Is it worth to pay 1200/Euro to participate in group show ?

[thakurdalipsingh]

Is it worth to pay 1200/Euro to participate in group show exhibition in Italy, where my 3 pictures will be shown? I am from

India.

There is a CHIANCIANO ART MUSEUM http://www.museodarte.org/ museam in italy. They are holding conceptual art

exhibition. Chianciano International Art Award, "The Art of the Mind" 15th - 22nd of September 2012. They want 100/ Euro

for application processing, if not accepted then money will be refunded. If accepted they want then 1100/ i.e. total 1200

euros. They dont charge commission if your work sold. They do not insure also.

They say we charge this fees for

“Contribution-A contribution for participation covers the costs of the museum exhibition, the promotional campaigns, the

collateral events and the full page on the printed as well as online catalogues: €1000 + 20% tax for artists who are

approved to participate.

Catalogue =All artists will have one full page in colour in the printed Biennale catalogue, which will also be kept available

online for 2 years, it will be sent to galleries and museums all over the world. Collateral Events=There are many

collateral events during the Award week, which range from lectures, individual video interviews with each participating

artist, to parties, wine tasting and music. Please see the videos of the inauguration and the other collateral events from the

Chianciano Award 2012”

For “the promotional campaigns”, nothing is written in detail about the promotional campaigns plan of this year. When I

enquired about details of the promotional campaigns, they sent me link of last year promotion http://www.museodarte.org/?

q=press and wrote these lines=

“ The promotion of the Chianciano International Art Award is extensive and is carried out in various media and forms. The

marketing is on-line (last year we had about 190 million views of our online ads related to the exhibition), on art magazines

(editorials and ads were published for the last edition in magazines such as "London Exclusive", "Absolute London"

"Digital Artist", "Arte", magazines with tens of thousands of readers covering the USA, UK, and parts of Europe, as well

as other leading publications). In relation to press, there are many online and printed editorials, please see the video I

have attached. There is also the printed catalogue and online catalogue that remains on the Museum website indefinitely.

There are also television advertisements that target Tuscany and the surrounding regions in Italy. To give you an idea, there

are usually over 1,000 people present for the inauguration of the event alone”.

Now, My work is selected but I am little reluctant to give remaining 1100/euro, because -it is group show and the

promotional campaigns is for museum and all artists on the whole.

Therefore I want you suggestion/ advise. Has any body participated in this exhibition or similar type exhibition ? What is

your experience?

I wrote to some of their past participants but no body replied.

On the other hand I read these lines on net also which changed my my mind.

http://www.nyfa.org/archive_detail_q.asp?type=6&qid=36&fid=6&year=2001&s=Winter

http://www.artscams.com/resources.html

“Beware of vanity galleries and publishers who charge artists to have their work included in an exhibition or publication.

Vanity galleries charge exhibition fees for artists to exhibit their work, rather than commissions on sales. The fees can be

very high and the galleries do not have an incentive to effectively promote your work since they make their money from

exhibition fees, rather than sales of your art.”

Another write up in photo.net “Three Tips to Help Your Photos Tell A Story” is also worth considering= http://www.photo.net/

columns/michael-freeman/three-tips-to-help-your-photos-tell-a-story/

“And beyond the type of gallery you show with, you also need to be very careful about the kind of show where you allow

your artwork to be displayed. Be very wary of group shows of any kind, and avoid them if at all possible. A group show is

a gallery’s way of trying to get as many people through the doors or to their website as possible by essentially hedging

their bets. If you host a show with two artists, you are depending on the market for two artists. If you are hosting a show

with 40 artists, you’re dipping into a much larger buyer pool and have a far greater chance of selling the majority of the

show. As a gallery owner, a group show is a great way to add new buyers to your list, try out working with artists you

haven’t made up your mind about yet, and generally increase the profile of your gallery.

To an artist, they are 99 percent worthless. "

Please advise.

 

 

[david_henderson]

<p>Doesn't seem like very good value does it? I presume that all the costs of printing/framing/transport/insurance are also down to you. Seems to me that all the tangible costs are being allocated in their favour so as to ensure that they don't lose out , and all the benefit coming to you is either risky or intangible or both. Given your small share of the total its hard to avoid the conclusion that the potentially reputation-building communication that the gallery/promoters issue might well be worth exactly nothing to the individual contributor. <br>

If it were my money I would not spend it like this. It is frankly difficult to break even , as a relatively unknown artist even if ( as is more usually the case) the gallery doesn't make a charge for space unless they sell something and earn a commission, and contributes something towards framing. </p>

<p>I'd put this down as a vanity exhibition. </p>

[tom_mann1]

<p>Let me begin by suggesting that you break up long passages of text into paragraphs. As is, it is very difficult to read, especially on smaller screens such as smart phones. Initially, I was interested in reading in detail about your situation, but gave up about 1/3rd the way through and only skimmed the remainder. Notice that other folks have given the same suggestion (ie, your identical postings on dpreview.com and elsewhere).</p>

<p>WRT the details of this particular "offer", a quick search seems to show that they are probably legitimate. For example, there is a NY Times article on the museum. However, even if they are, you should consider the worst case scenario and ask yourself whether you would pay that amount of money (plus the costs of printing, mounting, travel, etc.) just to add this show to your resume and get a bit of exposure, assuming that no one will purchase one of your works at the show.</p>

<p>Just my $0.02,</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

[aplumpton]

<p>Thakur, I agree with David and Tom, especially about the artist taking all of the risk and the organizers taking little or none of that and probably making quite a bit of money (I assume there is an entrance fee to the show).</p>

<p>I have a few additional thoughts, for whatever they are worth. My only experience with a group show (a much smaller commercial gallery event in a major city -Toronto) was not very positive and there was a lack of publicity on the part of the organizers. I think you have to ask yourself, based on your type of work, the question of where is your potential clientele? Who are they and what are they like? Does this show address them? Which other shows might be more focused on your clientele and offer you exposure at lesser cost, or with potentially greater effect. Museum has a nice ring to it. Museums, and especially other smaller professional venues, rarely considered my previous awards as an amateur in offering to promote my work. There are some artists or art groups that do quite well in those milieus, but it is not until they cannot afford to refuse your work that they will be interested, and one's name is quite often made independent of or outside of the museums, although there are some notable exceptions.</p>

<p>I would prefer, if I were you, to understand the collecting habits of your more local fellow citizens and to seek out some small but influential galleries that could show your work, even at a 40, 50 or 60% commission. I have passed the hat around to other artists at our small seasonal gallery, but rarely for more than $150 (115 Euros) to help cover publicity costs for specific exhibitions. Our gallery does not sell that well, which is in large part due to the mainly tourist audience at our site (remote from many collectors) and that crowd includes only a small portion of collectors. Whatever the commission charged, it is good to let a small gallery try to sell our work. If and when the works increase in value owing to demand, it is probably at that later time that their value will compensate the artist. I think there are less expensive and more productive ways to promote your work, unless you feel that the outreach of the Italian museum will be efficient. How many works did they sell last year? I might ask them (or some observer) that question.</p>

[dhbebb]

<p>This show is legitimate, I am sure, in the sense that it will happen and the organisers will do what they say they will. At the same time, I am sure it is true that this exhibition is a commercial enterprise, the principal activity of which will be getting artists to pay the very high hanging fee. you mention. As a comparison, go to the Royal Photographic Society website <a href="http://www.rps.org">www.rps.org</a> and see the basis on which they organise their annual open exhibition - for a fee of £15!</p>

[joshroot]

<p>I wouldn't pay to be in a show. Particularly a group show. I suppose I could see a situation where paying to have a solo show would end up being worth it. But even that seems pretty sketchy.</p>

<p>That having been said, I'm not a gallery photographer and have never had any interest in trying to be one. So take my opinion for whatever that is worth.</p>

<p>You might take a quick run through this Photo.net article and see the author's comments on group shows:</p>

<p><a href="../learn/art-photo-galleries/three-tips-for-selling-showing-your-photos-in-a-gallery/">Photo.net's "Three Tips for Selling/Showing Your Photos in a Gallery"</a><br>

<a href="../learn/art-photo-galleries/three-tips-for-selling-showing-your-photos-in-a-gallery/"><br /> http://www.photo.net/learn/art-photo-galleries/three-tips-for-selling-showing-your-photos-in-a-gallery/</a></p>

[frank_skomial]

<p>Photo Shows organized by Frank's Camera, Highland Park, LA, in Frank's ranch, were free. Shows included an array of beautiful models dressed in latest fashion or undressed, some entertainment and some food, some door prices, and some awards...<br /> Those days are over..</p>

<p>Now they ask you to pay ? <br /> I could not read your text, affraid of getting a headache, but see what you will gain from this event ?, What if none of your photos is good to show ? - will you get your money back ?</p>

<p>Will your attendance there contribute to your credibility as a photographer or an artist?<br>

Can you put it on your resume or in portfolio ?<br>

Are you seeking more recognition to gain this way ?</p>

[luis_g]

<p>It is not worth it.</p>

[bkpix]

<p>No.</p>

[palangat]

<p>Thakur,<br>

Not worth the money! For that kind of money you might be able to have a show of your own in a very good and upsacle gallery in Mumbai or Delhi! The cost of making high quality prints, framing and shipping with insurance will add to the final cost of the print. If you travel to the exhibition, that will add some more out of pocket expense. If you sold two of your pictures at the show (absolutely lucky), will you recover atleast 70% of the cost incurred? I would rather have a more elaborate individual show of my own than spend a bunch of money and take odds at a situation stacked against me. my two cents worth. Good luck anyway.</p>

[chris_waller]

<p>In a word, "No." There are plenty of venues where you can exhibit free of charge or for a modest fee.</p>

[niujing_niu]

<p>Good！<img src="http://www.healthonlinee.com/img/images/3.jpg" alt="" /></p>