Vanity Galleries or Why You Should Never Pay for Exhibitions | Alexandra Novik-Khamis

A vanity gallery is an art gallery that charges artists fees to exhibit their work and makes most of its money from artists rather than from sales to the public. Some vanity galleries charge a lump sum to arrange an exhibition, while others ask artists to pay regular membership fees and then promise to organize an exhibition within a certain period. There is debate as to whether galleries that ask artists to contribute to expenses, e.g. by arranging for announcements of the exhibition themselves, fall into the same category.

If you are an artist trying to get noticed by the right people, never pay to exhibit your art or be featured in a publication. This will actually hurt your reputation in the art world, not help it. Entry fees are different - they often cover the administrative costs of selecting artwork. The key word there is selecting. Even if the person reaching out to you says they found you based on the quality of your work - this is often untrue. They probably paid for your contact information and haven’t even looked at your portfolio.

Galleries that ask you to pay to exhibit do not care if your work sells, they have already made their money. In fact, many will mention that they will not take a commission. At first glance, that sounds like a great deal, in reality - it means they are betting that your work won’t sell.

Beyond the loss of cash and the waste of time, the reputation of these vanity galleries are such they that the inclusion on your CV may turn serious galleries and collectors away. This concept devalues your work. In some cases they may go as far as saying there is no fee, but when you read the fine print, you are required to buy book(s) at a hefty price tag.

A vanity gallery differs from a traditional art gallery in that artists have to pay a fee – either in rent of wall space, advertising and show expenses, or both – for the “privilege” of being exhibited. Sales commissions are still charged as well, but at much lower percentages than in traditional galleries which often take anywhere from 40 to 70% as their fee.
To be represented or shown by a traditional gallery, an artist usually must work very hard, sometimes for years, submitting portfolios to different galleries for which he believes his work is suited. The process can be long, frustrating and not always successful, much like a writer trying to get accepted by a traditional publishing house. As such, the idea of getting shown for a fee by a vanity gallery can be tempting to struggling artists, as typically these galleries will accept any artist to show on their walls, as long as he can pay the fee.
Therein lies the problem.

Art critics and savvy art consumers know to avoid vanity galleries, for the simple fact that there is no vetting control over whose work is shown and its quality. Managers of traditional art galleries typically are well educated in art history, criticism and technique, and have long-standing relationships within the art world which help them sell their artists’ work. They have relationships with local and global arts publications and press, which means exhibits in their galleries can garner published reviews and attention. In contrast, you won’t see exhibitions at a vanity gallery discussed in ARTnews!
Since a traditional gallery gets no money from an artist until a work is actually sold, they have the tremendous incentive and drive to advertise their current exhibits and bring potential customers to their gallery. A vanity gallery has no such incentive as they’ve already gotten the bulk of the payment they will get from an artist upfront. A vanity gallery may be located in the “heart” of a big city’s “artistic district,” but that will make it only more likely that serious art buyers and critics already know well to avoid it, and the only potential customers you are likely to have for your work will be clueless tourists.

An art fair or craft show can allow independent artists to show their work to the public, without having to buy into vanity gallery space. 
For an artist frustrated by the traditional gallery system and looking for other ways to market her work, there are many other legitimate avenues for doing so today. However, these methods do involve the artist putting her own time into marketing and sales, not just creating art.
Many artists exhibit at art fairs and shows, which can be juried but not always (the best ones typically are.) At such fairs, artists will need to have invested in their own display set-ups and sales equipment, but they can be good venues for directly connecting with buyers and not having to pay any commissions on sales – only the fees for entering the fair.
Other artists do well selling their work online, either through a website of their own or through arts and crafts markets such as etsy. Artists should also join local art leagues and groups, which often host regular exhibits and will get their work seen by members of the community. In addition, many restaurants, coffee shops, and business offices today are interested in decorating their walls with original artwork for sale, and getting work shown there can be easier than in a traditional gallery – and at no fee, to the artist, unless a work sells.

Vanity galleries are mostly targeting artists who are not well established or are emerging.  They are targeting artists without an established reputation and very limited or no experience of working with proper art galleries. They take advantage of their lack of understanding of the art world. They mostly target artists who are not aware of how the gallery systems work, and are fairly new to their careers.
Vanity galleries will approach the artist but this does not necessarily mean that the artist is of high quality. They play to the egos, or the vanity of that particular person. Don’t be fooled by promises of instant fame. They know how to sell their promises and they are good at luring insecure and inexperienced artists.

A vanity gallery is the artistic equivalent of a literary vanity press, and equally disdained by the traditional community of creative individuals.
Most writers are taught early on to respect Yog’s Law: “money flows to the writer” and not the other way around. Artists would do well to take this advice to heart and avoid vanity galleries at all costs. I can assure you that showing at a vanity gallery can do more harm than good to both an artist’s reputation and bank account, and will do nothing to get an artist’s foot in the door with the professional art community.

So, if you are still an unacknowledged artist, you may really be desperate to put your work out there, even if you have to pay for it. But beware of the “opportunities” like this, and don’t fall for them. Make sure to do a thorough research about every gallery where you plan to exhibit your work. Read forums and talk to other artists, and of course, google the info before you rush in.