Connecting with Art Critics

Last night the Academy of Art held a panel with art critics Christopher Howard,  Hrag Vartanian, and Lilly Wei (pictured below). This is what I learned.

Connecting With an Art Critic:

1. Be generous with time.
2. They DO try to look at all their emails.
3. DON'T be pushy. But, be persistent. By keeping them up to date with what you're doing. They might meet you today, but write about you in two years.
4. Give them options. Sometimes a review can come in the form of an instagram from your show.
5. If you want a critics attention, try doing something with them. Or BC it's more time sensitive, invite them to come to a group showing. But not too many. Try to combine your resources.
6. Get to know a critic's practice. They have areas of strength and interest in their practice and art form, just as you do as a fellow artist. If they  have a blog, fucking visit and comment on it.
7. DON'T send attachments in your email is something that was put out there, but critic Christopher Howard later explained; " Downloading big files of five or more megabytes may have been a problem for some ten years ago, but high-speed internet is pretty much everywhere these days." Lesson? Just watch your fucking file sizes, think about who you're sending to, and be weary not to end up in spam folders
8. DO make sure your website is up to date. Things to include; dates, sizes, materials used, press, your words on your work... if someone wants to write about your work, make it easy for them to get the fucking information to do so.
9. STUDIO VISITS: Be prepared, be professional. Print out some fucking corresponding materials and have a plan for what you want them to see. This isn't a fucking hang out. This is their (and your) job.

What Art Critics Look For:

1. Something fresh, new.
2. Be topical. What are people interested in in society right now?

Other Things to Note:

1. 60% of published content is submitted rather than commissioned.
2. It's better to be able to talk about your work in your own words. So, get fucking ready.
3. This is their job — to look at art. Go from there.

How to Deal with a Bad Review:

1. Fucking learn from it.
2. It's free feedback form someone who knows what they're talking about.
3. It WILL be admirable to show improvement based on this feedback.