Does an Artist Need an Art Manager? What They Do and When to Look for One

An artist fairly soon has more tasks than will fit into one day. There are works to make, photograph and describe, applications to send off, agreements to reach, places to exhibit and buyers to sell to — and after all that, the works still have to be packed and shipped. As things stand, making art ends up at the bottom of the list — and that is the main reason why the profession has a separate role, that of the art manager.

There is a good deal of confusion around this role, though. Some see the art manager as a salesperson, some as a spare pair of hands, some as a gallerist minus the gallery. Let us look at what an art manager actually does. If you are trying the role on for yourself rather than looking for someone to fill it, start with the piece on what an art manager is and what they do.

Below we look at who an art manager is and how they differ from the other players in the art world, which tasks they take on, when it is time to look for one, how to set up the working relationship and what to do while there is no such person at your side.

Contents

• Who an art manager is
• Which tasks an art manager takes on
• When it is time for an artist to look for one
• How to set up the working relationship
• What to do while you have no manager

Who an art manager is

An art manager takes care of the artist’s strategic and organisational tasks. They plan the career, prepare the documents, negotiate with venues, and organise exhibitions, art fairs and participation in festivals.

The key difference from the other roles is that the art manager works on the artist’s side. The gallerist represents the interests of the gallery and its programme. The curator is responsible for the exhibition and its statement. The dealer sells specific pieces to their own collectors. The art manager builds the career of one particular artist and keeps that artist’s long-term trajectory in mind rather than a single project. How the other roles work is something we looked at in the piece on the art world and its players.

A good art manager knows their way around the art world: they understand which curator works on what, which venues are good for what, and who to approach with a particular project. In essence, it is navigation plus execution.

Which tasks an art manager takes on

The work falls into two halves: the strategic and the organisational.

Strategy and positioning. Building the artist’s image and presence in the art world, planning where to apply and in what order, negotiating with galleries and institutions, working with the media, and setting the pricing policy together with the artist.

Organisation and production. Preparing and updating the package of documents, applying to open calls and residencies, planning exhibitions, logistics and installation, budgets and cost estimates, coordinating contractors, documenting projects.

Sales. If the manager is attached to a gallery or handles the artist’s sales, this also includes negotiating with buyers, drawing up the paperwork for each sale and holding to a single set of prices — why this is essential is something we wrote about in the piece on how to price your art.

The whole arrangement has a single purpose: to take off the artist’s hands whatever is not the making of art — without losing anything in the quality of the decisions being made.

When it is time for an artist to look for one

There is no universal moment, but there are signs you will recognise.

• Organisational tasks have crowded out the studio. If the last two months have gone on correspondence and logistics and there are no new works, that is already a problem.
• There are more opportunities than you can keep up with. Missed open-call deadlines are a typical symptom.
• Projects with complex logistics have appeared. Large pieces, transport, installation that involves specialists.
• Sales have started. This calls for clear rules, documents and someone to handle the negotiations.
• You are starting to work with international venues. A different language, different requirements, visas, customs.

And the other side of the coin: while you have few works and almost no exhibition history, a manager will not be much help. At the start the task is a different one — to build up a practice and put your documents together — and it is worth doing that yourself, so that you understand how your own profession works.

How to set up the working relationship

Agree the terms before you start. What is part of the job and what is not; how the work is paid for — a fixed fee, a percentage of sales or a mix of the two; who makes the decisions on prices and on taking part in projects; how often you catch up with each other.

Put it in writing. Even where trust is complete, agreements on percentages, exclusivity and rights have to exist as a written text.

Do not hand over everything. The artist remains the author of the decisions about their own practice. A manager helps you choose, but does not choose for you which themes you work with.

Check that you are a match. This person has to understand your art and share your idea of where you are heading. A strong specialist who sees things through a different lens will pull your career in the wrong direction, and that is worse than having no manager at all.

What to do while you have no manager

Most artists work without one for a long time — and that is normal. Here is what helps you keep things in order on your own:

• Keep your documents ready. An up-to-date CV, artist statement and portfolio spare you half of the last-minute emergencies.
• Keep a calendar of deadlines. Open calls, residencies, competitions — with the dates and a list of what needs to be prepared.
• Track the money project by project. A simple spreadsheet of expenses and income shows which lines of work are paying off and which only take up your time.
• Set aside an admin day. One day a week for correspondence, applications and logistics is better than a scramble spread thinly across every day.
• Bring people in for specific jobs. A photographer to shoot the works, an installer for the exhibition, an accountant for the financial reporting — this costs less than a permanent manager and covers the heaviest parts of the load.

Two of the artist’s tasks never go away: making good art and making it visible. An art manager is needed at exactly the point where the second task starts eating up the first.

Add up how many hours you spent in the studio last week, and how many on correspondence and organising. What ratio did you get?