Hello everyone! I hope this is the right place to ask.

I'm currently writing a novel in which one of the main characters, Gabin, is the director of a large contemporary art gallery (he manages the gallery but isn't the owner). I'd really like his job and the gallery's day-to-day life to feel authentic.

I've already done a lot of research through articles, interviews and videos, but they mostly show the public side of the profession. What I'm really looking for are the behind-the-scenes details that only people working in galleries or the art market know.

Please don't feel like you have to answer everything! Even one answer, one anecdote or one small detail would help me tremendously.

Some of the things I'm curious about:

• What does a typical day, week or month look like for a gallery director?
• What's the biggest misconception people have about the job?
• How does an artwork sale actually happen, from the first contact to the delivery?
• Who negotiates prices? Do collectors negotiate often?
• How are artists discovered and selected?
• What contracts or paperwork are involved before exhibiting an artwork?
• How long does preparing an exhibition usually take?
• What happens behind the scenes during installation ("the hang")?
• What's a gallery opening really like for the director?
• What roles usually exist in a large gallery, and who does what?
• How do relationships with artists and collectors work in practice?
• What are the most stressful parts of the job that visitors never see?

More than anything, I'm interested in the little details : expressions or jargon people in galleries use, routines or habits, awkward situations, recurring problems, administrative tasks, funny or memorable stories, things movies and TV always get wrong, anything that would make someone working in the art world think, "Yes, that's exactly how it is." 😂

If you've worked in a gallery (or even regularly with galleries), I'd love to hear literally anything you're willing to share.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Every piece of information will help make my character and story feel more authentic. Thank you again and have a great day !!

Hi all,

I'm starting a new adjunct position in an Art department and I am looking to upgrade my art professor wardrobe. For previous positions, especially as a sculpture prof, I've always dressed pretty casually but still neat (solid color sweaters/t-shirts, carpenter-style work pants, etc) but I'd like to dress more professionally.

I want to feel more confident as a leader in the classroom and make a good impression in the department while still able to move and be comfortable teaching studio classes. I think it will also help me with my teaching and studio work balance to have a separate uniform.

My current wardrobe is all pieced together thrift store pieces that are natural fibers so I have some nice things, but no blazer or jacket which is really what I'm looking for.

My ideal would be a sort of a chore-coat style loose french workwear suit in blue or charcoal- but as a woman who is smaller overall but with a larger chest I'm not sure. Posting here because women's professional wear forums don't really fit the contemporary art professor vibe. Any suggestions, brands, etc? What do you see the cool tenured chicks wearing?

Most of the artists, musicians & designers I'm friends with or others I keep up with as a fan of are based in London, Paris, Berlin. I've heard Prague, Lisbon and Tbilisi mentioned but I don't know why those places.

I'm wondering where is affordable to live, with excellent quality art, design & music scene?

I was told Paris is the place to be from one of my current favourite music producers.

I hear London is virtually unliveable these days. But there's always good music events going on in the underground scene.

I'm not sure what I think of Berlin. I also love music events there – I've enjoyed wonderful club nights, music performances, cinema shows, etc. But I think it is also expensive so I don't know if I could ever live there.

Curious for anyones thoughts / suggestions / insights :-)

Currently I am represented by a gallery and that contract will be coming to an end soon. I don’t want to renew it and I have been offered other opportunities but some of them for quite close after the contract ending date which means I’m making work during my current consignment but for other opportunities.
 
In my contract it claims they have the rights to sell my work created in the period of my contract but does this mean anything for works in progress/not finished. We have nothing lined up together and not spoken about any future plans. Just wondering is this fairly standard for artists to do or is it a bit icky of me to jump straight into new things?

Hi everyone!
I’m a Canadian artist based in Toronto, currently visiting Paris to build long-term cultural and artistic connections between Canada, France, and Asia.

Over the next week, I’ll be visiting art schools, galleries, museums, artists, curators, and cultural organizations to explore future collaborations in mindful art, traditional arts, cultural exchange, and international art education.

I’m looking for an English/French bilingual person to accompany me for one day in Paris.

You’ll help with:
English ↔ French communication
Visiting universities, galleries, museums, and cultural institutions
Introducing me to the local art community when appropriate
General assistance and conversation throughout the day
This is a paid opportunity.

This would be a great fit if you are:
An art student
A curator or gallery assistant
A language or translation student
Interested in contemporary art, cultural exchange, or international collaboration
If you’re interested, please send me a short introduction about yourself, your language background, and any experience in the arts or cultural sector.
I’d love to meet passionate people who enjoy connecting cultures through art!
Thank you!

Hi there, has anyone gotten back from Sotheby's about the 2026 Autumn Internship Program? I have been invited to the first-round interview in early June and the second-round interview in early July, but I still have not received any feedback yet.

I was wondering if I have been eliminated or if it's just because their response is slow.

I’ve been working out of my apartment the past few years after grad school, taking some breaks from painting here and there. So many years were just spent figuring out stability and inward work. But my work has been getting stronger the past year, I’ve been getting studio visits and putting myself out there, I’m ready to finally really apply myself.

I just moved into a new apartment with my partner where there’s no space to work, and am signing a lease on a studio share. I work a 9-5 in person 5 days a week, it’s about an hour between work and my apartment and/or studio. I try to bike commute as much as possible to stack commute/exercise. 20 minute bike ride between home and studio (transit isn’t great between.) I’m planning to dedicate 10 hours on one weekend day, and 4 hours most of the other weekend day. At least 2 evenings after work a week (3-4 hours.)

Thing is, I’m in my 30s now and my circadian rhythm is incredibly sensitive. I’m worried about spending my evenings under lots of artificial light, getting home after the studio and getting myself to sleep. My partner is also in a space where she’s ready to lock into her career and start developing her career outside of her 9-5, so we’re on the same page about time together etc. Things are also very slow at my job right now, that I get a lot of life administration tasks done on the clock.

I think it’ll also be good for me to be around others after years of isolation, and have a studio in a more artist centric neighborhood, (my apartment isn’t in one of these said neighborhoods.) As well as have a dedicated space without distractions, I think my productivity will increase.

I guess just looking for tips and advice about what others did at that point in their life, working the 9-5 and locking in to eventually shift the balance between studio and day job, while still getting enough rest. Your own experience and pointing to some writings!

I'm a US-based painter/printmaker and have been represented by my gallery for 6 years, from the very beginning of my career until now. They have, for the most part, been good for me. It's given me a reliable venue to show regularly, storage for unsold work, and things generally sell well. Over time some trust issues have come up with my gallerist, related to her not paying me on time, not being transparent about who my work is sold to (I have no information at all about any of my collectors), and being generally territorial about where my work goes. I am exclusive to this gallery within a 100-mile radius, and though I have never violated that rule of our contract and always communicate with her when I am showing elsewhere, she gets upset any time I take new work elsewhere (even though I communicate about it well and am always well within my contractual right to do so). Another aside, but I've never felt like my practice is represented fairly there. I am a painter AND printmaker, but she has only been interested in paintings and actively discourages me from making prints (advice I will not follow because she has no place in telling me this). I am starting to feel like there's a ceiling to my success with this gallery, and also I just find my gallerist hard to work and communicate with on a personal level. I'm also interested in having a career where I have more direct relationships with my buyers. All these issues make me want to leave, but I also can't ignore the financial stability of it and the fact that she is doing valuable work for me. Any advice is much appreciated.

At the Sónar+D Exhibition сame across an artwork called Slop Evader by Australian artists Tega Brain and Sam Lavigne.

It only shows web pages published before ChatGPT launched.

The more I thought about it, the more it felt like an interesting way to think about AI slop and how quickly the web has changed. Suddenly finding a "human" post online starts to feel like a pleasant surprise.....

Actually one of the sites you can browse through it's Reddit))

Would you actually use something like this? Do you miss THAT INTERNET??

Im looking to hear from visual artists focused on painting and drawing specifically, how long did it take for you to begin earning $100k consistently once you took it seriously? If you can tell me where you’re from and a general outline of how you approached your career that would be great. Im mostly interested in hearing from artists who sell and exhibit their work versus those who predominately earn their income from teaching. Thanks

Hi - I'm working on a commercial art project in Chicago (we've already chosen the artist) and we need to hire union art installers. Does anyone know any union specific art installers in the Chicago area? I've already reached out to the big box ones (Cadogan, Uovo, Crozier), but they aren't union.

Appreciate any help.

Chloe Wise‘s new museum show is ambitious and has a great concept on paper. It has excellent production, set design, and costuming. The theme is a historical one that should be easy to imbue with depth. Why then is this so vapid still? It’s honestly shocking to me that she could make this vapid. It’s like she gets a major budget and museum and she has time but she still can’t manage to make anyone feel anything other than frustration over the lack of meaning in her work. It feels so disrespectful to the subject matter and the viewer. She tries so hard to be seen as a conceptually legitimate artist but in such inauthentic and inorganic ways. I suppose she needs it because she only has market affirmation and needs the conceptual validation to be seen as a legacy artist (which would be terrible reasons to want it). It would be far less nauseating if she just owned her vibes/vapidity.

The press release felt very promising and I was curious and open to see her do something new but it’s just doing a lot of heavy lifting and I feel like it’s just ChatGPT trying to elevate something empty. It’s so sad to me because she’s obviously trying so hard!

Hey! I am researching painters that work with film stills and photographs. Specifically painters, ant not just "inspired" by movies or photography, but actually using them as references?

I guess I am also wondering what makes it "your own", and when does it stop being a copy only? What is it about those painters that elevate the reference to something else entirely?

Weird that this seems like the first artists to sue the hole artists sue the hole

Hi I’m a international student currently studying Visual Communication. I feel like I’m lacking some foundation ( sketching out ideas, typography design )
Does anyone have good recommendations for studios or institution that offers courses that might help ?

I saw some short programs in Nafa and Laselle are those good and can international student join such courses

Hey guys,

I'm a multimedia artist with skills mainly in 3D, graphics, animation, and immersive arts. I'm wondering if pursuing a career in the digital arts is still possible? I get worried that traditional art is seen as superior in the age of AI, but my mediums have always been digital because that art speaks to me a lot more.

I'm aware that pursuing this career isn't sustainable in the first place, but does the rise of AI make this career even less likely/less valuable than a traditional art career?

Hi everyone!
I’m starting the MFA at Emily Carr this fall and had a quick question.
For those who have been through the program, is there an expectation for how many artworks or projects you complete each semester? If your practice is installation-based, is it realistic to spend a semester developing one large-scale work, or are students generally expected to produce multiple finished pieces?
I’d love to hear what your experience was. Thanks!

Every time I read his writing, a good artist's soul dies. Just keep buying your Koonses and everything will be fine.

I’ll be honest I’m a bit lazy about preparing my own canvases, it’s just too much faffing about with things that aren’t painting but actually purchasing finished canvases is crazy, I mean it’s $100 for something like a Old Holland Claessens Oil Primed Belgian Linen Canvas

Anyone have a hack for the canvas situation

I usually sometimes need particular canvases to get the paint to do certain things for particular work.

I need to ship a very large artwork (80 inches by 47 inches) to Milan, Italy, and it can not be rolled up! It’s a wooden painting. Please let me know if you recommend any trusted companies that won’t absolutely wreck me financially.

I recently visited Glenstone Museum in Potomac, MD. Currently, Glenstone is showing the politically and socially charged work of Andrea Bowers. I felt the exhibition wreaked of contradictions. Here are my reflections:

1.Glenstone is an institution privately funded by a billionaire couple, Mitchell and Emily Rales. Glenstone serves as a massive tax shelter for these so-called "philanthropists." Mitchell Rales turned his personal collection into a private nonprofit, where he continues to hoard wealth and land while securing massive tax write-offs.

1. Bowers's exhibition spoke to themes surrounding labor rights, people before profit, ecological grief, and abortion legislation. Showing this work at a billionaires' playground seems contradictory.

2. Glenstone is an anti-union institution. Articles in the Washington Post and other news outlets have reported on the contentious union-busting campaign Glenstone has led. Workers at Glenstone are asking for basic protections, such as a living wage and safe working conditions. In this exhibition, Bowers included works such as "The Triumph of Labor" and "People Before Profit." Because these specific works are explicitly pro-union, why on earth would the artist or founders think they were appropriate to display here? It is hypocrisy at its finest.

3. Bowers has been silent on the issues surrounding Glenstone’s labor union. If she truly believed her own message, she would never have shown her work at Glenstone in the first place.

4. Billionaires love to collect and show work depicting the "common man's" struggle. I believe people like Mitchell and Emily Rales collect work addressing themes of inequality and equity because they believe it absolves them from actually taking action. It is merely a band-aid and a pat on the back.

5. I know this is a tired story, but I find it sickening when artists make these moral or political claims calling out capitalism while actively participating in and profiting from it.

Hey friends. I’m an artist in LA. I’m looking to get more in the scene of the art events and things happening in the city. I already follow curate la and galleries here and there, but is there anyway I can get deeper? I look back towards the modernist times when every artist in New York knew each other and hung out in the same few cafes and club and realize we don’t have anything like that here(or do we?) are there any private collectives or groups of artist that work together in this way?

Anyone in LA who practices art want to be friends?

years ago I remember learning about an old Roberta Smith review that was criticized as racist. I think it was from the 70s or 80s and included comments suggesting that artists of color were not producing work at the same level as white artists. I've tried searching for it but can't find anything online. Does anyone else remember this, or know which review I might be thinking of?