Which works to produce for / show at ARTmART?

It is challenging: works that can be sold for 80€ and at the same time represent your artistic position authentically and have the power to create lasting interest in your artistic position.

ARTmART contributes to broaden the audiences for contemporary art production (also the buying audiences).  It attracts visitors affiliated to the art world (gallerists, collectors, journalists, other professionals working in culture…) as well as persons whose contact with contemporary art is more casual and occasional.

Ideally artists use their participation in ARTmART to stimulate new attention for their work and manage to tie the generated interest permanently.
Buyers reserve pieces by writing their name, email and phone-number into the form (artists who have works in the storage can sell immediately, but should not forget to collect this information nonetheless).
In the future these buyers will 1) receive information on the artists activities and 2) be reminded by the artists work in their homes (a special moment: when the artwork is introduced to guests in that home…).

The past years have shown that many lasting realtionships were established.  Finally leading to extension of invitation lists of artists, visits to exhibitions, studio visits and eventually the purchase of other works at “normal” market prices.

Consequently, high sales figures are not the ultimate sucess at ARTmART, but being found by “the right audience” that is persistently interested in the work of an artist.
While the temptation of quickly making some money is very understandable:
We stress the importance of displaying works, which represent the artist authentically instead of “best-sellers” which are less connected to the artist’s specific qualities and the rest of her/his portfolio.

Testing unpublished ideas:
The special format of ARTmART is suitable to put new ideas to a test by producing a series of works.
To be clearly visible within the ARTmART Format we ask every artist to show at least 7 artworks.
With limited wallspace for every artist, large-sized works are not an option.  Every artist has to calculate the material- and time-investment per piece depending on the approach taken for her/his presentation in ARTmART.  The possible dimensions for artworks are: longest side up to 60cm while no edge is shorter than 20cm.  In case your ideas exceed this size limitation for a good reason, contact us well in advance and maybe we can find a solution.  In order to create an aesthetically consistent strip of the wall it is adviseable to think in series from the very start.  Visual consistency can also encourage collectors to buy more than one work (the 80€/piece make this affordable).

“The eyes of the beholder move in mysterious ways”.  Even with many years of experience in this exhibition-format it is usually not possible for us (organizers and artists who participated in the project many times) to predict the success of certain works in an ARTmART/cheapart exhibition (not even right before the opening when the exhibiton is ready).

Several factors play a role:
– aesthetics (obviously :)
– innovativeness and uniqueness of works
– reputation of the artist
(our audience in a large part is well informed)
– being there and available for the audience
(…but not in a sales-agent manner)

Even for experienced collectors the personal exchange with the artist is usually very much appreciated and adds to the perception of the work.

Even if 80 cm of the wall (per artist) are a limitation, works that are innovative, unusual and extraordinary contribute a lot to the attractiveness of ARTmART.  There is a certain number of sockets and areas of the floor available for presenting works.  We also welcome alternative forms of presentation on the wall – just let us know well ahead.
It is a priority for us to allow egalitarian presentation for all artists without any positions trying to use their space in an inadequate manner – if in doubt, contact and coordinate with us as early as possible.  In case you never visited an ARTmART before, find orientation in the pictures here on the website (especially in the “press review” section).
Within these limitations our effort is to make things possible.
Please, keep in mind, that it is crucial that we are informed of all special presentations weeks before the exhibition, so we can coordinate.