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How to negotiate an exhibition
A guide for artists and arts organisers to creating a mutually-beneficial relationship.
In the world in general, when someone offers something - a house for sale, a job, work from a tradesperson, a proposal of marriage even - this is generally the opening gambit in a negotiation process by which what has been offered will be discussed and in the process, either adjusted to create something of mutual benefit, or declined. But in the visual arts there is a tendency for the offer of an exhibition by a gallery to an artist to be taken at face value and either accepted or rejected. In particular, there's a tendency nowadays for arts organisations to offer an artist a show, with the immediate comment that there's "no budget" to cover any costs connected to getting it up. Straight cash, however, is only one aspect of what an artist needs from a show, and a gallery could offer much in the way of in-kind support, professional introductions and critical appraisal. This is where negotiation comes in. This guide sets out a mechanism for a collaborative negotiation, through which artist and gallery share their respective aspirations and intentions for a proposed exhibition, and negotiate in order to arrive at a 'win-win' situation: one in which both feel comfortable about what...
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