Getting Gallery Representation

Public galleries would include libraries, the city hall, airports, theater galleries, country clubs, etc. Most of these galleries give you exposure, but do not sell your work directly. They may result in sales aside from the display. 

You are likely to be more successful if you can make contact with the decision maker. This may be the facility manager, an outreach facilitator or other person. Many of these facilities have board members. In smaller towns, you may actually have a contact who knows one of these board members who could be influential. Before making any presentation, be sure to visit the space where your work might be displayed. How have other artists displayed their work? How many pieces would be ideal? Do the artists’ bios and statements look different from what you have? Can you write meaningful and educational descriptions for each piece?

While it might be possible to email a virtual gallery of your work to the decision maker, nothing beats in-person contact. Carry an example of what you would show along with either a Powerpoint presentation or website link to the additional work you would include.

These facilities are not necessarily looking for landscape photography. In general, they like a group of 6-15 pieces on a theme. Local themes and social themes are in higher demand. In my area of Arizona, one might be successful with a Pueblo ruin or petroglyph theme. Or a theme could be monsoon weather or an artsy theme such as the curves of sand dunes. Don't rule out all black and white prints as they are popular. Are you a creative writer? You could write a poem to go with each piece. Your artwork will look best if it is all in the same size and the same types of prints and narrow, museum quality framing. You are not trying to sell your art to a group that all has differing decorating preferences. The most important thing…stick to a theme.

Many public galleries have standards for an artist's profile and descriptions of each piece. Be sure to follow whatever guidelines you are given and make it look very clean!

Non-Profit Art Organizations

Your town may have a non-profit organization that promotes the visual arts. Members can often rent a wall or a space for a period of time. If the space is large enough, you can display more than one theme. You may have mountains on one wall, macro photography on another wall, etc. These galleries usually allow you to select, price and sell your work. You may choose to display a variety of sizes and styles, but if you are just wanting exposure rather than sales, it might be wiser to present a uniform display of sizes. Expect the gallery to take a 25-50% commission. 

My local non-profit gallery has monthly openings that are attended by many people who will see an artists work. In addition, the artists can host their own receptions, inviting everyone they think might possibly come. If there is a disadvantage to these galleries, it is your art may be positioned near and associated with art shown by learning artists. 

A mid-range gallery will generally have an an eclectic group of artists with outstanding skills and a wide variety of price points. Get to know these galleries well before approaching the owner. Then don’t even show your work until you can figure out how to get an invitation to do so. You might say something like “I am a photographer, but my work looks so much different from your other photographer.” Be prepared to explain how it is different before you show your work. Practice your elevator speech as if you were on The Shark Tank, just don’t be over-the-top. Like co-op galleries, your work will need to be distinctive from other photographers. But these are the galleries that often have at least one good landscape photographer represented. If the gallery is otherwise successful, expect that your art will sell as well. Most of the images sold will be in the hundreds of dollars. Perhaps a few will go into the low thousands. 

High end art galleries are a different beast. Most of us would like to think that someday our work could go in one of these galleries. So does just about every other artist out there. You can easily tell how high end a gallery is when you walk in and see the presentation of art. Exposures Gallery in Sedona is an example of a very high end gallery. Having your photographic art placed in such a gallery is difficult.

These galleries are inundated with requests, so most have an online form for you to complete. They will ask you to upload some sample images for review. Be careful when you do this, because you are likely to get only one chance. First, ask other successful artists to view your portfolio and let you know what they would select. Don’t expect to get signed on with a view of Mesa Arch or your best waterfall image ever! You have two possible choices. Either show them a set of images so creatively different that they have not seen it before, or carry a six foot wide face-mounted to acrylic print into the shop when the owner is there. You might have to do each of those things to 20 different galleries before anyone shows interest. Of course, if you are trying to get into a gallery that is some distance from home, build your story before mailing anything out. Make yourself seem famous (maybe you are) without using the words "world renowned". Yes, it helps if you routinely win photography contests or are a known author, but those accomplishments aren’t absolute requirements. If you haven’t heard from the gallery within a few months, don’t be afraid to be persistent. But realize, if you don’t get recognized the first time around, you likely are out of the picture.