I know, I know! I promised a writeup of the 1 August exhibit a long time ago. Please forgive me. Life intervened. But I’m writing about it now!
This was my first time exhibiting my photos and my first time seeing any of my photos matted and framed, not to mention hanging up in a gallery. It was an humbling, exciting, stressful, heady experience. I was glad when it was over. I can hardly wait to do it again.
Show Preparations
I had no idea so much went into preparing for a show! After Ruby of BGWAC chose five images from my online portfolio I had to decide where to have them printed and what sizes. My local printer of choice does not offer genuine black-and-white photo paper, so I went with 8-inch by 12-inch silver gelatin prints from Ilford. If I had to do it over again, I would make Her Face Tells A Story larger, so it would stand out. It was the only closeup of the five, and having her face life-sized or larger than life would have been stunning.
I also asked my tribe about signing my prints: should I sign on the back or front? The common consensus was to print my photos with a white border, then sign the prints on the lower right-hand side of the white border. They also recommended I write the title and the number of each photo on the lower left-hand side. Since each of these prints was the first they all got the #1. I’ll need to start a database to keep track of the numbering and sale dates so each subsequent print is properly numbered and accounted for.
The next step was matting and framing. Not knowing any better I had assumed I needed custom matting and framing. But the good people at A.I. Friedman showed me in-stock frames with acid-free mats that were the right size. (It’s a good thing, since custom framing wouldn’t have been ready for another two to three weeks, and I needed them in a week!) I saved a lot of money that way. If I ever need custom matting/framing I know I can go to them and not get robbed.
How do you determine how to price your prints? It can feel a little like witchcraft, to be honest. I factored in the cost of printing, shipping, matting, and framing, then ran the numbers by T. T has a lot of innate business sense and helped me come up with a fair-seeming $95 per print. (It turns out that was probably a little low. More about that when I talk about my lessons learned.)
A few days before the show we were instructed to have our prints wired for hanging. My frames came with alligator hangers, so I thought would need to find time to run my frames to a shop to have the wires installed. Once again my tribe came to my rescue and assured me it was something I could easily do myself with supplies from any hardware store. I picked up what I needed from our local shoppe and with the help of instructions I found online I had all of my frames wired in a half hour. Finally I was all set to go!
The Show Was On
I have never really explored DC as an adult, so just being there on 1 August was exciting. I hopped the Metro from my friend’s place in northern VA and met the other photographers on a lovely rooftop for brunch and to drop off our photos. Being in the presence of other female photographers of color felt good. There was a sense of sisterhood which can be hard to find/foster in other spaces. I enjoyed it. And Ruby generously gifted us with BGWAC swag: a tank, tee, and bag with the BGWAC logo. I’ve been wearing my bag out, let me tell you. I carried it with pride when I explored the National Mall for a couple of hours before picking up T at Union Station and returning to northern VA.
In what felt like the blink of an eye it was time for the show! Even though problems with the Metro delayed my arrival by an hour I managed to keep my stress levels down so that I wasn’t too flustered when Team Lotus and I finally made it. I was finally able to see my babies hanging on the wall in all of their matted and framed glory!
You’re probably wondering where the rest of my photos of the gallery are. I made only a handful of photos that evening because I was too busy taking in the experience to photograph it. So you will have to take my word for it that everyone’s work was stunning. More than 200 people passed through the space that night to admire our work, and a few photographers made sales. I enjoyed talking with the attendees about my work and what they saw in it. The whole experience was great.
I need to take a moment to talk about Team Lotus. As soon as I announced being selected to participate in this show these members of my tribe rearranged their lives to be there for me that night. Being surrounded by their love and support for the weekend is what made the experience as special as it was. So without further ado, Team Lotus is:
- My partner T, who made my show the last leg of a whirlwind, emergency trip to visit family.
- Ursula Renee, my published author cousin who traveled down on the bus that afternoon to be there that night.
- Moe, a long-time friend who took time out from an interstate move to travel down the night before.
- Bonnie, my best friend from university who opened her home (and fridge) to all of us for the two nights.
- Lola, Bonnie’s dog, who got more petting and loving and walking than she knew what to do with.
Lessons Learned
These are my main takeaways from that exhibit weekend.
- The DC Metro is as horrid on the weekends as the NYC Subway is. If you think you need two hours to get somewhere, schedule three.
- Wrap each framed print in bubble wrap. The wire hangers scratched some of the frames they touched in transit. Before I exhibit or sell those prints I am going to switch them to new frames and use the scratched frames at home.
- It costs a lot of money to get ready for an art show, and my prices need to reflect that fact. In addition to the cost of the printing and framing I spent $300 for a rental car (plus another $100+ for gas round-trip), and $70 for postcards. At first I felt awkward asking $95 for each photo, but when I thought about the total cost of preparing for and attending the show I realized $120 – $150 isn’t at all unreasonable.
- Keep my online portfolio updated. There is more recent work I have not yet added to my site which I would have preferred to show that night. I’m good about sharing recent work on my blog, but I have to remember my online portfolio needs to be a dynamic, constantly updated site as well.
The following lessons are courtesy of my tribe—they rock!—who encouraged me when I expressed disappointment about not selling anything.
- Just being selected for the show was an honor in and of itself. Bask in that.
- There is no way to predict who will make a sale and who will not. Each audience is different.
- It’s one show, not a far-reaching statement about my worth as an artist.
- You never know where some of the conversations I had that night will lead in the future.
Just the experience of showing my work has given me a fresh eye for what I do. These days I shoot far more discriminately with a clearer vision of what I want to say/show in each shot. It will be interesting to see how this shift is reflected in my next show.
I want to thank Ruby again for selecting me. It was a valuable experience all around!