Conference for Emerging Art Organisers

I don't know what listing or search I appeared in, and I'm guessing it was through theViewergallery, but I was invited to a conference for Emerging Art Organisers at Goldsmiths, held on 24th November 2012.

http://www.alisn.org/Goldsmiths-EAO-Conference-2012

ALISN - Artist-led Initiatives Support Network

Speakers were various gallerists and artists, small scale, larger, commercial and artist-led:

Moderated by Iavor Lubomirov, Director of ALISN and LUBOMIROV-EASTON
Anne-Marie Watson, Exhibitions Programmer at Camden Arts Centre
James Payne, Director of PayneShurvell
Paul Carey-Kent, Art Writer
Paul Robinson, Editor of ArtLyst standing in for Rachel Hinde from re-title.com

Julia Alvarez, Director of Bearspace, and South London Art Map
Robert Soning, COO of Londonewcastle and architect of the Londonewcastle Arts Programme
Victoria Browne Founder of KALEID editions
Will Lunn, Director of Sumarria Lunn

Points gleaned:

Press releases and invites - positive approaches and reinforcement to engage media.Enough advance notice - 3/4 months - major event. Pitch in interesting way, riflemaker gallery good example. Follow up 2/3 days before. Press event - meet the artist. Explain why something is worth looking at and visiting - an angle.
Marketing - specific event - Press - ongoing campaign.
Relationships - writers and artists, with galleries. Outside perspective of writing, press releases - examine word choice. Other views. Collaborate with press releases.
Update and reassess materials - shift styles and reassess.
Piggy back onto larger organisations.
Monthly newsletter - visually direct - link to more text.
Good mailing list.
Managed email company can target emails and track who opens them.
Target - eg, French artist also to French embassy - they also send to their list.
Aim to get people to stay on website - not too much info - links for more.
Artlyst - art listing sites - app.
Artupdate is paid. New exhibitions.
Bannera dvertising on websites - swaps.
Map magazine.
Repetition strategy of advertising - small cost.
Ask people how they know about you - find what promotion is working.
Common practice http://commonpractice.org.uk/
Collaborating in publicity - smaller art organisations together - combine mailing lists.
Late nights, etc, area reviews - engages with the press.
Emerging art organisers build relationships with emerging art writers.
Text/images - clarity, drawn in visual clues.
Simple writing drawing to more complex.
Rather than competition, joining forces has more benefits, multi tasking visitors, more benefits for them, not clashing.
The drive for audience numbers.
Keeping overheads low - monkey mailout, open sourcing managing mailing lists free.
Outcomes not always public - engagement - arts council.
Educational links may help by facilitating.
Art academi European Network hosting & symbiotic relationships.
Make links and create a specialised industry. Other institutions outside London- collaborations.
Benefits - bringing audiences to large organisations.
Collectors' day
Crowd sourcing.
Use models of other setups - fairs, etc.
Platform for individuals and other forms of artists.
Public spend £50 or less.
small business - space studios mentoring - funded project.
Temporary shows in empty or business properties.
Contact business about showing - benefits PR for organisations.
Commercial and organised.
Helps companies to be liked.
Could collect examples to be present - organisations will see the benefit.
Curated shows in atriums.
Physical space - always new avenues - car park.
Popup, try out different areas.
Join the area art map.
Project at art fairs - finding collectors, testing artists.
Identify who you want to sell to and how.
Where is collector base.
Culture of fairs- whether for selling or being seen.
Everyone bargains prices at art fairs.
Negotiate, especially for artist projects.
(Art fairs not that relevant?)
Five year strategy at art fairs.
Selling in Scandinavia for twice as much.
Things moving outside London - commercial reputation.
Instead of press releases - stage artist intervention, etc, to generate fun, PR, interest, intrigue.
Council - suggest something for a tired space.

Reflection
I find artists and gallerists tend to be extremely generous at such professional development events, genuinely sharing and encouraging of others. The artworld is a complex matrix and a mixture of long established practices and people making it all up. Connections occur and jigsaw pieces fall into place, new gems or insights pop up, new leads to follow. And sometimes small seeds planted elsewhere bear fruit eventually.

7th April 2013