Planning an art exhibition checklist…My First Group Show

After learning art and experimenting and painting for quite a while, I had a collection of few oil paintings. That is when I fortunately got a chance for my first group show too. It was from 23^rd to 27^th May, 2012. Other artists who participated in this show were Nanda Gupta and Kushal Mukherjee. They both are my seniors in this field. There are so many things that I learned in the process that I decided to share planning an art exhibition checklist.

There were so many things to take care of. Thankfully, I had a curator to assist me. Right from the handling of tiny things to the bigger issues, when one is holding an art exhibition, nothing can be ignored.

If I have to jot down all the points from my experience, here is planning an art exhibition checklist:

• The gallery charges.
• The space available. It’s a good idea to personally go and check out how much space is available to hang the paintings.
• Designing and printing of invitations and brochures.
• Completing/Finishing/Retouching of paintings at least one or two days prior to the exhibition.
• Framing( if required) of the paintings on time.
• Arranging for a chief guest and inauguration ceremony. This could be optional according to the budget. The inauguration expenses can also vary according to personal priorities.
• Promotional activities. This may involve informing friends and known about the exhibition through emails, phone calls and other social networking sites.
• Creating a Price list for reference. Price tags and titling of the paintings.
• Hanging the paintings one day or few hours prior to the inauguration.
• Keeping a visitors diary to keep the feedback of visitors. This diary should also have columns to keep a record of the contact details of visitors.

Depending on the gallery and the location, above checklist could vary for artists. But this planning an art exhibition checklist could surely give you a feel of the amount of planning required before an exhibition.

This checklist is not meant to overwhelm you, it’s just meant to give guidance so that everything is organized and well planned.

Keeping things planned properly is very essential in any kind of event. A painting sells for its quality but the way you present your art in an event also matters a lot in the long run.

I remember one week before this exhibition, time was flying like anything. I was more and more overwhelmed each day. And then came the D-day and bundles of appreciation. It was then when I realized that everything was worth the effort.