A bistro in my town held an open “call for artists” last fall and I decided to take along a selection of images that I had made for EYV, along with some others that I was pleased with. I had never done anything like this before, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect or how best to present my work. In the end I took along one large canvas print (24″ x 36″) and a selection of 12″ x 18″ prints in a borrowed portfolio case.

It seemed to me that many of the people who brought their work to the call had done this before and a number appeared to be well-established, if their work and preparation were anything to go by. Nevertheless, the little review committee (the bistro owner and her artist friend) liked the colour and humour in my work and left me with the impression that I had a chance of being selected. A few weeks later I received an e-mail asking if I would display my photographs in the bistro for six weeks in fall 2019.

Well before the exhibit, I made a to-do list of tasks and questions that I wanted to cover well in advance:

• Do a comparison of canvas prints for price/quality
• Do I need to look at alternate prints?
• Short explanatory text for each image
• Look into changing my e-mail address and using my domain name
• Have cards printed with contact info, etc.
• Prepare a distribution list to get the word out (my Facebook, wife’s FB, Instagram, Twitter, colleagues, church, local English theatre group, networks of friends and family)
• Create an event on Facebook
• Reminders at intervals leading up to the exhibit
• Create a title for the exhibit (thematic?)
• Any lessons learned from OCA people re: exhibiting work?

Two months before the opening day I created two Facebook ‘event’ invitations (one ‘private’ to directly invite friends and family; one ‘public’ that could be shared more broadly) to encourage people to come. I also used Twitter and Instagram to help drive online traffic toward the public Facebook event page.

The bistro provided me with diagrams outlining the two rooms where I could exhibit, along with the maximum dimensions that each wall space could accommodate. Since there were two rooms and space for 11 of my photographs, I decided to give the exhibit the theme of “Night and Day,” knowing that I could use one room for ‘night’ and the other for ‘day.’ This worked well and viewers seemed to understand the division easily.

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One month before the event I bought eight 18″ x 24″ black frames and made new 13″ x 19″ prints (matted to a “12 x 18″ window). I also ordered a 24″ x 36” canvas print to go with the two large canvases I already had, bringing the number of works for display to 11. At the same time I made two smallish posters to hang at work, one on the glass wall outside my office and the other on the cork wall of the kitchenette. I wanted to use my workspace to promote the vernissage without overdoing it—and I wanted to be sure that the people who report to me felt welcome to attend but not compelled. During this time I also used a design my wife created to create business cards (both for people to take away and to affix prices next to the photographs) and to create a small poster for the exhibit area to outline my approach to the works on display. The design was clear and mirrored the key elements on my website.

The owner of the bistro is generous and offers the display space freely to selected local artists without asking for a percentage of any sales. She leaves transactions entirely to the artist and purchaser. It was also good of her to make snack food (chips/crisps and small plates of sausage, cheese and olives) during the opening.

With the help of my wife and the owner’s artist friend, we hung the exhibit in about two hours on the morning of the opening. The hanging system the bistro uses is simple, easy to use, adaptable and very strong: it consists of a length of wall-mounted, steel ‘rebar’ with a length of chain dropped from it. Art works are attached to the chain with ‘s’ hooks and then secured at the right height with plastic tie-wraps. Once the pieces are checked for placement and levelled, the two bottom corners of each frame are lightly attached to the wall using putty.

Leading up to the opening I had two contradictory fears: the first, that no one would come; and the second, that people would come. As the day got closer I found that I had two or three moments of real doubt that I should be doing this (who would want to come to see my photographs, never mind buy them?), but I forged on. I had promoted the event to a lot of people I know and I had made a commitment to the bistro owner. I knew that someone else had recently decided at the last moment not to exhibit their work and had no intention of doing the same.

As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. Some 60 people attended the opening and a good proportion stayed to have drinks and order a meal at the bistro. I sold three pictures during the event and there is a chance that a fourth sale may be in the works. All told, I need to sell at least five photographs to cover my costs for printing and frames, so there is still a good chance that I will manage to do so (there are roughly four weeks left before I have to take down my pictures).

I am very pleased with my first foray into exhibiting and will do it again. The bistro was a low-risk way for me to get my feet wet and allowed me to bring friends, family, colleagues (and some people I don’t know at all) to a local place that means something to me. “Come for the photography and stay for the beer—or vice-versa,” may not be the usual marketing ploy for an exhibit, but it worked just fine for me. Now to sell the fourth and fifth prints…