Art Tip Tuesday: Building Your Art Career Pt. 2

Get your work online and in artist registries

Recently I introduced Art Tip Tuesday. After observing the multicultural art world for the last three months, I've noticed that multicultural artists are still under represented. Your works are not being shown side by side the European and white American artists in reputable art galleries. There isn’t a big secret to getting recognized as an established artist it just takes the right tools, the drive, and a little push in the right direction.

As I mentioned in the first post of Art Tip Tuesday, I found a plethora of information from artist and curator, Rhonda Schaller.   

She shares detailed steps of how to sell your work through galleries to tips of handling yourself as a self-produced artist though her guest blog she wrote a while back. She gives advice on how to get your art career off the ground and some of her points echo what I’ve been hearing from other artists I’ve spoken to personally.

Her post is lengthy, so I took the liberty of breaking up her advice into several parts and picked the ones that I found most useful for multicultural artists. In the first Art Tip Tuesday, I shared Schaller’s advice about building a supportive network. (see: Art Tip Tuesday: Building Your Art Career Pt. 1) 

Next up: As a curator, Schaller keeps her eyes out for emerging artists online.

As told by Rhonda Schaller: (This entry has been edited to read in a conversational tone)

Get your work online and in artist registries

This is where [Schaller] have looked for artists to add to group shows she’s curated over the years. Many dealers do as well, but everyone does it a little differently. Schaller likes the curated slide registries too, though some are open to all artists. Many independent curators look through online art files and registries, which can lead to group exhibitions and other opportunities.

Research for art registries starts on the internet and once you're all signed up they are a great way “to be discovered.” 

There are physical registries housed at non-profit arts organizations and on their websites. You also have purely online registries if you prefer to work solely online. 

Work with the ones that you feel an affinity toward. The important thing here is to have your work “findable,” digital and online, out in the world, out of your studio, and available for others to see when they are researching for shows. (To get the full rundown of Schaller's insight visit the blog archives)

Here are a few online artist registries I found just entering 'online artist registry' in Google.

• http://culturehall.com
• Mid Atlantic Artist Registry
• http://local-artists.org
• http://www.brooklynartscouncil.org/registry

To add to Schaller’s online quest, I found talented artists on social media sites like Instagram and Twitter. My Instagram favorites includes: @njartworks, @demontpinder and @byflore. These three artists keep my Instagram streaming with their daily endeavors and moving art work, which they do a fine job of marketing for sale.

(Screen shot via TC's Views iPhone)

It would be interesting to know if more curators are tapping into social media to find that next talented artist. Curators, I'm waiting for your call to hear your answers. E-mail me at astutestories@gmail.com or leave your comment below.

Art tips you missed:

• Art Tip Tuesday: Pt. 1 – Build a supportive network