The Fine Artist's Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion: Innovative Techniques to Build Your Career as an Artist

257 Pages·2003·4.04 MB·English

by  Julius Vitali

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The Fine Artist’s
Guide to Marketing
and Self-Promotion
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The Fine
Artist’s Guide
to Marketing
Self-
and
Promotion
Revised Edition
Julius Vitali
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© 2003 Julius Vitali
All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Copyright Convention,
Universal Copyright Convention, and Pan-American Copyright
Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, elec-
tronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without
prior permission of the publisher.
07 06 05 04 03 5 4 3 2 1
Published by Allworth Press
An imprint of Allworth Communications, Inc.
10 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010
Cover/interior design by Milan Bozic
Page composition/typography by Sharp Des!gns, Inc., Lansing, MI
ISBN: 1-58115-281-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Vitali, Julius.
The fine artist’s guide to marketing and self-promotion / Julius
Vitali.—Rev. ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-58115-281-7 (pbk.)
1. Art—United States—Marketing. 2. Art—Vocational guidance—
United States. I. Title.
N8600.V57 2003
706'.8'8–dc21
2003010095
Printed in Canada
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
vii
Introduction The Benefits of Marketing and Self-Promotion ix
Chapter 1 Describing and Documenting Your Work: Writing, 1
Photography, and the Digital Revolution
Chapter 2 Editorial and Advertising Publicity: Newspapers, 17
Magazines, and Databases
Chapter 3 Broadcast Television, Cable, and Radio 45
Chapter 4 The Artist as a Small-Business Entrepreneur: Setting 55
Up a Home Office and Negotiating Sales
Chapter 5 How to Professionally Exhibit Your Art in a Variety 73
of Venues
Chapter 6 Thirteen Artists’ Profiles 103
Chapter 7 Corporate Support for the Arts 139
Chapter 8 Grants for Individuals and Special Projects 155
Chapter 9 Artists-in-Education 179
Chapter 10 Assembling a Résumé, Portfolio, Letters of 195
Recommendation, and Other Helpful Tips
Chapter 11 Conclusion—Using Potential Resources 207
Appendix Digital Resources 211
About the Author
229
Index
231
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Acknowledgments
This book would not have been written without the invaluable assistance and cre-
ative direction of the following people:
Frank Shifreen: He is the creative link to most of the artists profiled in this book.
Because of his creative insight and indefatigable networking abilities, he has curated
numerous seminal art shows during more than a twenty-year period, written essays
and catalogs, and has given subsequent artists a forum (sometimes their first) where
they can be professionally exhibited.
Beth Ann Diamond: I extend my inspired appreciation for her tireless support in
looking over the manuscript, and for her encouragement as an artistic partner.
Matthew Blanshei, Ph.D.: I am indebted for his excellent feedback and guidance in
the countless hours he spent shaping the manuscript.
I am also grateful to all the artists who spent countless hours generously sharing
their professional experiences with me.
I extend my appreciation to the staff at Allworth Press for their support of this
project.
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Introduction
The Benefits of Marketing
and Self-Promotion
Since the publication of the 1996 edition of this book, the Internet, new
digital technologies (especially databases and print-on-demand publishing), the
stock market’s severe decline, and the aftermath of September 11, 2001, have creat-
ed new arenas and creative challenges for the fine artist. Many of the promotional
and marketing strategies remain intact while other refinements are now needed to
adapt to a changing world. What appeared creatively meaningful and important in
1996 takes on a fundamentally different significance in 2003. The destructive
events of 9/11 altered how we view our art and the way we imagine a viewer might
respond to it. As I write this, the U.S. government is creating the Homeland
Security cabinet post and incorporating numerous other similar cabinet depart-
ments, resulting in the arts receiving less federal, state, and local funding. These
cutbacks pose a chilling effect on nonprofit organizations and individual artists.
However, newspapers and magazines are continuingly writing about 9/11
and its aftermath since the consciousness of the country awakened to continual
concerns over security, terrorism, and war debate. If artists create artwork based on
the events of 9/11, then this trauma is likely to change the whole temperament of
an artist’s work. In the near future, there will be an art museum devoted to 9/11,
and I predict that it will be the most popular museum in the United States.
Getting Your Name Out
How do fine artists create a reputation and a career that will ultimately
allow commercial galleries to sell their work? Persistence is certainly one of the keys
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