With my next solo exhibition, ‘The 100 Embroideries Project’ just around the corner, I am fully immersed in all the little last-minute details and preparations that are needed to bring the show together.
You would think that all of the work in preparing for an exhibition lies in the making of the physical artwork.
Nope.
That is only one part of the overall exhibition organisation machine.
Of course, making the work is a huge part of the process (and arguable the most important part) but there are loads of other things that need to be done to make sure that an exhibition runs smoothly.
Each artwork needs to be photographed, framed, and catalogued. Certificates of authenticity need to be created and assigned to each piece. The artworks then need to be safely wrapped for delivery to the gallery. Finally, I need to make sure that the gallery has the correct inventory information for each artwork I am putting in the show.
There are 109 artworks in this exhibition, plus two limited edition prints! So, I need to provide really clear and correct information about each artwork to the gallery so there are no miscommunications between us, and no mistakes are made.
Phew.
Sounds like a lot of work right?
It is.
But I have been exhibiting my work for many years now and I think I have a pretty good system in place to make all of this last-minute prep as streamlined as possible.
Why you want to be an organised artist.
Artists have this generalised reputation of being disorganised and unreliable. I hate that my chosen profession has this kind of label and I try to disprove it any chance I get.
Being an organised artist isn’t hard and it shouldn’t be seen as ‘extra work’. It is just part of being a professional and running a good business.
I believe that the secret to being organised is to develop good systems for all of the aspects of your business and to make sure you use those systems. Simple as that.
A big part of getting organised for an exhibition like this one is having a good inventory record system in place so you have all the information about your artworks, as well as good images of your artworks at your fingertips whenever you (or the gallery) need them.
I think I have finally found a pretty good system for keeping track of my inventory. It works for me anyway. So I’m going to let you in on the secret. But first, I want to tell you about how bad I was at keeping inventory records in the past.
How (badly) I organised my art inventory in the past
I know that it is important to keep detailed records of what I make and sell. That is just the basics of running a good business. But, I have to admit that I used to be really bad at this side of things. I was initially just interested in making the work. The background admin work wasn’t something enjoyed, so it was something I neglected. But, as my career progressed and my art business became more successful it all caught up with me and it became apparent that I needed to get on top of my inventory records.
I started to keep a very basic Excel spreadsheet to record my inventory and sales. I know some people love spreadsheets, they are probably the same people who actually know how to use them.
But, that is not me.
I really dislike spreadsheets.
To me they are clumsy (at least the way I used them), they are ugly, and I can’t easily marry them up with images of the artworks I was cataloguing. As an artist and a very visual person, the pictures are so important.
So my early attempts at spreadsheets were just not cutting it. As a result, I was really slack about keeping my spreadsheet updated, and they were pretty much useless as records.
How I organise my inventory today
After struggling with my poorly managed spreadsheets for years, I eventually went searching for a better solution because I knew I needed one. I was after a system that was easy to use and that I actually enjoyed using. If the system didn’t tick these two boxes I knew I wouldn’t use it and my inventory records would continue to be neglected. Which, let’s be honest, is really bad for business.
I eventually found Artwork Archive, which is an art inventory platform. At first, I was hesitant to pay for a service that I was (sort of) doing myself already with my (crappy) spreadsheets. But, after playing with the software during the free trial period, I realised how powerful a tool it was and how specific it was to an artist’s needs. It made my record-keeping processes easy and it was nice to use. So, I happily signed up and I haven’t looked back.
I have been using this online software for a few years now and it has revolutionised my inventory keeping systems and saved me so much time overall. I can honestly say that I am now a much more organised artist—which is a great feeling.
Like any software or inventory system, you need to actually consistently use it for it to be effective. You do need to put in the work and enter the data about each artwork and that can take a fair bit of time (especially when I had over 100 new entries to make for this exhibition). But, once the data is in, it’s safe, it’s organised and there are lots of little bonus time-saving things that you can do with the entries you have created.
One of the features that I love and use a lot, especially when prepping for an exhibition, is the ‘reports’ feature. Using this feature, I can create inventory lists, portfolios, tear sheets, and wall labels pretty much instantly. I used to spend soooo long creating these kinds of documents in the past. Many a frustrating evening was spent struggling to find and organise all the appropriate information about my artworks into a Word document that looked halfway decent. Now I can create these documents quickly and easily in Artwork Archive—literally with the click of a few buttons. It’s magic.
The inventory report feature is what I use to get the gallery a really comprehensive list of information about the artworks in the show.
Using the same reports feature, I also created a range of portfolio pages to go with the exhibition. These are documents that can be easily passed onto interested customers digitally to show them all of the artworks included in the exhibition.
I also quite like the ’tear sheet’ feature. I have used this to make quick little booklets/catalogues of artworks to accompany an exhibition. We all know how people viewing an exhibition like to walk around with (and walk away with) a little paper catalogue. The tear sheets work perfectly for that, even with 100+ pieces in the show.
So, long story short.
I won’t just be turning up at the gallery on artwork-drop-off-day with a stack of random embroideries and leave it up to them to make sense of it all. That is a sure-fire way to never be asked to exhibit with that gallery again.
I prepared and sent my artist statement, a detailed inventory report and a few of these other ‘report’ goodies to the gallery weeks ahead of the show. The gallery now knows what the exhibition is all about and what they will be receiving from me come drop-off-day. No surprises, no miscommunication and no mistakes.
Being organised like this makes the whole process easier for both of us. And you know what? The galleries LOVE me for doing all of this stuff! So often, I have had galleries comment that they love to work with me because I am so organised and I make their jobs easier.
Now that is the kind of reputation an artist wants!
Pssst …. if you want to try out Artwork Archive for yourself, they offer a 30 day free trial. Learn more here.
You can also get 20% off your first year if you sign up using THIS SPECIAL LINK. Just click the yellow ‘sign up now’ button at the top of the page to access the discount.
