One of the lessons learned from my ongoing Women Artists of the DMV survey show - one of many, all of which I will record here eventually - is how artists procastrinate and shoot themselves in the tuchis.
Here's the scenario:
As artists get invited to be part of the show as more spaces are added and/or walls open up, some of them ignore the invite email and after a few reminders get dropped off.
It's puzzling to me that after they receive an invitation to exhibit, they do not respond, and even after a second or third reminder, there are always some who just drop off - case in point: a couple of weeks ago I invited 52 artists to exhibit at the Universities of Shady Grove (USG) in Rockville.
Because USG it is a public space, the the USG Priddy Library managers must approve each work individually and ahead of time.
A week after I sent the invitation email with detailed instructions on what to do and key dates, only 18 of 52 invited artists had responded; after a reminder, another 12 responded; after a third reminder another 10 responded as directed, and 5 asked if I could switch them to another venues (answer was no) because "Rockville is too far" — as a result I could then move 12 artists from the wait list to USG, which I did!
Based on previous scenarios similar to this one with the other venues, this week I will receive emails from about half of the non-responding artists with reasons such as "I kept forgetting to do it", or "I was sick", or a dazzling assortment of reasons.
Just venting.
8 comments:
Thankless job:( You are appreciated.
That's wild!
This is absolutely not a common behavior in almost all artists. I could talk for hours about this, and despite being an artist myself, it’s a common artist behavior that drives me absolutely insane.
Rude! Their loss .
I have been trying to get a hold of you for the last few weeks. My name is Cookie Kerxton and I met you through the courage on masked event in September 2009. I emailed you twice asking for suggestions of places for my art group, the Upstairs Art Studios, to have a show. I would love to hear back from you. My email is Cookie kerxton@gmail.com or my text is 301-502-1389. Look forward to hearing from you thanks, Cookie.
Lenny, I'd like to have my various art associations publish this piece in their latest newsletters... with your permission!
Lenny, I'd like to have my various art associations publish your article in their various newsletters, with yourt permission.
...which is one of the testimonies to your sense of adventure! You're willing to take on various species of dragon...but when it's time to say, No! You say no! Talk about stamina and smarts!!!!
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