One of my Facebook friends just held an exhibition and sold nothing and was quite despondent about it. I know this happens a lot so thought I would add some advice here in that regard:
Everybody, myself included, have failed exhibitions and it rips a hole through your heart when that happens because you have put your heart and your soul into your paintings.
What you want to do when this happens to you is use it as an opportunity to learn and grow.
Sit down afterwards and see what you can do better next time by asking yourself some tough questions, and more importantly giving yourself some tough answers.
Ask yourself things like:
Venue
Was this a good venue? Was it easy to find? Was the lighting good? Was it close to my target customers? etc.
Marketing
Did I get enough people though the door? Where can I advertise to get more people to come? Did I target the right people? Was I collecting names and emails so I can invite them to my next exhibition? etc.
Visitors
Where the people that saw my art buyers? Could I have made them more excited before the exhibition? Did they have the money to pay my prices? etc.
Artworks
Was the quality of the artworks on display comparable to others in the area? Was there a sense of coherency between the paintings on display? Were my prices comparable to artists of similar quality and recognition in my area? Did the subject of the artworks appeal to the people that came? etc.
By answering these questions afterwards you will come away with a better understanding of what you did wrong and where you can improve next time.
Write these down to form an action plan, then start organising your next exhibition.....
