• Gallery curators have friends in the art world (tutors, critics, art journalists, gallery owners) that may be able to influence what exhibitions and artist's studios they go to see.
• Think of the reputation of any group shows you get involved with - every show you are in is a reflection of your work.
• Many curators go to open studio exhibitions, as they can see large numbers of artists' work at one time.
• Curators are happy to visit artists' studios if they have time, but hassling them about a visit will not help.
• If it was really as easy as sending off slides to galleries to get an exhibition, everyone would have exhibitions all the time! Ask your friends how many of them have received exhibition offers after sending unsolicited applications, and then how much money they have spent on visual materials.

Curators are incredibly busy people, and an average curator at a commercial gallery might receive between 30 and 60 unsolicited applications per week, (which could be up to 3000 per year) and spend at most 2 minutes looking at each. Applications without self-addressed, stamped envelopes are very unlikely to be returned. Furthermore, the average staff of a contemporary art gallery is around 3-5, so it's likely no one will have time to give your application much thought.

See our How to meet a curator article as well, for a curator's-eye view of relationships with artists

• getting an exhibition
• meeting curators
• exhibiting
• working professionally
• networking