Art fair learnings

That first art fair is something else, isn’t it? The first time you pack up your art work and bring it to display to the world. To drag the canvases from their safe and sacred art creation space into venues unknown.

There is so much to wrap your head around and so many things that you learn that up to then were just technicalities - things you have heard about, read about, took notes about… Until it was your turn to gather yourself, to gather your creative offspring and share them in public.

I only prepped 14 canvases for the Art Limerick Autumn Art Fair 2023 but there was so much work to do!! Reflection on these things is highly important so instead of keeping these points to myself, I wanted to share them here so hopefully you can gain some insights for your next fair or exhibition. And feel free to share your own suggestions and ideas too!

What went well / things to repeat -

• Creating lists. Sometimes I had lists about lists…

  • Things to do lists

  • Updated things to do lists

  • Things to bring

  • Dated lists - what to do / by when

• Publicity. Write the press release - don’t be shy and share it with local news outlets. Make the connection - what is it about your work / about the show that will excite the readers / listeners? I wish that I was more organised and sent it out to more places, HOWEVER, I was able to utilise my connections from a previous life as a journalist and got solid coverage in two local newspapers (thank you to Limerick Leader and the Clare Champion) and a local radio station, Limerick’s Live 95fm. That was wonderful and really appreciated.

  • Don’t stop there - you can keep telling your story after the event as well. You just need to share what is interesting to other people. If you win an award or take part in a fair, why not share the good news?!

• Information on your website. I created an online exhibition experience. I really wanted to share the story about each piece of art and to give an insight into what I created and why. I loved this. I loved being able to share this with people, even if I couldn’t do it in person.

  • This is also an absolutely amazing way to learn to speak about your artwork!! You learn to express what you like about it, why you create the way you do and any meaning you have behind the work

  • There is so much you can do with this and I look forward to building on it going forward

• Sharing on social media. I tried to build a connection with the people - about the artwork, the preparations, the fair… Share the story, the behind the scenes preparations…

• Tool kit - what you need to bring to the fair? I brought:

  • screwdriver

  • scissors

  • spare d-rings and cord

  • masking tape

  • business cards

  • spare canvas wedges

  • pen

  • sharpie

  • duplicate book

  • photos

  • art tools

  • lastly…the artwork

What was harder than expected -

• Prepping the canvases!!! Holy shit, excuse my language but the time and preparation required to finish canvases - double layers of gloss satin and then double layers of varnish, combined with allowing the required drying time in between. And that’s after ensuring the canvases are completed and sides are pretty!! And working in a small space means that there was a lot of moving around and plotting what needed to be done next.

  • And of course after all that you have to get the canvas ready to hang!!!

• Lead time for everything. There is so much to think about and to fit in!

• Doing all the boring bits. I’m sorry, it’s true. All the finishing and the lists and making sure everything is finished is really boring. I love the painting. I love the sharing. I love the creating the experience. But the finishing and the packaging and all that…hard for me.

Next up is figuring out what I’ll do next and how I will take these learnings to take things to the next level. I’m so excited!!