Amy Farnum learned on the job. Like many young artists, she struggled to find the right approach and the right venues to show her work. It's a challenge every new artist faces. Fortunately, Ann Arbor is more welcoming than many other places.
"I was so naïve," says the Saline jewelry designer. Looking back on 20 years in the art business, she squirms at the memory of her first efforts to woo art shows and galleries.
Farnum's biggest goof? Amateurish photos of her beadwork and jewelry. "It's as true now as ever. Your work is only as good as your photos," she says.
Now on the other side of the desk, as gallery shop director for the Ann Arbor Art Center, Farnum has more advice for new artists:
- Pitching your work to galleries the right way: Call or send a packet. Don't pop in on a Saturday and ask, "Do you have time to look at my work?"
- Having a website is crucial – Internet sales are where it's at. Etsy.com is the easiest site for selling and showing – and the cheapest.
- Just because one gallery doesn't take your work doesn't mean another wouldn't. It could be that it just doesn't fit the gallery's vision.
- Follow up – most people who approach don't call again.
- Don't badger and don't make negative comments about the content of the shop. That gets an instant "You're not coming back in."
You may be wondering: What does finding a wall for a novice painter to hang his or her art on have to do with Michigan's transition into a new economy? The two-word answer is: attracting talent.
With topnotch knowledge-based workers having their pick of communities to live and work in around the nation, the draw of a healthy paycheck alone is no longer enticing enough to inspire a move to Michigan. What communities have to offer outside the cubicle has become equally important, and that includes opportunities for creative expression. Whether it's a stage for their songwriting sideline, a coffee shop to perform their slam poetry, or a gallery open to new artists, communities that offer a rich palette of creative opportunities look more attractive to young professionals.
Luckily, the Ann Arbor area offers more than its share of venues. But when you're a novice, where to pitch is just as problematic as how to do it.
Ann Arbor has many exhibition opportunities for emerging artists. Long-time arts reviewer John Carlos Cantu tips us off to two places that aren't well-known:
The Gifts of Art program at UM Health Services displays both two-dimensional and 3-D work in galleries throughout the complex. Shows change every couple of months, so there are lots of chances to exhibit.
The Ann Arbor District Library has galleries at the main library and at the Mallett's Creek branch, with six to eight shows a year. AADL has large glass display cases for fragile or high-value work, as well.
Cantu reviews art exhibits for
AnnArbor.com, following many years in the same role at
The Ann Arbor News. His fans (this writer counts herself among them) know Cantu has a fine eye, despite early artistic influences: "I come from Dallas, where if it doesn't have a cow in it, it's no good," he notes.
Coffee shop walls may be almost clichéd, but don't knock 'em, Cantu says. They're ideal places to break in for an artist who has not exhibited. Some are adventurous – they'll go out of their way to show whatever the artist is making. Others are more restrictive – no nudes, for example – but by and large, they're pretty tolerant, he says.
An established artist, photographer Myra Klarman highlights two coffee shops off the beaten path to consider: Common Cup in the University Lutheran Chapel on Washtenaw Avenue, and Great Lakes Chocolate + Coffee Company on Jackson Road west of I-94.
"Coffee shops give an emerging artist at least a sense of what's expected to break into the business – and it is a business," Cantu says.
Although the area has no galleries dedicated to showing previously unseen art, he says The River Gallery in Chelsea is accommodating to new artists. "It has consistently high standards. The work they do there is quite exceptional – their artists are certainly right on the cutting edge in terms of career building," Cantu says.
Klarman suggests taking the long-term view when trying to break in. "The first time you do anything it's going to be harder – that's true with exhibition space. They don't know who you are. You have to stick with it. It may take a year to make an inroad," she advises.
She's known for her ongoing work with the Ann Arbor Summer Festival. Watch for the annual exhibit of her festival photos at the Power Center in late June and early July.
"Getting involved with groups and networking are good first steps. Be proactive. Be willing to promote your show when you get one. Be your own marketing department," she says. "Don't forget that every creative person has their doubts. Think of it as a chance to evaluate your work and see how to improve."
John Cantu says many young artists find it a shock to discover the demands of becoming known as an artist. "You have to polish your act. It must be high caliber – anything less than a very strong appearance is not going to work. I'm not even talking about quality. I've seen very talented artists hamstrung by lack of marketing," he says.
On the business side, think of your exhibits as investments – and that isn't simply philosophical.
"The artist generally has to front the money to pay for the supplies, frames, etc. for the exhibit. Unless an artist can sell their artwork in a venue, or get some kind of value from the show, it can be hard for them to reconcile spending the money to stage the show," Klarman says.
Other possible exhibition spaces to consider: Riverside Gallery in Ypsilanti offers highly regarded group shows. Washington Street Gallery is a collective – it could serve as the model for a similar space just for emerging artists. Klarman notes the Shadow Art Fair seems like a great place for emerging artists to meet supporters and buyers.
Wherever, the important thing is to get your work out there, Cantu says. That includes art fairs. Exhibiting in non-juried shows means taking your career in your own hands. The juried route tends to be tougher, he adds.
"Jurors are gimlet-eyed and rightly so. They have a low tolerance for work that doesn't work for them," he says.
One of the most established local groups for artists at every career stage is Ann Arbor Women Artists. It began as Ann Arbor Women Painters in 1951, adding other media – and the other gender – about 10 years ago, according to President Katherine Willson.
"Mixed media was surging in the art world. Artists were adding collage to watercolor or using acrylics and adding encaustic on top. The idea of an artist is not just defined by who can draw really well," Willson says.
AAWA hosts both juried and non-juried solo and group shows year-round in many locations, including two Sweetwaters coffee shops, Whole Foods on Washtenaw Avenue, Bab's Underground Lounge, the Women's Center of SE Michigan, and the Ann Arbor Senior Center.
The group has 302 members ranging from absolute beginners to experienced professionals. The age range is equally impressive, from artists in their early 20s to those in their late 80s, Willson says.
AAWA is much more than an exhibition group. It offers small critique groups by media. Recently, group members could attend two workshops on selling work through Etsy.com.
"We help with professional display, packaging your material, setting prices, and our social events are just as important for our all-volunteer group," Willson says. She treasures the group's "incredible sense of community."
Whatever the medium, wherever you exhibit, it takes terrific focus to have an art career.
"It's an arduous task, a difficult, difficult lifestyle," says Cantu. "I'm constantly amazed at the dedication artists have for their work. The artists I've run across here in Ann Arbor are remarkable – on a par with what I've seen in large cities in the U.S. and in Europe."
Constance Crump is Concentrate's senior writer. She's also an Ann Arbor-based writer whose work has appeared in Crain's Detroit Business, The Ann Arbor News, The Detroit Free Press, and Billboard Magazine. Her previous article was The Re-Investors.All photos by Doug CoombePhotos:
Amy Farnum at the Ann Arbor Art Center
John Cantu with Susanne Stephenson's "Winter Garden Gate" at WCC's Gallery One
John Cantu with Sherri Smith's "Teepee Buttes" at WCC
Myra Klarman with her photos of Strange Fruit at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival offices
Myra Klarman with Ann Arbor Summer Festival's executive director Robb Woulffe
Katherine Willson
Amy Farnum making sure everything squares up at Ann Arbor Art Center