These are the sites I looked at to help me grasp the basics of setting up my own space in a gallery:
- http://blog.thestorefront.com/how-to-set-up-a-pop-up-art-galleries-in-7-steps/
- http://www.senatehouseevents.co.uk/features/how-plan-exhibition
- https://contrastly.com/my-first-exhibition-how-to-hold-your-own-exhibition-part-i/
Make sure your theme is interesting to get visitors. My theme is mental health and after finding out after a presentation that people were very interested in my idea I am certain that this theme will attract visitors.
Are you collaborating? I will be collaborating with a class mate who studies the same subject as me (Photography) as we are both working on different series of images for the same project so that there is more work for visitors to look at so that they can look around for longer and have more to look at.
I will always plan more time than I need as many things take longer than you think to set up and as this is my first gallery set up as a professional, I will need all the time I can get. This emans arriving a bit early than I need to.
Make sure you promote yourself months before, weeks before and leading up to the exhibition. This will get you visitors. If you do not promote yourself then you will not have a successful exhibition so it would have been a waste of time and money as nobody will notice your work. I will be doing flyers, posters and using Facebook and perhaps other social media. The physical promotions will be put up around the city center and given out in the city center as this will attract locals.
I should make sure I have a pop up desk/table to put extras on like flyers and contact cards as if people are interested in the work they may not want to talk face to face but may contact about your work in the future. These marketing tools could then be passed on to others by the people that pick them up.
Make sure the venue space that you use is appropriate by thinking about whether it is a suitable size for visitors and whether it would look appealing to visitors. If the space looked dull and run down, people may not want to visit, even if they were interested in your promotions. I will be applying for several gallery spaces and I will visit each one to view the space available to see whether I like it.
Choose a space suitable for your work. If you are doing Photography make sure the majority of work based at the gallery is photography based rather than artwork.
Maybe use extra funds to have a table of food and drink, this will encourage more visitors and current visitors to stay longer to enjoy snacks and drinks. It also brings people together so they can talk which could be a talk about your work.
Plan your setup months before and add ideas as you go along, this means you will know exactly what you are doing on the day so it will save time.
Make sure that you arrive well before your guests to set up the space and put up your work. Allow time for a break and relaxing time before people start to arrive so that you are ready to communicate with visitors and answer any questions whilst looking out for hazards and risks.
Try and get sponsors for your exhibition to save funds. Work with charities like Mind and Sobar in this case, these fit with our mental health subject.
Make sure the space is lit well, you don't want a dull looking environment, you want it bright so that your work is clearly visible. I will have to think about whether I want matte or glossy prints and whether the light is too bright for glossy prints by inspecting the gallery a few times before I exhibit there.
Don't waste money on framing, expensive props as this exhibition will only be held for a week so funds should primarily be spent on prints as these are what the people will be looking at. The better quality the print, the more professional/close to your original it looks, showcasing the best of your ability. If people are looking at expensive frames and props, they shouldn't have come to see your work.
I found these exhibition photos and they are an idea of how I would like mine to look:
This one, I like the spacing and the plain coloured wall. The prints aren't too expensive looking but they still do the job of showing off the print with a nice border. There seems to be enough light to light up the pictures but I think I would add a free standing light or 2 just to make it a little brighter so you could see the images more clearly. I also like how the images are in a row rather than in 2 rows and they are at eye level height so they are easy to view.
I really like the lighting in this gallery. The free standing boards make the area look more interesting to walk around which is something I might look for when I choose a gallery as people will more likely stay longer if the gallery itself has an interesting layout to move around in. I like how the images are organised in a grid but for my exhibition I want my prints to be quite large so I won't be using this format.
I love the walls of this gallery as it makes the layout look more complicated, enhancing the work. As each section of wall is small, they have 5 different layouts which makes the eye wander so people are more likely to see work they may have missed if they were not layed out this way. The framing is quite simple, mounted on white card and put in a thin white frame. If I have the funds I will also have a thing black frame as I think it makes the work look more professional when it is up on the wall but if not, prints mounted on white foam board would still look professional if cut correctly.
I do not like the lighting of this gallery as I think it is quite dull. If I was to have lighting here I would make sure I had free standing lights to light the displays or to make sure the gallery had extra ceiling lighting to keep on whilst exhibiting so people could see my work more clearly.I like the format of the images mounted on a white background with a large boarder. If I choose small prints like the ones in this image I will definitely consider having a large border like this as it puts your attention entirely on the image as there is so much negative space around it with no fancy frames.
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