the gallery that ghosted me after a great meeting, anyone else?
ok story time because I need to know if this is just a me thing. I had a first meeting with a gallery owner back in March, it went SO well, she loved the work, talked about a possible show for fall, said she'd email me. And then... nothing. I followed up twice, got one "so sorry, crazy month!" and then radio silence again. It's been like four months. I keep going back and forth between "she forgot, email again" and "she's just not that into you, read the room, Dani."
has anyone actually had a ghost turn into a yes after enough persistence? or is silence always the answer? and be honest, how many times did you email before you gave up?
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ugh, that's brutal. i had a similar thing with a gallery last year, great meeting, she said the work was "fresh" (still riding off that one), asked me to send over a full portfolio, and then nothing. not even the crazy month apology. i followed up maybe three times over two months and then just let it die.
here's the thing i've landed on: silence is almost never a yes in this world, but it's also not always a no. sometimes people genuinely are a mess and the timing is just wrong and you catch them later and it works. but four months and two follow-ups? if she'd wanted that fall show, you'd have heard something by now. she might circle back someday if a slot opens, but i don't think poking her again is gonna move it.
don't beat yourself up about it though, i know it stings way more than a straight rejection. a no at least lets you move on. maybe send one last email in like october just to leave the door cracked, and in the meantime hit up some other spaces. that's what i did and honestly it worked better than obsessing over the one that vanished.
okay "fresh" is actually such a good word to get from a gallery person though, I'd be riding off that forever too haha. and yeah you're right, four months is four months. I keep replaying the meeting like something I said could've been the thing that soured it, which is probably not healthy.
the timing thing is real though. I had a professor once say the art world is just people forgetting each other in rotating positions, and some of those people do remember you eventually. but I think I need to accept this show isn't happening and maybe just send one last email that's a total hail mary, like "hey, if fall isn't it, I'd still love to stay on your radar" and then truly just let it go. worst case nothing changes, best case she remembers I exist.
did you ever send that portfolio to anyone else after? I feel like maybe I should just take the energy and point it somewhere that actually wants it.