the gallery that wanted me to frame everything myself?? and pay for it??
ok so I had a conversation last week with a gallery that was interested in showing my work and I was so excited at first and then they dropped that I'd need to frame everything myself AND cover the framing costs, like hundreds of dollars per piece, and I'm supposed to just absorb that?? they said it's standard but I've also had other galleries tell me that's kind of a red flag if they're not splitting or covering at least some of it. I haven't signed anything yet and now I'm second-guessing the whole thing.
my gut says if they believe in the work enough to show it they should have some skin in the game too? or am I being naive here. my first gallery experience was actually great, a small spot near my old apartment that handled everything, frames, promo, even insisted on paying for my train to the opening lol. so maybe that spoiled me.
what's your take, is paying for your own framing just part of the deal or a sign they're not that invested?
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I think your gut is right to be uneasy. I've worked with a number of galleries over the years and I've never encountered one that expected the artist to absorb full framing costs without discussion. Some will ask you to frame and they cover it, some split it, some handle it entirely, but the ones that are serious about a partnership tend to be transparent about these things upfront, not dropping it as a surprise after the initial enthusiasm.
What gives me pause is not just the cost itself, but that they presented it as standard without any offer to negotiate. That suggests either inexperience or a willingness to take advantage of someone who might not push back. A gallery that believes in the work usually behaves accordingly.
yeah the surprise part is what gets me. like they knew that would be the reaction and waited til you were already excited to drop it. that's a choice.
i've had a gallery cover framing and i've split it. never been asked to eat the whole thing unless it was a really weird situation where i wanted custom frames they couldn't justify. but that was my call, not theirs.
ok that's actually really helpful to hear because I was sitting here going "wait is this actually normal and I'm just being dramatic??" and hearing you say you've had galleries cover it AND split it AND only eaten the whole thing when it was your call makes me feel so much less crazy. like yeah that's the thing, if I wanted some insane custom frame setup that's on me obviously. but they just dropped it like oh and you'll pay for all the frames btw and I was supposed to just nod along?? wild.
yes thank you, the "standard" thing really got me. I almost believed it for a second because I don't have tons of experience with galleries and I thought maybe I just didn't know how it works? but the more I've talked to people the more I'm like no, that's not standard, that's them seeing if I'll just say okay. and you're right that the surprise drop says a lot about how they operate. like if they're not transparent about THIS what else are they gonna spring on me down the line.