First Gallery Exhibit!
Recently I had the privilege of doing my first ever gallery exhibit showcasing some of my favorite prints. It had been a goal of mine for a while to share my art in a space like this, and despite all the nerves — I’m happy to say it was a great experience!
3/8/25 - Art Groove Experience
First ever gallery exhibit that took place at Studio 260 in Chelsea!
-
Art Groove Experience is an independent organization that hosts gallery events in NYC to showcase up-and-coming talent in Art, Music, and Fashion!
Part One: Applying for the gallery exhibit
It was purely by chance that I happened to see an Instagram post for an “artists wanted, open call!” post. On a whim, I took a chance and submitted my art to them — fully expecting to be rejected.
Following the post instructions, I DMed them with a sample of my favorite prints (with fingers crossed for good luck)
To my surprise, they got back to me a few hours later and told me that my submission was accepted! 🎉🎉🎉
Part Two: Logistics
Once accepted, they forwarded me information relating to the display, event details, and entry fee costs — along with an agreement form to sign.
-
I was able to choose between two dates and locations — 2/22/25 in Chelsea and 3/8/25 in Midtown. For both days, the event would run from 6-11PM.
I opted for 3/8/25 to give me more time to frame my prints!
-
$175 to display, and as an artist I would keep 100% of any sales made during the event
-
Each artist was allotted roughly 36”x72” of wall display space.
They required that all paper art + prints be framed for the display. If your art was on a canvas, you did not need to do any additional framing.
*note: despite saying art must be larger than 11×14in, I was able to bring my small prints (4”x6”) framed for display without any problems
In preparation for the exhibit — I had several of my prints custom framed! I think the custom frames really made a huge difference, and allowed my art to be showcased in a cohesive manner.
I highly recommend One Stop Framing Shop (nearby Penn Station on 36th Street) — they were friendly, quick, and overall gave me a great deal on the frames! I easily saved $200-300 going to them instead of another custom frames shop.
Part Three: Day of the Exhibit!
11AM: Art drop off at 260 Studio!
The day started with event organizers requesting that all displaying artists drop off their art at 11AM. Head curator Alina and her team then determine the final layout for all the art — ensuring that the final touches would be ready in time for 6PM!
5:30PM - artists return + setup showcase
At 5:30PM, artists were allowed into the venue (along with a helper) to see their final display! I also took this time to set up a tiny table to display business cards, along with small tote bags that I would use to pack any framed print purchases.
Tiny table display!
artists were allowed to set up a small table (no larger than 16”) — I used this tiny 14” x14” table and tested the set up the day before
6PM gallery exhibit start!
Final display set up for the event!
Once the event started, a crowd grew pretty quickly and overall the space was plenty packed up until the event ended at 11PM!
All admission tickets included drinks from the open bar — and guests were free to walk around and chat with artists! The room was bustling with energy and was such a great time!
About 3 hours into the event at 9:13PM, I was lucky to have my first ever customer buy a framed print!
Packing “SILENT RAGE” my first ever framed print sale at a gallery exhibit!
It was heartwarming to connect with others and receive genuine praise and interest in my handmade prints <3 I can’t express enough how kind people were — I’m so grateful to be part of this experience and beyond happy that 5 of my framed prints found a new home!
❤️
〰️
❤️ 〰️
10:50PM - head curator Alina tells artists to start taking down displays, and by 11:15PM the entire space was cleared out!
It was such a pleasure to have my first ever gallery exhibit with Art Groove Experience — I highly recommend them to others who want to showcase their work!
In the end, I cried happy tears shortly after the event from all the warmth and encouragement I felt — it went better than I could have ever expected and I can’t wait to be back for another exhibit!
Many thanks to organizers and all the lovely people I met & friends who came out in support
- Helen ❤️
