the gallery that wanted 50% and "exposure"
Alright, let's hear the worst gallery pitch you ever got. The one that made you laugh or almost made you walk.
Mine: A new space in a nearby city, wanted 50% commission, and when I hesitated the owner said "but we'll really push you on social media." I told her my cats have more followers than that and at least they don't take half.
What's yours? The fee that was insulting, the promise that was empty, the red flag you wish you'd spotted sooner.
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Ah here, 50% AND exposure? That's not a pitch, that's a shakedown with a smile on it. Your cats line is brilliant, I'd say she didn't know where to look.
Worst I ever got was a fella who ran what he called a "curated pop-up" in a vacant shop unit. Wanted 60%, sixty percent, because he was "building the brand" and "taking the financial risk." The financial risk of a month's rent on a derelict butcher's in a shopping centre that was half empty. I asked him what the other artists thought of the split and he said "they're excited about the visibility." I said I'd need a visibility to pay the electricity bill and that was the end of that.
The red flag I wish I spotted earlier wasn't even a gallery. Was a "collective" that turned out to be one woman with a Gmail account and a lot of opinions about everyone else's framing. Cost me a print and three months of my time before I copped on. You live and learn.
Sure look it, there's good people out there too. The bad ones just give you better stories for the pub.
Sixty percent in a dead shopping centre, that takes some nerve. "Building the brand", whose brand exactly? I hope you laughed in his face. Did the pop-up even happen? I'm imagining three artists and a lot of empty butcher's hooks.