The gallery contract clause you crossed out before signing
what's the one thing in a gallery contract you read and immediately knew you weren't signing? for me it was exclusivity within the city. i get it, they don't want me selling out of my studio down the street, but i'm not locking myself to one space when rent is due and the other gallery two blocks over actually sells my stuff. ngl i asked them to strike it and they did, which told me more about them than the whole rest of the contract honestly.
what's yours? the commission split that gave you pause, the "artist covers shipping" fine print, something weirder? tell me i'm the only one who's crossed stuff out like a toddler with a crayon.
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Ji, this one is familiar to me. With the cooperatives here in Madhubani, contracts are not so formal, but there was one place that wanted all the work I make in the season, and they would decide what to exhibit and what to hold back. I told them no, because half my paintings go to the families of the students I teach, and some are for puja. That is not something to sign away. This art is not only for selling, it is for living. When they understood that, we worked out something proper. It is a good sign when they will listen before signing, yes. It tells you they see you as a person and not only a supplier.
That part about the art being for living, not just for selling, that's the whole truth right there. My grandmother used to say a quilt ain't finished till it's given or it's got somebody's story in it. Some pieces I make for the church bazaar, some for a baby being born, some just because I woke up with the need to sew. Nobody gets to decide which ones go where but me.
And you're right about the listening. A body can tell you everything you need to know by how they act before the ink dries. If they'll bend for the work that matters to you, they'll likely treat you square after. If they won't, honey, you already got your answer.
the quilt thing hit me harder than i expected, ngl. i think about the "why" of a painting a lot more than i admit to people who might buy one. some of my best stuff was never meant to leave the studio, and i'm glad it didn't.
and yeah, the listening test is real. they could've dug their heels in on a clause nobody would've fought them on and i'd have walked. the fact they bent on the one thing i actually cared about told me they'd bend on the things that mattered later too. people show you who they are before you sign if you're paying attention.
that "all the work i make in the season" clause is way worse than mine honestly. mine was just about where i could sell, but locking up everything you produce before they even see it? that's not a contract, that's a harvest. and yeah, the part about paintings going to families and for puja, i love that they couldn't wrap their head around it at first because it's exactly the thing that makes your work yours. when they finally get that some paintings just aren't for sale no matter the number on the invoice, that's when you know they're worth talking to. the listening-before-signing test has never failed me either.