Seeking An Agent / Representation
There is no one way to attract a gallery or curator but usually artists will secure gallery representation after having some experience exhibiting in group and solo shows for some time. This allows them to build up an artist’s CV and some sales which makes them more attractive to galleries. It is all about getting your work out there and getting it seen in all kinds of spaces by responding to calls for submissions.
When looking for exhibition opportunities a good place to start is with the opportunity listings on our website and sign up to receive our free email newsletter – the e-bulletin. The majority of galleries and spaces in the country advertise their calls for artists through us. Some may be the more established commercial galleries looking for high profile artists but many calls are from smaller galleries / spaces looking for emerging artists earlier in their career.
The information in the ebulletin can also be viewed on our website in the Jobs and Opportunities section: https://visualartists.ie/jobs-and-opportunities-_/.
You can sign up for the ebulletin online here: https://visualartists.ie/vai-weekly-ebulletins-listings/
From here you can apply for exhibitions by responding to calls that seem relevant to your practice. We try to make the terms as clear as possible so we will say if there are any fees to apply or if there is a budget available to the selected artists.
Our Jobs and Opportunities listings also regularly provide info on commissions, competitions, workshops and training, talks and seminars etc – all directed towards visual artists at all stages of their career.
When you are looking for representation it’s a good idea to do some research into Commercial Galleries and find out which ones are the ones that you want to approach about representation. Here is a link to the Arts Directory on our website, another useful resource when looking for what galleries are out there, you can search Art Organisations by category including location, Public Galleries, Commercial Galleries and Artist Led Organisations:
https://visualartists.ie/all-arts-organisations/#!directory/map
It is also a good idea to keep an eye on the Exhibitions and Events ebulletin (Sundays). Even if you will not make it to the exhibition it is a great way to get a sense of the type of work a gallery shows and if it would be worth your while approaching them. Contact details for the galleries are listed with the information.
We hope this helps for now, if you have any further questions let us know.