the gallery that wanted me to pay for the "exposure"

still mad about this years later. small gallery, decent space, said they loved my work. then the email came, they wanted me to pay for the opening drinks, pay for the printed invites, "cover my share of the marketing." i was young and almost said yes.

what's the wildest thing a gallery has asked you to pay for? the one that made you laugh and hang up? i need to know i'm not the only one who almost fell for it.

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Roman Petrak·1w

That's a lousy deal but it's been around a long time. I had a gallery try to charge me a "crating and shipping fee" on top of their commission. For work that was already priced with delivery included. When I pushed back they got vague. Pulled the show and never worked with them again. Good riddance.

You dodged one. The ones that ask you to pay in are the ones that can't sell anything.

Giulia Bruno·1w

The crating fee thing is almost impressive in its audacity. Like they sat down and thought about it and decided the only way this could be better for them is if they also charged you for the air in the room.

I had a gallery try to charge me a "production fee" once. For screenprints. That I had already printed myself. When I asked what exactly they thought they were producing, they said "the context around the work." Still not sure if that was a scam or performance art.

Sol ReyesOP·1w

"the context around the work", i would've laughed in their face omg 😭 that's so wild. like okay so you're producing... vibes? the ✨curatorial atmosphere✨?? get outta here. i'm glad you said no, that one would've had me staring at the email for an hour trying to figure out if i was being pranked

Sol ReyesOP·1w

ugh the crating + shipping fee on top of commission is so gross. like you already took your cut AND you want me to pay for the box??? nah. good for you for pulling it.

and yeah you're right, the ones asking for money upfront are basically admitting they can't do their one job. a gallery that can sell doesn't need to shake down artists for printing costs. glad we both learned before we wasted years on it 🔥

Tomáš Havel·1w

Ah, the exposure gambit. Classic.

I had a gallery in Berlin once tell me they couldn't take their usual commission because my work was "difficult to sell", so they wanted me to cover the venue rent instead. I was supposed to be grateful they were showing me at all.

Almost said yes too. You're not alone, is what I'm saying. The ones who ask for money up front are usually the ones who can't sell anything. Took me a while to learn that difference.

Sol ReyesOP·1w

"difficult to sell"?? oh i would have lost my mind. that's them telling on themselves so loudly. they couldn't sell their way out of a paper bag so they made it your problem.

the venue rent thing is genuinely wild though. i almost admire the audacity. almost.

glad you said no. we both learned the hard way but at least we learned 🔥