How to prepare for a studio visit

Studio visits are a powerful way for artists to increase their network, reach and sales. They are also learning opportunities as discussions and in-depth conversations will naturally spark. In part this is because of the intimate and laid-back nature of studio visits, which facilitates close conversations.

While artists have the chance to show their work to people who might be able to help them with their careers and provide them with insightful feedback, curators, critics, dealers, and collectors have the chance to experience art in its native context, to see works in progress and to talk with artists directly about their practice and career.

Mastering studio visits can therefore end up boosting your career significantly, which is why you should prepare yourself beforehand for a studio visit. So what can you do to conduct yourself and make the most out of a studio visit?

Here are my 5 top tips that will help you get ready for it: 1. Know the agenda of your visitors First things first, you need to understand the type of studio visit that you will host, as it won’t be the same if you’re hosting a curator, a collector or a gallerist. If this is not clear, don’t be afraid to ask them about the focus of their visit. If you’re visited by a potential collector, make sure to have a printed PDF with your art pricing ready (or to know your prices by heart) and have a selected series of works to show them. If you’re already working with a gallerist who represents you in your area, then someone from the gallery will most likely attend the studio visit with the potential buyer. In this situation, the gallery person will deal with the pricing and take care of negotiating with the client for you. If a gallerist visits your studio, the visit will also be very business oriented. They might inquire about your pricing, how many works you’ve got currently available, possibilities of consigning some works, shipping and production costs and timings, so be ready to be able to discuss all these. You may also receive the visit of curators. They can be working on a non-profit or profit exhibition or on a site-specific project, which will determine if your pieces will be for sale or not. Typically curators will be more interested in the conceptual part of your practice. They will enquire about why you make your artworks in a particular way, why you work in that medium, previous projects you might have worked in and about production details and logistics of creating and moving your work.

2. Practise your artist pitch

This might seem obvious but many artists have difficulties explaining what their work is about and why they do what they do. Studio visits are great opportunities not only to sell your artworks but also yourself. Therefore, take some time to improve your artist statement and prepare a good pitch about your practice that highlights your vision and artistic ambitions, so you can talk about your work in an articulate and confident way. 3. Prepare questions and important points you’d like to discuss

Ideally you will have clear how you will overall structure the visit, such as for instance what pieces will you show and what you’ll tell about each example. It’s always great when artists can walk through specific pieces and how they got to their current focus. Think also how the particular pieces you select are related to your overall practice and what do you desire to obtain from this studio visit.

4. Have a variety of pieces ready to show

If possible, do not only show your newest works or pieces made in one medium but rather a mix of works of different dimensions and techniques so you can demonstrate the range of your practice. In addition, you can also show your visitors works in progress and sketches or project ideas of pieces yet to be produced.

5. Be mindful of timing

Bear in mind that studio visits tend to last anywhere from 30 min to 2 hours depending on the person who visits so make sure to block some buffer time if necessary when scheduling a visit.

Overall, what studio visits allow artists is to start building personal relationships and genuine exchanges of ideas that will pay off if not immediately, in the long term. I’ll be covering more content on studio visits soon, let me know if you’ve found it useful!