Embracing the Tradition: The Artist as Curator
Artists have always been visionaries. Throughout history, they've channeled resilience and passion, forging their own ways when traditional institutions may have turned their work away. It's more than a mere show—it's about controlling one's narrative, reclaiming power, and establishing an enduring legacy for your work.
Watch our free masterclass here on how to uplevel your art career with exhibitions.
Creating your own exhibition is an opportunity to show the world what you're made of while attracting sales and growing your business. Let's be practical; as much as we care about our work, to sustain our careers, we need to keep the lights on and put food on the table. Self-curated exhibitions are not merely acts of rebellion but rather declarations of self-advocacy. They offer artists a chance to intimately connect with enthusiasts and potential collectors, sharing their stories and work in a way that suits them best.
For fellow art history lovers, the books "Ninth Street Women" and "In Montmartre: Picasso, Matisse, and the Birth of Modernist Art" exhibit how artists throughout history created their own opportunities.
Mary Gabriel's "Ninth Street Women" captures the essence of the "9th Street Art Exhibition" of 1951—a landmark moment for the New York School of artists. Organized by the artists themselves, it stood as an alternative to mainstream galleries, setting a new paradigm for avant-garde work.
Meanwhile, Sue Roe's "In Montmartre" offers an enlightening perspective on Paris's Montmartre district during the early 20th century. Embedded within its pages is the legacy of two influential self-organized exhibitions: the "Salon des Indépendants" and the "Salon d'Automne". While the former (established in 1884) championed freedom by discarding jury selection, the latter (inaugurated in 1903) became a hotspot for the avant-garde, especially the Fauvists.
If you're an artist whose big goal is to align with major institutions and eventually work with a gallery, consider this: Why wait for the door to open when you can create your own pathway?
Gita Joshi and I (Ekaterina Popova) invite you to create your own legacy by curating your own exhibitions for yourself or others. Our signature program, "Your Own Art Show", is designed to guide you through this journey.
Study at your own pace. In four weeks or less, you can be popping champagne at your own art opening and placing those red dots under your art.
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