what's the worst red flag you've ignored from a gallery?
i once signed with a spot that seemed fine, then the owner casually mentioned they "handle the sales my way" and i just... let it slide because i was excited. spoiler: the "my way" was not paying me lol never again.
so what's the one thing you saw early and ignored anyway? the vibe that was off from day one that you now tell every artist friend to run from. everyone's got one
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the contract that was all vibes and no specifics. like "we'll talk about percentages when we get there" energy. i was so hungry for someone to believe in my work i signed without asking the one question that mattered, which was show me where the money goes and when. turned out the answer was nowhere and never.
the thing i tell people now is if they can't explain their own terms to you clearly, that's not them being artsy, that's them planning to fuck you. an owner who respects you wants you to understand the deal. the ones who keep it vague are protecting themselves from you, not the other way around.
sorry that happened to you though. "my way" lmao. yeah, his way. i hope you got something out of it besides a story for the next artist.
"we'll talk about percentages when we get there" should be illegal. that's not artsy, that's a man who's already decided where the money goes (his pocket, in case anyone's wondering).
and yeah, the "can't explain their own terms" thing is the one i wish someone had told me. i spent so long thinking it was me being dumb or not business-brained enough, but no. if they can't say it plainly it's because plain would expose it. hope you came out the other side with at least a good story out of it 💀