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ART/WORK
Everything You Need to Know (and Do) As You Pursue Your Art Career
Table of Contents
About The Book
The definitive, must-have guide to pursuing an art career—the fully revised and updated edition of Art/Work, now in its fourteenth printing, shares the tools artists of all levels need to make it in this highly competitive field.
Originally published in 2009, Art/Work was the first practical guide to address how artists can navigate the crucial business and legal aspects of a fine art career. But the rules have changed since then, due to the proliferation of social media, increasing sophistication of online platforms, and ever more affordable digital technology. Artists have never had to work so hard to distinguish themselves—including by making savvy decisions and forging their own paths. Now Heather Bhandari, with over fifteen years of experience as a director of the popular Chelsea gallery Mixed Greens, and Jonathan Melber, a former arts/entertainment lawyer and director of an art e-commerce startup, advise a new generation of artists on how to make it in the art world.
In this revised and updated edition, Bhandari and Melber show artists how to tackle a host of new challenges. How do you diversify income streams to sustain a healthy art practice? How can you find an alternative to the gallery system? How do you review a license agreement? What are digital marketing best practices? Also included are new quotes from over thirty arts professionals, updated commission legal templates, organizational tips, tax information, and advice for artists who don’t make objects. An important resource for gallerists, dealers, art consultants, artist-oriented organizations, and artists alike, Art/Work is the resource that all creative entrepreneurs in the art world turn to for advice.
Originally published in 2009, Art/Work was the first practical guide to address how artists can navigate the crucial business and legal aspects of a fine art career. But the rules have changed since then, due to the proliferation of social media, increasing sophistication of online platforms, and ever more affordable digital technology. Artists have never had to work so hard to distinguish themselves—including by making savvy decisions and forging their own paths. Now Heather Bhandari, with over fifteen years of experience as a director of the popular Chelsea gallery Mixed Greens, and Jonathan Melber, a former arts/entertainment lawyer and director of an art e-commerce startup, advise a new generation of artists on how to make it in the art world.
In this revised and updated edition, Bhandari and Melber show artists how to tackle a host of new challenges. How do you diversify income streams to sustain a healthy art practice? How can you find an alternative to the gallery system? How do you review a license agreement? What are digital marketing best practices? Also included are new quotes from over thirty arts professionals, updated commission legal templates, organizational tips, tax information, and advice for artists who don’t make objects. An important resource for gallerists, dealers, art consultants, artist-oriented organizations, and artists alike, Art/Work is the resource that all creative entrepreneurs in the art world turn to for advice.
About The Authors
Coke Wisdom O'Neal
Heather Darcy Bhandari is a director of Mixed Greens Gallery in New York City. She has curated over 40 exhibitions at Mixed Greens while managing and advising a roster of nearly two-dozen artists. She also regularly curates independent shows. Heather lectures at career-development programs at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Rhode Island School of Design, Georgia State University and Hunter College.
Coke Wisdom O'Neal
Jonathan Melber is a litigator at a prominent arts-and-entertainment law firm. He represents artists, galleries and collectors, as well as a host of creative individuals and companies in the entertainment world.
Product Details
- Publisher: Free Press (March 24, 2009)
- Length: 304 pages
- ISBN13: 9781416572381
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Raves and Reviews
"This book is a godsend...it should be required reading in fine arts curricula." -- Santa Fe New Mexican
"I'll bet this powerful little paperback finds a permanent home on the list of best business books for artists.... The contract, invoice and inventory templates alone are worth the cover price." -- The Artist's Magazine
"Together [the authors] make for a powerful combo, offering both extensive knowledge of the gallery system and the ins and outs of art law, for some well-founded tips on how to succeed in the art world...it's the perfect gift for anyone working in a creative field." -- CoolHunting.com
"This book is filled with the kind of nuts-and-bolts business advice every artist needs to read." -- ArtBistro.com
"Bhandari and Melber, both Brown University graduates, have drawn on their own experiences and interviews with 100 curators, dealers, and other arts professionals to offer advice on everything from preparing artwork for shipping to coping with rejection." -- Boston Globe
"Emerging curators, along with established curators who work with living artists, would do well to read it, as would art dealers and workers at nonprofit spaces or organizations.... One unique aspect of the book is the quotes in the margin -- from high-profile artists and well-known professionals who've been around the block. Shamim Momin from the Whitney Museum and Peter Eleey of the Walker Art Center talk about how they meet new artists and visit their studios, and Seattle gallerist James Harris underscores the importance artists' websites have when he looks for new work to show." -- College Art Association News
"...even those who have no interest in the art world may find Art/Work of use. Their instructions on how to pack objects for example, are so thorough, only the most dexterously challenged will find difficulty executing them. What's more, should this book reach the majority of working artists today, the quality of gallery staff life would improve by a level of magnitude..." -- Paddy Johnson for The L Magazine
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): ART/WORK eBook 9781416572381
- Author Photo (jpg): Heather Darcy Bhandari Coke Wisdom O'Neal(1.3 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit
- Author Photo (jpg): Jonathan Melber Coke Wisdom O'Neal(1.1 MB)
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