How to Curate an Art Exhibition?

Posted on 27 Jun 2019

How to Curate an Art Exhibition?

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Visual art exhibition curator is like a music director, who steers the artists and creates a symphony for the audience. Curators have an eye for a variety of artworks, collaborate with various types of artists and stage their artworks for the audience. Essentially such profile will requires strong project management skills (i.e. planning, executing and controlling) to execute the project successfully. Visual art exhibitions provide various benefits for the artists, art lovers and society –

Cost effective platform for the artists to establish their brand, show case and sell their artwork to the art lovers
Show mirror to the society, reflecting upon its interests and concerns
To create awareness and inspire others to adopt art and to be a better human begin
Live interaction enhances artist’s learning, expands their network and market penetration
Provide aesthetic experience to the audience and promote art, culture and tourism

Though there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to curate an art exhibition, but below are the simplified list of steps for holding an art exhibition from start to finish –

Conceptualize and plan (Exhibition Start Date minus 6 month)

Define objectives of the proposed art exhibition
Identify theme and scope for the exhibition such as solo or group event, type of artworks to be displayed, no of participants, no of artworks per participant, type of participants and level of participants
Draft formal agreement and rules and regulations for the participants
Identify audience segment such as age, gender, profession such as interior decorators, art collectors etc.
Jot down possible expense heads such as rent for exhibition hall, marketing collateral design and printing, advertisement, digital marketing, local conveyance, travel, stay, lunch, work force, contingency etc.
Define budget and identify potential source of funding such as corporate with CSR funding, sponsors, contributors and participants’ fee
Explore associates and collaborators, who are willing to collaborate for the art exhibition and noble cause
Decide suitable date and venue for the event
Define detailed project plan i.e. Gantt chart with tasks, their time-lines, their dependencies and execution responsibilities

Induct core team members (Exhibition Start Date – 5 month)

Organizers for micro planning, execution and controlling the allocated tasks
Senior artists to shortlist the artworks
Digital marketing expert to run ads and manage the social media
Graphic designer to design the collateral such as invite, brochure, certificates, poster etc.
Website expert to update the website landing exhibition pages
Photographer and videographer to shoot the exhibition
Carter for business lunch
Travel agents for travel tickets, local stay and food arrangements
Helpers to collect, unpack, install and de-commission the artworks
Electrician to adjust focused light

Raise Funds (Exhibition Start Date – 5 month)

Collect funds from participants and sponsors

Book exhibition hall (Exhibition Start Date – 4 month)

Ensue that exhibition hall is centrally located and approachable, with good ambiance, spacious enough to accommodate artists, audience and sufficient parking space and suitable layout plan
Availability of amenities such as focused lights, air conditioning, food court and toilet facilities etc.
Suitable opening and closing timings preferably weekend and confirm that there is no conflict with other festivals & events

Engage artists (Exhibition Start Date – 4 month)

Circulate Whats App invites
Publish the advertisement on social media such as Instagram, Facebook and Youtube etc.
Opt for Google and social media advertisement
Generate word of mouth
Personal invites
Run advertisements on TV and radio
Do mass mailing & SMS

Select Participants and their artwork (Exhibition Start Date – 4 month)

Select participants
Shortlist their artworks
Collect details such as artist’s statement, artwork title, medium, size, price and artist phone number etc. for tags and brochure
Brief the details and get the agreement signed

Guest of honor (Exhibition Start Date – 2 month)

Identify Chief Guest
Invite Guest of honor such as Senior Artists and eminent people related with art

Publicity (Exhibition Start Date – 1 month)

Use posters, leaflets, signboards, banners and hoardings
Send Whats App invites
Publish the advertisement on social media such as Instagram, Facebook and Youtube
Run Google and social media advertisement
Word of mouth
Personal invites
Run advertisement on TV and radio
Do mass mailing & SMS
Share the press release

Curtain Raiser (Exhibition Start Date – 15 days)

Invite press and participants
Welcome and introductory message
Participant’s interview
Share the press release
Refreshment

Artwork collection (Exhibition Start Date – 15 days)

Receive duly packed artwork and ensure it is not damaged and intact
Store the artwork in safe and secure place

Layout planning (Exhibition Start Date – 7 days)

Get the floor plans and start mapping out the artwork layout
Consider appropriate gap between artworks and artists
Focus on aesthetic experience for the audience

Installation of artworks (Exhibition Start Date – 2 days)

Collect the installation material such as thread/wire, hooks, scissor, ladder, measuring tape etc.
Ensure the artwork arrangement on the wall is within the cone of vision i.e. vertically height of 4 to 5 feet from the eye level
3 rows for small paintings, 2 rows for medium size paintings, 1 row for big paintings
Focus light on the installed artworks

Inauguration (Exhibition Start Date)

Welcome and introductory message Chief Guest, eminent people, media, artists and audience
Chief Guest to address
Participant interviews
Share press release
Chief Guest to honor artists with award and certificate
Offer gift to Chief Guest, eminent artists and press
Take a group picture
Get testimonials from your audience
Photography, videography and live coverage of the show
Participants should stay at the venue so that they can interact with the audience
Provide refreshment and lunch

Decommission the artwork (Last Date of the Exhibition)

Uninstall the artwork
Repack the artwork
Transport the packed artwork to the destination or handover the artwork to the respective participants
Settle accounts such as security refund etc.

Post exhibition activities (Exhibition Start Date + 1 day)

Share the picture, videos and press coverage
Spread a word on social media
Note down the learning

Conclusion

Though curating an exhibition involves lots of work, but at the same time it a great way to gain experience, create a network with like minded people and earn money too. So let’s curate an art exhibition, make your the event fun filled, exciting and memorable.

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