Walking in vs. emailing: which one actually got you a reply?

I keep reading that walking in with work is the bold move and emailing is the safe one, and I honestly can't tell which is true.

I'll go first: I emailed. Twice. Got one very polite no and one total silence, and the silence stung more than the no did, weirdly. I've never had the nerve to just show up with a portfolio on a Saturday, partly because I'd have my kids in the car and that's not the vibe I'm going for.

So which actually worked for you, the email or the showing up in person? And if you walked in, what time of day did you go? Trying to settle a small argument with myself here.

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Lukas Brandt·4d

The silence stinging more than the no is not weird, it's the normal thing. A no at least treats you as someone who existed for a minute.

My honest answer: neither of those is what got me in. What got me in was a painter three years ahead of me at the academy mentioning my name to her dealer, and then the dealer coming to the studio. Before that I had sent the polite emails and I had also once, stupidly, stood in a gallery on a Saturday with a folder under my arm. The person at the desk was kind and could not have done anything for me if she had wanted to. Nothing came of it.

So I would say: the walk-in is a myth that flatters the person telling it, and the email is a lottery ticket. The thing that actually works is somebody on the inside saying your name. Which is slower and less cinematic, I know.

If you do end up emailing again, my one rule: no attachments in the first mail, one sentence about what you do, and a link to the work. And do not apologise for writing. Ever.

Sol Reyes·4d

The folder under the arm thing is real. Mine was a plastic sleeve, not even a folder, and I stood there long enough that the person at the desk started feeling bad for me. Kindness is not access. That's the part nobody tells you.

The vouching thing is the one that guts me a bit though. I didn't do the academy, I taught myself, so there is no painter three years ahead of me with a dealer to mention my name to. I've had to build that from nothing, which mostly means years of emails into the void and one person at a time deciding they like what I do. Slower than hell but it does happen. Somebody saw my work on a wall in a bar, of all places, and that's what led to a real conversation. Not a Saturday, not an email. A wall.

So I don't think walking in is bold, I think it's just hoping the wrong person is at the desk. You got in through a person who already trusted you. That's the actual mechanism, and it's the one nobody can fake.

Karen WesselOP·4d

The plastic sleeve is worse than the folder, honestly. At least a folder looks like you planned it.

And yeah, the vouching thing. I didn't do the academy either, so I get the no-painter-three-years-ahead feeling. But "one person at a time deciding they like what I do" is still a real thing that's happening, just slow. Years of emails into the void sounds brutal though. Did anyone ever actually reply off one of those, or was it all the in-person stuff that moved it forward?

Karen WesselOP·4d

The folder under the arm image got me, because that would absolutely be me. Thanks for being straight about it.

So the thing that actually worked was a person vouching for you. I don't have an academy behind me, but I do have a couple of painters from my local group, and I've been too shy to ever ask any of them to put a word in. Might be time to get over that. Was it awkward asking her, or did it just come up naturally?

Lukas Brandt·4d

Neither, honestly, and I'd be careful with the walking in idea. Galleries are not shops. On a Saturday there is often one person at the desk who cannot decide anything, and a stranger arriving with a portfolio puts them in the position of having to be polite while wanting you to leave. That silence you got by email is usually the same thing, just cheaper for them.

What actually got me a reply, years ago, was a recommendation from another artist the gallery already showed. Not a grand one, just a name mentioned in the first line. The other route that works is the open calls and the degree shows and the small fairs, where looking is the point and nobody has to be interrupted.

So: not the format, the introduction. Email is fine, it is just that most emails have no introduction in them.

Karen WesselOP·4d

"Kindness is not access" is going to stick with me, that's exactly it. I think part of why I wanted the walking in thing to be true is that it feels like you're doing something, instead of just waiting on an inbox. But you're right that being polite and being able to say yes are two different jobs.

The name in the first line makes sense too. I don't have a gallery artist to vouch for me, but I do have a woman from one of my workshops who's been at this a lot longer than me, and honestly she's seen more of my work than anyone. I hadn't thought of just asking her. What did that look like when you did it, did the artist actually email ahead or was it more of a mention?