6 Ways to Make a Successful Exhibition

I attended an opening of an art exhibition last week, one of many I have been to but this particular exhibition was a noteworthy event. It was very successful with red dots appearing on many of the pieces, regardless of the varying prices. When I asked myself the question, why the success, the answers came very easily, so I'm going to share my thoughts with you.



1. Keep your costs down - An exhibition can be costly when renting the space. I have looked at the costs of this particular venue and have calculated the space rented was approx. 33 metres with a charge of $450.00. The solution in making this affordable was to have three exhibitors in different mediums, to share the costs.


2. Work to a theme - The three artists chose the theme of 'changing landscape' which they each interpreted into their work of oil paintings, kiln formed glass murals and ceramics, which really connected the three mediums well.


3. Choose the opening speaker who can relate to the theme - The artists chose a Geologist to officially open the exhibition. He spoke so passionately about the work and what the changing landscape meant to him it compelled the audience to listen with a genuine interest. Which in turn made viewing the artworks much more enjoyable having an understanding of the meaning of each piece.


4. Send out many invitations - Another main advantage of having three seperate exhibitors is that they each have their own contingency of friends and acquaintences, giving a much wider and diverse audience.


5. Location of exhibition - This needs to be considered in a way that it is reasonably central and easy to find. The particular venue for this exhibition was a centre run by the Local Government, which gave the added advantage of a piece being purchased on behalf of the council (which did occur on the opening night).


6. And last but certainly not least - Present your best pieces of art - If a piece you have created doesn't 'quite make the grade' by your standards, then don't include it in the exhibition. If you are not sure have someone who's opinion you value to give their honest thoughts.



I hope the above points have been of an interest to you, and if you have any of your own advice to add, please do so in the comments.