The most important thing when approaching galleries is to presents your work professionally. Galleries have come to expect a high standard of submissions: don't expect results by simply sending out an envelope full of images. It's easy to forget that you aren't talking to another artist when you go to a gallery; you are talking to a business.

Do not waste time taking endless photographs of your work, hoping that some will be presentable.  In the long term, poor presentation material will lose you opportunities and money.  A body of work  takes a huge amount of time and effort - invest in having a professional photographer take high quality digital recordings that can be turned into slide transparencies or colour photographs of the work if necessary (if you are on a budget, a photography student may be prepared to do this as a course project, charging only for materials, or another artist friend may help).  In order to attract dealers, gain exhibitions and develop good quality promotional material it is essential that you have the best quality images possible in all formats.

For more information about creating your own portfolio, see the Art Support website.  Artquest also lists useful contacts for making portfolios in the Presentation and documentation section.

Tags:

• getting an exhibition
• galleries
• working professionally