How the Art World Works: Who Does What and Who Artists Deal With

An artist’s path in the profession almost always begins alone: the works are there, but there is no sense of who to show them to, or how. Hence the familiar feeling of a dead end — endless rejections, requirements that make no sense and the question “where do I go from here”.

More often than not, the problem is not the quality of the work but the fact that the art world is a system in which the roles are divided up, and each role has its own job to do. The gallerist, the curator, the dealer, the art advisor and the art manager do different things, and approaching them all with one and the same proposal is pointless. One of these roles is covered in more detail in the piece on who an art manager is and how the role differs from that of a curator.

Below we look at how it is all put together: who is who in this system, how a gallery differs from a dealer, why an artist needs an art manager, how to enter the art world and which mistakes in dealing with it are the most common.

Contents

• Why an artist needs to understand how the art world works
• Who is who: five key roles
• Gallery and dealer: how they differ
• How to enter the art world
• Mistakes in dealing with the art world

Why an artist needs to understand how the art world works

Let us start with the main point: the artist is the centre of this system. Without the artist and the artist’s works, there would be no point in everyone else’s efforts. It is worth keeping this in mind, because many people enter the art world as supplicants, and that is the wrong frame from the very start.

At the same time, an artist almost immediately has more tasks than one person can cover: making the work, documents, negotiations, exhibitions, sales, promotion, logistics. For each of these areas the art world has its own specialist — and that is exactly why it helps to know how it is organised.

The practical point is simple. Once it is clear who does what, the question “why another rejection” stops being a mystery: it usually turns out that the proposal went to the wrong person or was not put in that person’s language.

Who is who: five key roles

The gallerist. The owner of a gallery and the person who makes the final decision on whether to work with an artist. The gallerist balances between two sides: promoting artists and, at the same time, giving collectors an expert opinion on what deserves attention. A gallerist combines three functions — the entrepreneur who sells works, the communicator who opens the way for the gallery’s artists to museum projects, prizes and residencies, and the expert on contemporary art. How this working relationship is built is something we looked at in the piece on how to get into an art gallery.

The curator. Responsible for how the viewer will encounter the art. The curator devises the concept of the exhibition, selects the works that bring it out, writes the texts, talks to the press and, with the coordinator, puts the project together. What interests a curator is not an individual work but the statement it will become part of.

The art dealer. An intermediary in a sale: the dealer buys works and sells them on. A dealer’s main asset is their own pool of collectors, private and corporate. The dealer sells specific pieces and, unlike a gallery, does not take on the all-round promotion of the artist.

The art advisor. Helps collectors build their collections: an advisor knows the movements, periods and artists, and advises on purchases. Advisors rarely work with an artist directly, but it is often through them that works find their way into serious collections.

The art manager. Takes care of the artist’s strategic and organisational tasks: career planning, preparing documents, applying to open calls, organising exhibitions, art fairs and festivals. In essence, this is the person who takes everything that is not the making of art off the artist’s hands.

Gallery and dealer: how they differ

These two roles are confused more often than any others, and yet the difference between them determines what you can expect from working together.

A gallery works with the artist over the long term. It invests in the name: it stages solo exhibitions, takes the artist to art fairs, builds a pricing policy and promotes the artist in the institutional sphere. In return it counts on a lasting relationship and, often, on exclusivity.

A dealer works with the artwork. The dealer’s job is to find a buyer for a specific piece. A dealer can sell your work faster than a gallery and bring it to a collector you would otherwise have no way of reaching. But a dealer does not build your career, and you should not count on systematic promotion here.

Neither role is better than the other — they are simply about different things. The problems start when an artist expects gallery-style promotion from a dealer, or a dealer’s speed from a gallery.

A separate point worth remembering: in both cases money is involved, and that means a single pricing policy. Different prices through different channels destroy trust faster than anything else — more on this in the piece on how to price your art.

How to enter the art world

The art world is not abstract: it is made up of specific places and events where these people are physically present.

• Exhibitions and openings. Not only the big ones — at small projects it is easier to talk, and that is exactly where you find the early-career curators who in five years’ time will be making museum exhibitions.
• Art fairs. In two days you can see a cross-section of the market and get a sense of the galleries’ levels and the price ranges.
• Artist talks, lectures, public programmes. A format where you can go up to the speaker with a considered question.
• Residencies and open calls. They give you not only a line on your CV but also a circle of peers — which often proves more valuable than the programme itself.
• Professional communities and artist-run initiatives. The place where people hear about opportunities before they appear in open sources.

The main principle of networking in art: presence first, the request afterwards. People in the art world remember those they see regularly and enjoy talking to about art, not those who sent a portfolio in their very first message.

Mistakes in dealing with the art world

• One proposal for everyone. A curator is interested in the idea for an exhibition, a gallerist in saleability and fit with the programme, a dealer in a specific work for a specific buyer. The text has to be different each time.
• The supplicant’s stance. “Take me on anywhere at all” comes across instantly and works against the artist.
• A portfolio in the first message. At an opening, what is called for is a conversation; the files are sent later — if the other person has asked for them.
• Expecting instant results. Everything here works over the long haul: an acquaintance may turn into a project a year or two later.
• Talking only about yourself. Taking an interest in other people’s projects is not politeness; it is part of the profession.
• Taking a rejection personally. A rejection almost always means a mismatch with the programme, not a verdict on your art.

And one last thing. Being in demand in the art world comes down to two things: the quality of your practice and your presence. The first is your work in the studio. The second is the work outside it, and it is just as essential a part of the profession as the first.

Look at your immediate professional circle: which of these five roles are already in it, and which are missing?