How to get noticed by curators

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of attending a great conversation facilitated by Patrice Sharkey Artistic Director of ACE Open on behalf of the Helpmann Academy. The topic of conversation was ‘Working with Galleries’. On the panel were Alice Castello, Gallery Coordinator of Nexus Arts and Co-Director of FELTspace, Caitlin Eyre, Curator of Jam Factory, Gillian Brown Curator at Samstag Museum of Art and Sebastian Goldspink Curator of 2022 Adelaide Biennial at Art Gallery of South Australia and creator of the artist run space, ALASKA projects.

Straight from the horses mouth!

All the panel members were open and generous with their advice. Through the conversation it became very clear that curators are creators too and respond to interesting and intriguing stories the same way all artists (indeed people) do. Curators are likely working on shows some years in advance, so the panel members were keen to reassure the audience that a non-response from them was not a rejection. They have seen your email and it is filed neatly in their ’interesting artists’ file which they go through as each show winds down and before the next one ramps up. Therefore, it is important to keep applying in the manner appropriate to that organization. Research the gallery space and ensure that your work is a good fit for the space and the narrative they adhere to. If you are a photographer for example, Jam Factory may not be the gallery you want to be applying to. During your research make sure to find out what the application process is: Nexus will accept expressions of interest for example Samstag doesn’t and Felt do callouts a couple of times a year.

That said, do take the time to introduce yourself to curators. Go to shows and start conversations. Make introductions when the opportunity presents itself. Visit the spaces curators work in and follow their careers. Get to know your community. Make it easy for curators to get to know you and your work. Learn how to talk about your work/practice precisely and succinctly, follow that up with a professional website and social media presence. Curators want to help you and create relationships with you, it is important to their career that they are putting on amazing shows and collaborating with people who have stories to tell.

All panel members stressed the importance of a good website and is mobile friendly, many connections are made away from the desk, and it is important you are well presented in all environments. This is the place where the images of your work are strongly represented, a place where your portfolio is easily accessible. Use your website to showcase your documentation of previous shows and work. Keep your artist statement free of pretension, use it as a tool to make it very easy to understand what mediums you work with and what inspires you. Speak openly about your dreams for the future. Explain your process and the origin of your work. Curators, and many other audience members, are genuinely interested in learning and understanding who you are as an artist. Take the time to keep your website up to date, with the understanding that some projects are quite long processes and so therefore it may not be appropriate to be updating every week or month. Keyword rich text is also very important for your professional website, curators will search for themes and ideas via keywords so don’t skip this step. Your research into the studio spaces you are interested in working with will give you clues as to which keywords are appropriate to attract their attention. Really important that your email address is very easy to find on your website and your socials, even if you have a contact form on your website, make sure your email address is still visible – often the information curators have to share with you in their proposals come in quite large documents – make it easy for people to work with you.

An Instagram page dedicated to your professional work is also important to make it easy for curators to find you. Take the time to post considered images on your Inst page/s (considered posting trumps frequency), use your hashtags well and post work from other artists also. As a way of expanding your network and to give insights into what you find interesting as an artist and to help promote other artists – success is a team sport. You may want to think about having one Instagram page that shows your finished works and exhibitions and another one that shows your creative process/studio life. Use this as a space to show your personality and include shots of how the work is constructed. Make sure that both pages do reference each other so that anyone researching you is getting the full and interesting story.

Invite curators to your shows, solo or collaborations, make sure the invitation includes all their team as curators work collaboratively and that means ensuring all the team is involved in the process. They are genuinely excited to be attending shows and exhibitions so don’t feel shy about asking them, no matter what stage of your career you are at. Offer studio visits and don’t go nuts cleaning up! Have work ready and displayed, don’t hide the work you are working on: this visibility makes it easier for the curator to build a vision of where they can fit you into their future plans and who they may suggest you collaborate with. As mentioned earlier, curators are working on projects several years into the future and your work may well be suitable for a project they have planned in two years’ time.

Be mindful that your artistic career isn’t just about developing your craft in your chosen medium/s. It is also your network, your willingness to contribute to your community and help others in their career. So, take the time to help a friend with their installation and learn install skills on the way. Curate your own show and develop awareness of what curating is. Undertake projects with others that may not seem an obvious fit with your ideas, not every undertaking needs to last forever but they do all come with opportunities to learn industry related skills. Volunteer at local spaces, listen and learn from all who attend the space. Engage with artist run spaces, or start one yourself.

Remember, it is a long career. Be patient and open and proactive. Creativity is after all the ability to see something that doesn’t yet exist.