Show notes
I was watching The Big Deal, the new programme with Steph McGovern on the BBC, and I came away with more thoughts than will fit into one episode. Most of them can wait. Today I want to use one thing from it, because it landed directly on top of something that comes up in my membership every single week.
An artist has made a body of work. It went out once, into one exhibition, and it didn't sell. Now it's in the studio taking up space, and the question arrives in one of three forms. Should I auction it off cheap? Should I give it away? Should it even be on my website anymore?
So, three questions, and every one of them is a plan for getting rid.
It is interesting the speed at which the artist brain goes to disposal. The work has been out once…. and already the conclusion is that it's spent, it's evidence of something that didn't work, and that the fastest way back to feeling alright is to make it disappear. And underneath that is something bigger - artists hate the idea of selling.
Yet, I know that every artist can turn their graveyard of pieces that did not sell into a living archive that attracts collectors.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Unsold work is not failed work. That back catalogue you’re quietly ashamed of might be the best thing someone new to it sees this year. Your job is not to hide it, but to remember why you made it and let it back into circulation.
An aversion to the idea of sales holds you back. Selling doesn’t require you to become louder, slicker, more salesy. It’s shared enthusiasm. When you reconnect with the ideas, stories, and processes behind a piece, you can talk about it in a way that lets other people decide whether it’s for them.
You need a simple practice. One older piece a month: document it properly, write a short note about where it came from, and release it through your newsletter, socials, or a personal email.
BEST MOMENTS
“The work in the corner of your studio isn't waiting to be disposed of. It's waiting for you to remember why you made it and share your enthusiasm for it.”
“You have to sell yourself on the work first before you try to sell the work to anybody else.”
“She started looking for her people, her collectors, the ones already half interested in what she was interested in.”
If you want more of this in your inbox every week, subscribe to my newsletter Beat the Block cerihand.com/subscribe and it’ll land in your inbox every Friday.
EPISODE RESOURCES
How to sell more art episode - https://podcasts.apple.com/tw/podcast/want-to-sell-more-art-fix-this-first/id1709105337?i=1000700986682
HOST BIO
With over 35 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She has sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.
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