If you are a creative practitioner you may have experienced this feeling before; the feeling of frustration and bewilderment at having to pay for yet another Artist Open Call. You’re probably already aware that there are infinite shows and exhibitions to apply for, and more and more of them are charging artists just to submit their work.
Not to be in a show, not to take a commission on a sale, but purely for the privilege of LOOKING at the artist’s work.
BUT WHY?
The question I keep asking myself is why?
Why are these galleries and curators charging?
Why are artists paying for them?
Why is no one speaking up about this?
Why has it become the norm?
Over the years I have seen an increasing amount of art exhibitions, competitions and open calls charge artists to apply to shows. It has left a lot of artists feeling like they have no other choice than to pay to be seen.
In what other profession do you have to pay to be seen? If you are an accountant, for example, do you pay for a company to read your CV? Will they say to that person, “If you don’t pay us first then we won’t have the funds to read your CV.” When an actor goes to an audition are they expected to pay for it? No. So why in the art world is this acceptable behaviour?
Sadly, it’s because they can. We can challenge this though, by choosing open calls that don’t charge.
I don’t think it’s morally right to charge an artist to submit their artwork to be looked at. I completely understand that once chosen there may be a fee and/or a commission, but it isn’t up to artists to fund someone else’s business. If galleries, exhibitions and curators need the artist to pay in order to be able to put on the show or to give a cash prize then they’re probably not looking to make good relationships with artists. Exhibitions should be supported by grants, sponsors or arts funding, not emerging artists and students who are already having to work more than one job to support their practice.
With all this in mind, many artists struggle to decide if they should pay for an open call, how much to pay, and if so, which ones are worth the money? The answer will be different for everyone but I have a few tips and tricks to stay on track.