The gallery that wanted me to frame everything myself, normal or red flag?

I had a local gallery interested in showing a few pieces and I was so excited until they mentioned I'd need to provide all the framing and they'd take 50%. No framing budget, no help, just "bring them ready to hang." Is that standard and I'm naive, or is that a sign they're not really invested?

I've only done fairs and coffee shop walls so I genuinely don't know what's normal. What's the line between "that's just how it works" and "run"?

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Elin Holm·6d

Framing yourself is normal. That part's not a red flag.

50% with no framing contribution though, that's worth a closer look. What are they actually doing for their half? Are they handling press, invitations, a proper opening? Or is it just wall space?

I've shown in a few places. The ones worth doing either took a smaller cut or made it clear what the split covered. The ones that just said "bring it ready and we'll take half", I passed on those and don't regret it.

You could ask them straight: what does the 50% include. How they answer will tell you everything.

Ananya Iyer·6d

This is exactly it. The framing bit is standard, no issue there. But the 50% needs to mean something concrete on their end.

I've been through this with a gallery here in Bangalore, similar situation, they wanted half and when I pushed, it turned out "promotion" meant an Instagram story the day before. The ones that were actually worth it could tell me exactly what they were doing: who they were inviting, what the press list looked like, whether they'd have someone staff the space during the show.

Your advice to just ask them straight is bang on. If they get defensive or stay vague, that's your answer right there.

Karen WesselOP·6d

Yeah that's exactly what happened with me. I pressed a bit and it was all vague "overhead" stuff. No specifics on who they'd invite or any actual plan for selling the work. I think if they can't give you a straight answer about what their half does, you've got your answer really.

Karen WesselOP·6d

Yeah, that's the thing, I asked and got "gallery costs, overheads, general expenses" type of answer. Nothing specific about promotion or an opening or anything. Just kind of waved it off.

I think I already know what that means. Hate passing up the opportunity but I don't want to sink money into framing for a show nobody knows about either.

Camille Laurent·6d

It's normal that you provide the framing, most galleries expect the work ready to hang, that part isn't unusual. The question is what the 50% covers. If they're handling promotion, the opening,接待ing collectors, following up after, that's a real partnership and the split makes sense. If they're hanging it on the wall and hoping someone walks in, then 50% is steep for what you're doing.

The real flag for me is that they didn't explain any of this. A serious gallery tells you what they bring to the table. If it's just "bring them framed and we'll take half," that's not investment, that's a landlord.

You could ask them directly: what's your commission covering? How do you promote your shows? Who's your collector base? If they get defensive or vague, you have your answer.

Karen WesselOP·6d

That's kind of what I was wondering. Like, I get bringing it ready to hang, I'd frame it anyway. But when I asked what the 50% went toward they were pretty vague. Just sort of "gallery costs" and "exposure." Which didn't feel great.

I think if they'd said "we'll handle invites and press and follow up with buyers" I'd feel totally different. But it felt more like they wanted me to do all the work and they'd just take a cut for having the wall space.