So, You Want To Sell Your Artwork
During the day, I’m an audio producer. On nights and weekends, I‘m a freelance writer and illustrator. All this to say: When I sold artwork for the first time at the DC Art Book Fair in July, I didn’t have any professional experience. When I applied, I only had one project to sell — a set of 6 postcards and a zine. I didn’t know the first thing about pricing, marketing or sales. But here’s what I learned, and what I’d recommend to independent artists selling their work for the first time at a fair.
Figure out why you want to do this
Are you doing this to make money? To get your name out there as an artist? To meet people and find community? To have fun? Answering these questions helped me decide how much time and effort I put into my display and how to price my artwork.
Harness & conserve your creative energy
When I got accepted into the fair, I had three months to produce more art and get it printed. I was already working on an illustrated feature on food for a newspaper. After I got the go-ahead from my editors, I turned the illustrations for the feature into postcards and prints. This maximized my efforts and prevented me from getting burned out. (A head’s up for artists who work with media companies: If you aren’t being paid a ton for your work, make sure that you at least retain the rights for your images!)
Check the vibe and know your audience
Before I applied to the Art Book Fair, I had already attended twice — as a fan and a volunteer. Attending gave me an idea of who showed up and what kinds of products were for sale. I knew the event had the intimacy and local feel of an artists display at a farmer’s market, but a set-up that was similar to a small comic con or expo. I also knew that the products felt more DIY than fine art, and that the prices reflected that.
Bring freebies
It’s nice to have something free on the table for passers-by. In my case, I brought some of my favorite candy and it was a cute conversation starter.
It’s also good to have extra product on hand for donations (I donated zines to the DC Art Book Fair volunteers and the National Museum of Women in the Arts library). In addition, I met fellow artists who were interested in doing trades. I wish I had taken a few of them up on the offer.
Bring a friend
You’re going to need to use the bathroom. Or get food. Or get up to stretch. Having a friend cover your table is helpful. Plus, if you find that you become paralyzed with awkwardness, it’s really nice to have a friend who’s unafraid to hype you up to strangers and tell them she bought one of each of your prints (thanks, Marsha!).
Make time to enjoy the event
I did a quick walk-through before the event and got to meet a few fellow artists. I wish I did another round to buy or exchange artwork. Once the event started, it was hard to pull myself away from the table other than to go to the bathroom. I felt like I was going to miss friends or lose an opportunity to make sales, but this was a rookie move.
Get over yourself
It’s hard to take something cute you made and put it through the capitalist Rube Goldberg machine (I think this is what “A Star Is Born” is about??). But, once you’ve decided to make your work available to the public, your relationship with the thing you made becomes a lot less relevant. People can feel however they want to feel about your work. It’s not yours anymore.
What I’ll do next time
Make and bring ‘business’ cards with my portfolio site, social handles and contact information.
Reconsider pricing (I had items priced at $1, $2, $3.50 and deals for $10, but I could have adjusted my deals for my $15 prints).
Bring more candy.
I need to think a little bit more on payment methods. I only accepted cash (I brought about $40 in small bills for change) and Venmo. This wasn’t too big a deal, but the signal was poor in the museum and some people had a hard time getting their payments though. It didn’t end up being too prohibitive, but there’s at least one Venmo user whose payment didn’t go through and still owes me (looking at you, Tristan!).
I’d love to exhibit at another art fair, but I’m still learning best practices. What are yours?
For more advice, I asked longtime artists Robin Ha and Nguyen Nguyen four questions about exhibiting at the DC Art Book Fair and other local art fairs.
