So, You Want a Show: My Tips for Markets, Shows, and Galleries as a Self-Employed Artist

Hello there again, my Creative Universe friends! 

This week, I am working on implementing the tips I discussed in the last blog post (mostly embracing a routine), and I want to incorporate them into this blog. So, you can look forward to weekly posts on Mondays from here on out! Sharing my mind's inner workings helps me process, learn, grow, and move on and also offers some insight and knowledge to those who follow along. With that being said, let’s dive into this week's blog.

As a newly self-employed artist as of January, the first thing I could think about was getting my artwork out to the public. I wanted people to see my creations, resonate with them, and be able to tell my journey to potential collectors. One of my main ideas for doing this initially was going to markets, shows, and the like. My first step was to go to Google and YouTube to learn how to get into art shows, markets, and galleries, as one does today. I found great stuff about cute display ideas and tips for maximizing profits once in a market or show, but how do you get there in the first place?  Through lots of digging and trial and error, I have been accepted to 8 market groups and have attended over 12 markets since April 2024. I am also currently working on pursuing a relationship with an Art Hotel near me in Southern AZ. What more could I want to do with the information I have learned than share it with my fellow creators with whom I share this universe?! 

Researching markets, shows, and galleries in your area

When trying to get into events like these, the first step is to research what is available in your area. I have found that searching keywords like "[insert your city and state] art market," "[insert your city and state] art gallery," and "[insert your city and state] art vendor" etc. in your preferred search engine is a great place to find leads. These leads usually took me to a Facebook group page or a website for the association, group, or person running the event, where I could locate either an application form to fill out online or contact information to send an inquiry to. To help you decide which events and opportunities are best for your art or creative venture, I'll share what I have learned about the differences between the three main opportunities I discuss in this blog post. 

• Markets: These events often have many vendors and can either be themed or vary significantly in what they offer. Typically, you pay a booth fee and keep the profits you make. You may need to bring your own supplies, like tents, tables, and displays.
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• Shows: Art shows focus on showcasing and selling art specifically rather than many types of vendors. They can be hosted at galleries or other venues and may feature a single artist or multiple artists. Sometimes, you’ll need to pay a fee to be featured.
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• Galleries: These are dedicated physical or online spaces where art is displayed and sold. Galleries often take a commission from sales. You may or may not need to pay a fee to be a featured artist. 

When I began this journey, I made a list of all the available events and galleries I could find using this keyword-searching method. I am actually working on this process for a second time as my fiance and I begin thinking about a potential move next year. 

 Finding opportunities that align with your target audience

Once you have a list of all the available opportunities in your area, you can narrow down which ones you would like to be a part of. What helps me to get the most benefit from my event opportunities is to find events that resonate with my art style, which is very colorful, vibrant, and imaginative. Events that draw crowds who love this type of art can be guaranteed to make me a profit, as much as anything can be guaranteed in our world at least. So spend some time revisiting your target audience and finding the events in your area that cater to your type of crowd! 

Now, I will give you another tip that may seem to contradict what I just said, but stay with me here. The above tip is great when you can find events like this. For example, I have found that my art resonates very well with the EDM music crowd, but unfortunately, I cannot attend concerts and festivals solely; this would be expensive and tiring, so I must branch out. I imagine this may be a common theme for other artists and creatives for all genres, so when finding a market that you will regularly attend, maybe every weekend or once a month, I recommend asking yourself two things: do you enjoy the other vendors and the vibe of the event or space and is the saturation level for your particular art type relatively low or median. This way, you have a good time when hanging out at the event, and you stand out in the crowd. 

Once you have a decent list of events you want to be a part of, it is time to make sure you have all the details you can get before you reach out. I recommend you look at the group's Facebook page or website to find out the event location and hours, any rules or regulations, and the fees associated with participating in the event or opportunity. Sometimes, you can only get the cost of fees after reaching out, but it is worth looking into. Once you have all this information, you can make a calendar to pre-block your event time. Doing this before getting accepted ensures you do not double-book yourself. You can continually update your schedule as you get accepted and apply to new events. 

Now that you have your list of opportunities, it is time to get those applications and inquiries flying. This is where I got really nervous when I started out, and it took me a few tries to land on a great tone to get a "Yes, we would love to have you at our event!" response as much as possible! 

Reaching out even if you're nervous

Now, it's time for you to apply to the events you'd like to participate in; YAY! Personally, I do not think it is super easy to toot my own horn. So this part was less than a YAY for me. I want to believe that I do well when I give potential collectors my elevator pitch at shows. In reality, though, mine could probably use some work to this day! So, the idea of reaching out before I had ever attended a show was scary. Because of this, the easiest option for me was to fill out the provided application when available. They ask you for simple things like your business name, social media links, etc, and all those were easy for me to provide. On several applications, I was also asked to submit photos of my art or creations to be judged before acceptance. The hardest part for me on the application was describing my art style or creations, but that's a whole different post. Since fill-in-the-box applications are relatively self-explanatory, I'll give you some tips I have found for when you have to send an email inquiry to a group or leader of an opportunity. 

1 - Research what specifically makes your creations and this opportunity a good match and have those in a list when creating the email. 

2 - Use a personalized greeting for each email. Include names of event leaders if possible, and use what I coined a personable, professional tone. This means that you shouldn't sound overly businessy with long-winded and worded sentences, but use Grammarly to check your grammar, for goodness' sake. Also, be genuine in your approach. Using AI to spellcheck and enhance your ideas can be beneficial, taken with a grain of salt, but having it write your emails for you completely will show through in the tone and may not send the message you want. 

3 - List the reasons you researched in tip 1 in your email! You didn't do that work for nothing, silly. 

4 - Provide a portfolio with all the relevant links you would be asked for in those much easier applications and a few essential pictures that showcase your skill, creations, and setup if needed. 

5 - Express gratitude for the opportunity and excitement in your email but not desperation. 

6 - Once you send that email, send it out into the cosmos with positivity and let it do its thing! Give it at least a week before following up, and do not dwell on waiting for the response. Trust that the right opportunites will come back to you. 

With the hard part done, all that is left for us to do is CELEBRATE!! But what if the answer is not what I want, so you say?

Celebrating no matter the outcome

The emails and applications are out, and the hard work is done... for now. Here is to the next few days refreshing my inbox, waiting, and contemplating all the responses I will get, right? If you were talking to Katelyn in January, I would say yep, that will be me for the next week or so. Instead, I recommend a much healthier response to this awesome event. Celebrate. Before you get the response, just for sending it in the first place. And when you get the response, whether it is a "Your art is so amazing I cannot believe we haven't heard of you before! Yes, please join our event!" or a "Thank you so much for your interest, but at this time our artist slots are full and on a waiting list. We recommend contacting us via this email in a few months." response. Every step you take towards realizing your dreams is worth the effort you put in. I am talking to you, Katelyn... and you, reader. So here are some tips to celebrate the successes of applying for opportunities as a self-employed artist on this journey, some of which I am still learning. 

1 - Make a few different levels of self celebrations. A small win, medium win, and big win treat. Make them what makes you happy. I will implement things like my favorite candies for a small win, an hour of my favorite TV shows during lunch for a medium win, and my favorite restaurant for a big win. You can make as many variations as you like or want, but make sure to do them to get the dopamine boost associated with the reward! 

2 - Make a silver lining list where you write down at least one silver lining from every response you get that you feel is not what you want at first. For example, not getting into the night market you wanted will allow you to apply for another event at that time or attend to be better prepared to apply next time! Doing this enough times will help this positive thinking become a natural train of thought, or so they say. I am still working on this one; I'll let you know how it goes! 

I highly recommend not skipping this part of the process. The less you reward yourself for doing the things you need to do to keep your business thriving, the less you will want to do them. And the less you pay attention to the way your mind works with negative and positive thinking, the sooner you find yourself in a negative mind space, not knowing how to get out. You've got this! 

So we've made it through this journey once, and now we can rinse and repeat with slight variations for each opportunity we reach out to! Whoever said being a self-employed artist was an easy job has obviously never worked an easy job, but I am tough, so I am going to keep pushing. For me, marketing and events are only the beginning. I am always working toward driving my art business toward its next step. But that doesn't mean I can slack off in this step because doing it right means the opportunity to take the next step. I hope that sharing my tips here can help someone else in that same boat and that I can look back one day and see what I accomplished and learn from myself. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey, and I am sending you all of your luck and fortune on your journey to success in your creative endeavors! 

Next Monday, we will discuss the tips I have learned from attending markets once accepted! From efficient ways to pack and tools of the trade to the tips for successful sales and networking that I have picked up and am still learning from the fabulous vendors I have met, you won't want to miss it! 

• Until next time, keep dreaming, keep celebrating, and keep creating. 

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• -Katelyn with Creative Universe Productions