What is a workbook?
Who is the author?
Why was it written?
Who is it for?
Why should I believe what's in this book?
Is it guaranteed?
Aren't juried shows just a waste of time?
Aren't public art opportunities just for huge sculptures?
Will being in juried shows get me into a gallery?
What is a purchase prize?
How can I tell if a opportunity is legit?
Why should I avoid commercial galleries that charge entry fees?
Can I earn a living doing art?
What is The Art Opportunities Book: Finding, Entering and Winning?
A workbook to help you be more successful in your art career. You can use it to find the shows, grants, fellowships and other calls for artists that are right for you, and it will teach you how to get into them and garner the financial support you deserve. The book is the result of years of gathering and collating information from questionnaires sent to hundreds of artists, consultants and art show jurors and through email, phone and live interviews with highly experienced artists and art world insiders.
What is a workbook?
In addition to being chock full of useful information, The Art Opportunities Book has dozens of questions to help you discover the most useful course for you to pursue. You can write your answers directly in the spaces provided in the book or make copies of the questionnaires to fill in as your career progresses. The book also has several work sheets to help you track where your art is, what shows are coming up and the actual profit or loss on a particular piece. Because the 123 pages are bound using Spiral-O™ wire bindings, you can open it all the way or lay it flat. Who is the author?
Benny Shaboy is the primary author, but he is quick to acknowledge the valuable contributions of dozens of artists and art world insiders. In addition, there is an article on shooting slides by Raymond St. Arnaud, a Canadian based artist, photographer and writer, and an article on Mail Art, by Tamara Wyndham, a New York based painter, printmaker and mail artist. Benny, the founding editor of studioNOTES and Art Opportunities Monthly, was trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and elsewhere. In his quest to provide useful and accurate information for working artists at all levels of their careers, he has interviewed and written about such artists as William T. Wiley, Nathan Oliveira, Evan Lindquist, Stelarc, Jim Melchert, Roy De Forest, Manuel Neri, Lynda Barry, Beth Yarnelle Edwards and many others. He has also interviewed and written about collectors such as Rene di Rosa and art historians such as Peter Selz. He has been a guest artist/resource speaker at several art schools and art organizations, has served as a juror for art competitions and has been a consultant to galleries. Why was it written?
Good artists are not always accepted into juried competitions for which they are well qualified. Often, if they are accepted, they don't win the prizes they deserve. The same sort of thing happens with grants, fellowships, residencies and other competitions. Sometimes it's because a juror doesn't respond to the work, but many times it is because the artist made one of a dozen mistakes that can kill his or her chances. Frequently artists submit work to competitions that are wrong for them. Or they don't know about the right ones in the first place. The result of these missteps is loss of money, waste of time, frustration and giving up too soon.
We believe that an artist's time, talent, money and energy are too valuable to be squandered through lack of information, misinformation or inadequate understanding. The Art Opportunities Book is a real, and we believe, effective, attempt to rectify those shortcomings and thereby make the life of each artist deeper and more productive. Kind of grandiose perhaps, but there it is. Who is it for?
The Art Opportunities Book is for artists working in any media and in any style. The material in it applies to those working in virtually any geographic location. (Many shows, fellowships, grants and other competitions accept entries from all over the world.) Artists who have little experience will find it especially valuable. Artists who have tried to be accepted into juried shows or get grants but who have met with little success will discover what they have been doing wrong and how to correct it. The book has also proved useful to experienced artists who are seeking new venues and want to go about it effectively.
Why should I believe what's in this book?
The contributors to The Art Opportunities Book have hundreds of years of real experience among them. In part because they trust the publisher, but primarily because of their generous natures, these artists and art world insiders have been open and honest about their experiences. But what's in this book isn't the final answer. It's just a very good one, which you can build on, and which will save you time, money and grief. Is it guaranteed?
The Art Opportunities Book is guaranteed to substantially improve your chances of finding and getting into or winning art competitions--if you read it and use it. If you just put it on your bookshelf and don't use it, it's guaranteed not to make a difference.
Aren't juried shows just a waste of time?
Yes, if all you do is once in a while send off a check and some slides to a juried show just because you happened to glance at an announcement for it at a time when your mind wasn't on anything else. If you don't enter the right shows with the right work and prepare your slides and materials correctly, you might as well be buying lottery tickets with the money. It's a different story, though, if you pay attention and do things right, especially if you have a plan that makes sense.
Aren't public art opportunities just for huge sculptures?
Big misconception. There are actually public art opportunities for work already made--including paintings, prints and photographs. On top of that, there are a number of opportunities for artists in virtually every medium, even artists with no experience in public art. It is true, however, that the huge commissions ($50,000 to $1,000,000 or more) go to artists with significant experience in the field. But they all started somewhere.
Will being in juried shows get me into a gallery?
Not immediately; at least the odds are against it. But a résumé showing a string of impressive shows will help convince a gallery that you are serious and dedicated. What is a purchase prize?
A purchase prize is given by some juried shows. It means they get to keep your artwork for their collection and you get the money for it. Usually there is a limit to how much money you will get, but it is often quite generous. How can I tell if a opportunity is legit?
Unfortunately, there are a number of scams out there that prey on eager and trusting artists. Anyone can claim to have a gallery and put out a call for artists. One simple fraud is to just take the entry fees and send back rejection letters to all. A variant is to send acceptance letters to all, but say there is a handling charge of $60-$100 for accepted works. The work is sent to a warehouse and the perpetrator takes off with the entry fees and the handling charges, sometimes also with the work.
The best way to avoid the scams is to check out the prospectus carefully. Is it too amateurish looking? Is it too slick, too full of hype? If the show is really associated with a university or college or an art center, it is legit. The monthly publication Art Opportunities Monthly, checks all entries before publication, but this is not necessarily true of all listing services. If you are in doubt about any particular opportunity, you can contact the publishers and we'll tell you what we know.
Why should I avoid commercial galleries that charge entry fees?
Briefly, commercial galleries, like other retail businesses, are supposed to make their profit from what they sell. A commercial gallery that wants to charge you to look at your slides or otherwise review your work is telling you that it believes that it doesn't have the ability to sell artwork but that it can make money directly from artists by charging them a fee to do what other galleries do for free. In short, it is asking you to be an investor in their commercial enterprise. If you get into the show, your chances of getting a return on your investment are slim; if you don't get in, they are nil.
Can I earn a living doing art?
It's not easy, but little is. There are many more artists who are not making a living at their art than there are who are. The ones who are successful financially, though, have drive, organizational ability and good business sense. Often they also have luck. But it's not a crap shoot: the ones who have the best luck tend to be the ones who have the most desire to "make it happen," so they work at it and are always open to possibilities. And always prepared when an opportunity opens up.
Got a question? contact us.
