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I've only ever approached galleries by emailing first, and honestly most of them never even reply. A friend of mine who does pottery swears by just walking in with a few pieces and asking to talk to whoever does the buying. That sounds terrifying to me but she's landed two shows that way. Have any of you just walked in somewhere cold? Did it go well or did you get the brush-off? I feel like I've been hiding behind email forever and maybe that's why nothing sticks.

I've done the email thing but never actually walked in somewhere with my portfolio. Does anyone have any tips for making a good first impression or just like, what do you even say when you get there? I'm so worried I'll just freeze up or say something dumb. It's a local place I really admire but omg my palms are already sweaty just thinking about it haha. Any advice is SO appreciated!! 🙏

Hey everyone! Okay so I'm still pretty new to this whole gallery thing and trying to get a feel for timelines. Like, after you started seriously submitting or approaching galleries, how long did it actually take you to get that first real 'yes' or even a solid offer? Was it like months, a year, longer?? I'm trying to manage my expectations haha. My first approach felt like a total shot in the dark and I'm still waiting to hear back, so just curious about what others' experiences have been! 🙂

I keep seeing the war stories piling up in here, and I've got a few of my own. But I'm curious about something more basic. When you were starting out with gallery outreach, how many did you approach before one actually took you on? Mine was 22. Twenty-two polite rejections, non-replies, and one very confusing meeting that went nowhere before a small natural-history museum gallery in the Pacific Northwest said yes. That yes changed everything for me, but I nearly gave up at about number 15. I've had students ask me this and I never know what to tell them. What was your number? And was it worth the ones that said no?

Had a gallery approach me years ago, all enthusiasm. Wanted first right of refusal on everything I made. No other galleries, no direct sales. I was young enough to be flattered and stupid enough to say yes. Nine months. They sold nothing. Not one piece. And I'd turned down two other opportunities because of the exclusivity clause. Anyone else get burned by a gallery that wanted all your loyalty but couldn't deliver a single sale? How long did you stay before you walked?

Had a gallery reach out to me recently, or rather, someone claiming to scout for one. Seemed excited, asked for my portfolio, then came back with a list of things I should change before they could "consider" showing the work. Make the palette warmer. Fewer buildings, more people. Can I add more "local flavour", their words. I didn't know whether to laugh or be offended. You haven't even seen the work in person and you already want me to be someone else? Anyway I politely declined. But it got me thinking, has anyone else had a gallery approach you and then immediately start asking for changes before they've even taken the work? Where do you draw the line between feedback and them wanting you to fit a mould?

I'm thinking about reaching out to a couple of galleries soon. Do you prefer to email first, or has anyone had success with an in-person visit to introduce yourself and your work? I'm curious about what feels most effective.

I've been at this long enough to have done both, and I still can't say which one is right. My first real gallery I got by walking in off the street with slides in a folder, which tells you how long ago that was and also that I had no idea what I was doing. It worked, somehow. Every gallery since then I've approached more properly, and I think it's been worse for it, honestly. The official route does nothing for me. Maybe I just got lucky the once and I've been reading the tea leaves wrong for twenty years. So tell me: when you're approaching a gallery you don't know, do you email, or do you go in? And which one has actually ever gotten you a yes?

I've never approached a gallery, honestly. I've only ever done local art fairs and a couple of small cafe shows. I keep telling myself I'll send some work out but I don't even know where to start, and part of me is scared of being laughed at with my little landscapes lol. I'd love to hear how your first one actually happened. Did you walk in cold? Send an email with photos? Get invited somehow? And how long had you been painting before you tried? I'll take all the stories as encouragement to finally do it. My plan was to email a small local gallery with three images and see what happens, but I've been sitting on that draft for two months 🙃

ok so I finally worked up the nerve to approach a gallery I've been following for ages, sent them my portfolio, got an actual reply, felt like I was floating. then they asked if I could "mute my palette a little" to fit their space better. my whole thing is color!! I paint the same window in my apartment over and over partly because I love watching how the light changes the color. they wanted me to basically be a different painter. I said no obviously but I'm still second-guessing myself like was that stupid, should I have compromised?? I feel like the right gallery will want what I actually make but also maybe I'm being precious about it idk anyone else had a gallery ask you to change your work? did you bend or hold your ground? I need to know I'm not alone here lol

I keep reading that you're supposed to build relationships, email first, get on their radar. But I've never once had the nerve to actually walk into a gallery with my portfolio and just ask. I've sold at local fairs for years and people keep saying I should approach the galleries in town, but the thought of it makes me want to crawl in a hole. So who here has actually done it? Walked in cold, no email, no connection, and just asked? How did it go? I need to know if it's as terrifying as I've built it up to be in my head, or if gallery owners are actually just normal people who don't mind someone asking.

Got approached by a gallery last year that wanted me to cover the cost of shipping both ways, the opening catering, and a "marketing fee" before they'd hang my work. Told them I'd pass. Never sat right with me. What's the worst "you pay us" pitch you've gotten? I'm trying to figure out where the line is between normal and predatory.

Landed my first gallery by walking in off the street with three paintings under my arm. The owner barely looked at me, took the work, said "come back in a month." I thought I'd been dismissed. Turns out she framed one and sold it before I even returned. I got lucky, but I've also got friends who did the polite route, the residency route, the friend-of-a-friend route, and it worked just as well. I don't think there's one way. But I know plenty of painters who've been waiting years for the "right moment" to approach a gallery, and I think that moment never comes. Did you knock on the door yourself, or did yours find you?

I'm always so careful, but the stories I hear! The last gallery I approached, they had my contract in a Word doc with tracked changes from 2007 still visible. Voila, a bad sign. What's the most obvious red flag you've spotted, the one that made you run?

Got approached by a gallery last year that wanted me to cover shipping there and back, plus insurance, before they'd even put my piece in a group show. No guarantee of sale. Just my cost to get it in the door. I told them no. They acted like I was the unreasonable one. I've heard worse since. What's the most ridiculous thing a gallery has asked you to swallow the cost on?

I landed my second gallery by just walking in with a small painting under my arm. The owner was standing at the counter, we talked for twenty minutes about a Durer print she had framed on the wall, and she asked to see the canvas before I even offered. I think door-to-door still works, at least here. But I've also had a gallery that would never have taken a meeting by email. Two of them. So I'm curious, when you approach a new gallery, do you knock or do you write? And has the method ever surprised you, worked when you thought it wouldn't?

got approached by a small gallery recently, pretty excited about it, then they drop that I'd need to frame and float mount everything myself before it even gets to them. not even a discount through their framer. just... figure it out. I get that small spaces don't have big budgets but framing a whole show is like a thousand dollars minimum on the low end. felt like a test? or maybe that's just how it works and I'm naive. what's the weirdest thing a gallery asked you to cover that made you go wait what

Got approached by a small local gallery recently, really liked the space, seemed legit. Then they sent the contract and there was a line about me covering the cost of the opening reception, drinks, snacks, etc. I've heard of artist paying for their own prints or whatever but this one caught me off guard. I passed on it but now I'm wondering if that's more normal than I think? Has anyone else run into this? Did you pay it or walk?

First gallery I ever approached turned me down flat. Told me my work wasn't "ready" and that I should come back in a few years. I was furious. Spent the next year working twice as hard out of spite. Turns out they were half right. The work wasn't ready. Not because they said so, but because I didn't know yet what I didn't know. That rejection pushed me to build properly instead of chasing the first door that cracked open. Anyone else have a rejection that ended up being the useful thing? Or did one just set you back and you'd rather have taken the insult and moved on faster?

ok here's one, the first gallery I ever approached (small, local, I was so nervous) basically told me to come back when I had more followers. Not "your work needs work," not "we're full," just... go get popular first. I was so mad. But also I kinda took it as a challenge? Spent the next year just posting like crazy, doing markets, building a tiny newsletter, making connections with other ceramistas. When I went back I had maybe 2k followers, not huge, but I had people who actually bought my stuff and showed up. Anyway they took me that time. And now I wonder if it was bad advice that worked by accident, or if they were kind of right but said it the worst way. What's the worst "advice" a gallery gave you that you actually ended up learning from? Or that was just straight wrong and you ignored completely?