Exhibition Diaries: an unexpected invitation
Exhibition Diaries: an unexpected invitation
You have a new instagram message 🔔
My upcoming joint exhibition FLORA FANTASIA will be in Blink Gallery, Hong Kong. The opening will be on 28 September (Saturday) from 3:30 to 5:30 PM. If you'd like to attend, please RSVP to info(at)gina-maldonado.com
Last year I decided to reach out to art galleries in Hong Kong with a PDF sample of my paintings and drawings. I’ve read in blogposts that ideally I’d have to go to galleries in person and try networking - one book I read even suggested that the only way to succeed was go to New York! - but honestly I’m not very good at cold socialising, and the idea of networking gives me nightmares. Communicating by email first and then meeting in person works best for me - after all I’m not a sales person but an artist.Â
A lot of effort and care was put into each personalised email but I got no responses whatsoever (why is it so difficult for people to have an automatic message saying we have received your email… etc) and some people added me to their mailing lists without consent, the cheek 🙄
Anyway, I continued sending submissions and finally, a reply!
The gallery owner asked if they could come chez moi to see my art in person and we arranged the time and date. They came and looked around, asked a few questions and told me a little bit about the gallery, the artists they work with and their experience. It was a short meeting, they were polite but I couldn't tell what they thought. After they left I didn’t hear anything more from them and I got busy with other projects.
Fast forward to June this year, I was working on a special custom frame for a collector when I received a message from the gallery owner asking if I’d be interested in going down to their new gallery space to talk about a potential art exhibition!!! My art in a Gallery? yes please! I made plans to meet asap. Obviously I was both curious and excited, this was all new territory for me.
5 JuneÂ
I arranged to meet the gallery owners in the afternoon in their new space in Wong Chuk Hang, an art hub in the south of Hong Kong island.
The journey from my flat in Kowloon was a bit long, and thanks to Google Maps, I took the wrong exit and had to walk extra to get there. I didn't want to arrive all sweaty, but there was nothing I could do, it was 30C outside. Thankfully, I got to enjoy some air-con on the lift on the way to the gallery.
The gallery owners told me they liked my art and wanted to collect it. They also reiterated their invitation to consider having a joint exhibition with the gallery owner who is also an artist.
They explained what I could expect if I accepted their offer, but they didn't put any pressure on me to accept straight away. They told me to think about it and let them know in a few days, but in my mind, I'd already accepted the invitation. I felt this would be an opportunity to showcase my work to people in Hong Kong and to put my first foot in the local art community.
A few days later, I sent an email officially accepting the invitation. The gallery owners asked me to put together a proposal with an outline for the theme, artworks, and dates for the exhibition.
I've never done this before, but I figured I could find examples on Google for inspiration. How hard could it be?
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