local restaurants as well as community centers, meeting places, and art shows. I know a local artist that shows at libraries amongst other places and sells several prints per month. Yet another that shows in coffee houses all over town and she does pretty well.

The key point of interest is to find venues that 1) will show larger works and 2) are places where people are open to purchasing art.

I’d also like to hear from anyone who has sold at a “Home Show” venue as that is a very high traffic opportunity for people looking to purchase.

I'm still gathering information on venues. It seems pretty clear that 1:1 sales are the best choice but I can’t help but think that galleries couldn’t keep the doors open if they are not selling, so getting work in a number of galleries would also be helpful.
 

Alain Briot

pro member
"I can’t help but think that galleries couldn’t keep the doors open if they are not selling"

Fact is most galleries open then go out of business within 1 year to 2 years. They are not keeping the doors open for the most part because they are not selling enough! Those that are keeping the doors open are not interested in artists that do not have a proven sales track record. They want artists that have proved they can sell regularly. This is one of the reasons why I do not recommend galleries to artists just starting to sell their work.

A similar point is true for museums purchasing work. They will only buy work that fits in the museum collection and is of museum quality. Kirk Gitting's work fits in that category, but not everyone's work does. Overall, hoping that your work will be purchased by a museum is a very long shot and definitely not a strong business model.

You may also want to read this essay on my blog titled Can you Sell my Work? : http://beautiful-landscape.com/Reflections/?p=910
 
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