I'm new to the art show business (photography), and have gotten into 2 juried shows. I have a question about applying for the same shows for next year that I applied to for this year. Do you need to be showing a completely new set of images each year you apply to a show? Will they recognize images from the previous year and will that be a negative?
I'm specifically thinking about a show that is put on in the spring and fall. I was #1 on the wait list last spring, and made it into the Fall show this year. I plan to apply for spring 2015. I don't really have a lot of new work since I haven't had a lot of time to devote to it so I thought I'd end up with some of the same images which obviously worked the last time. I'm a photographer, so generally it's not like new images are hard to come by like for other types of art where you need to take new photos of the art. But is using the same images going to be a negative for me?
Chris
Replies
Thanks for all the replies. That helps. I don't plan on keeping the same images for many years, I was just making sure it was ok to have some of the same ones two years in a row.
We change ours out every 2-3 years, sometimes we add just a few and mix up old ones with new ones. Part of the driver on this is just the cost involved in having professional pictures taken, etc.
We did have one show that did not accept us in 2013 and stated in their note back to us that it was because we hadn't submitted new images. We had used the same images from 2011-2013 and got in the first 2 times, rejected the third. The biggest issue I had with that is that they require 6 images. For shows that require 3-4 images, we're set and could change the images, to change out and have 6 new images for any given year is tough as the images we use for jurying are usually the more high end pieces, not the ones that sell well. So, the normal conundrum, do we make pieces to jury or make pieces to sell??? There's only so much time and materials available.
Right. That is the kind of an issue a jeweler would have. You make some knockout pieces for the jury, but are harder to sell, but can get you into the shows. Creating new "show" pieces every year could be tough on the wallet. No easy answers are there?
I know a few jewelers that save their jury pieces hoping to find a better photographer down the line.
Larry Berman
My husband was a photographer and loved to shoot and make new jury images. He pretty much swapped out a new set every year, with maybe a few holdovers. He had pretty good luck getting in shows, good ones too. I think a lot of it is, are you really proud of your newest work and want to give it a try vs. this worked last time, let's roll those dice again.
I think it is part of the creative process that feeds people in this business to always be making something newer, better and striving for that makes the images better and more competitive.
Yes, the jurors change from year to year, but some jurors go from show to show. And if there are a bunch of shows in a region they may get a chance to see your images at multiple shows. Do they care if it is new? Probably not, but there is always the chance that they say, "oh, I've seen this before and (I love it) or (so tired of this)."
I've been a juror, as has Larry, and we recognize the work of artists and we love to see the new work.
Larry, thanks for the link. I'll check it out.
Chris
I like to change my jury images every so often just for the sake of my own personal satisfaction and the fact that my work is continually changing and hopefully improving as I work harder try new design ideas.
I don't want my work to look the same as it did years ago.
The better shows change their jurors from year to year, but you may get a juror that juries a number of top shows over a short period of time so they might remember your work. I know one juror that has mentioned he likes to see new work from people whose style he's recognized.
I have a number of juror interviews on my web site:
http://bermangraphics.com/artshows/jury-reviews.htm
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100