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Gallery Without Walls
by Jenny Krasner
New York City artists: how many of you know this story by
heart? You work diligently in your studio to develop a new
body of work, confident that it will get your foot in the
door, maybe even score you a gallery representation. But after
a slew of phone calls and mass e-mails, your self-promotional
efforts feel futile. New York City-based artist Jenny Krasner
turned her back on this system, eschewing the gallery as a
middleman for selling her work. This past September, Krasner
founded The Krasner Gallery and set up shop at the corner
of 22nd street and 10th avenue in Chelsea. In this article,
she explains how her ephemeral gallery became an inspiring
success story.
As September neared and New York City's galleries prepared
to awaken from their annual summer slumber, I had a whole
group of new work ready to show and no one to show it to.
Honestly, I was miserable. I delivered a pep talk to myself:
"Forget this. New York is my town too. Just because I
don't have a gallery and no one in Manhattan knows who I am,
why should that stop me?" I vowed to move beyond the
fantasy that a gallery would magically discover me. From here
on, I would show my own work.
The worst that could happen was nothing, and that was already
happening. In September, I set up a "gallery" on
22nd street and 10th avenue in Chelsea. I called the exhibition
On The Street and became the dealer of The Krasner Gallery.
My entire life changed since I did this. I have an upcoming
exhibition of my work, money in my bank account, and I made
a number of contacts I never would have had I remained safely
in my studio. Selling your own art is backbreaking, but ultimately
worth the hard work and initial monetary outlay ($1,700.00
in my case). Here's how I did it:
Any artist can set their work up on the street; it's a First
Amendment right. To begin, read the Ask Artemesia article
about street vending on NYFA's website. This piece provides
valuable tips on how to get started and offers suggestions
on where to set up shop.
Another important source is www.streetvendor.org, a street
vendor advocacy program of the Urban Justice League. The FAQ
section of their site provides a list of legal streets in
Manhattan for vending and outlines the restrictions on vendors'
proximity to residences, stores, and fire hydrants. Next you'll
need to apply for a tax ID. Information on this process is
best explained in this indispensible article on NYFA's website.
When you decide to stop your street business, remember to
file a ST-100 quarterly form with a note that says you're
ending the business. This is the only way to stop paying quarterly
taxes. The tax in Manhattan occasionally fluctuates, so it's
necessary to check this.
In order to accept credit card payments, I set up a free online
business account with PayPal. Using this service, you can
e-mail an invoice to your customer and accept payments over
the internet. Pay Pal takes 2.9% and 30 cents per transaction.
It's extremely important to devise an effective marketing
strategy to attract potential customers to come see your work.
I had an invitation card printed up. This can be done through
www.modernpostcards.com, or, if you can design it yourself,
try www.udesignweprint.com. Having 500 postcards printed from
Udesignweprint cost about $85.00. I mailed them out four days
before my first show and emailed the invitation out every
two days before each Saturday's exhibition. My exhibition
lasted for five Saturdays, beginning in September, from 12
-7 pm. People really didn't show up until around 1pm, but
I wanted to be set up and fully prepared when they did.
A month before the show, I sent out press releases to every
newspaper, magazine, museum curator, and art critic I could
think of with my invitation. I would actually suggest doing
this about two months in advance because of the art press'
deadline constraints. Then I sent another card just before
the show opened and called when possible. My best responses
were from the people I persisted with. I also sent my story
to every television news channel and pitched my story to editors.
The success of The Krasner Gallery has exceeded even my most
optimistic expectations. I'm having a three-month exhibition
of my work a Fusion, a bar / lounge between 54th and 55th
Streets on 10th Avenue, from October 22 to January 22, 2006.
Oscar, the owner of Fusion, lives in Chelsea and just happened
to be walking by my "gallery." He spent five minutes
looking at my work and said, "Would you have any interest
showing your work at my bar?" Just like that! I also
sold a very large piece for $5,500.00 to a collector who was
also passing by. And, finally, quite a number of curators
and art critics have now heard of me and have actually sent
me rather nice e-mail repsonses to the letters I sent them.
Even if it doesn't result in direct sales, attempting to sell
your own work is a proactive method of creating visibility
for yourself and will force you to bring your work out of
the studio and into an environment where it will be seen.
I would suggest you have a very specific plan and concept.
Also, keep in mind the importance of presentation. If you
lay your work on the ground or from unsightly metal braces,
people are going to respond in kind. I believe that thinking
and acting professionally is what allowed The Krasner Gallery
to suceed. A friend asked, "Is the dealer taking 50%?"
I said, "Yeah and deserves every penny of it."
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