An audio-visual work I recently created, (end of 2020), had an initial opening and gallery exhibition, however since then, and mainly due to COVID restrictions and our current lock-down in Auckland further exhibitions have been cancelled or been put on hold.
So, I’ve decided to put my own online exhibition together for this particular work.
I recently watched, ‘Virtual Art Exhibitions: Teaching Art Online‘ with Art Prof Clara Lieu. This was hugely helpful and got me underway to put my show together. Lieu mainly discussed having an exhibition on Instagram, and I’m not doing that, but all the tools for the organisation of the event are pretty much what I’m doing. If you are wanting to organise an online event I would recommend watching this.
I have organised screenings of films, and been involved in arranging events before, so I’m not a complete novice at the task, however, I’ve never organised an online event. I’m really excited about this event and I’m also excited about the possibility of doing other online exhibitions, and not just for my own work. Online exhibitions provide a much wider audience and and a chance to work and collaborate with artists and creators I wouldn’t usually get the chance to work with. So, my little online exhibition will be a good tester.
If you are also putting an online exhibition or event together I would recommend designing backwards. Start with the event name and the date, who you want to attend and why you are putting this on. From that date work backwards, until the present moment. I created a simple spreadsheet and worked backwards deciding on what would need done and when. It was straightforward and took a couple of hours. I listed all the physical work I would have to do, but mainly it was the advertising and promotion of the event that took a bit to work out.
I first decided the platforms I wanted to advertise on and listed all the posts I would do, what would be the content of those posts, and what the posts would add (as in value), so I wouldn’t be just repeating the same content. Some posts are informative, some more interactive, and some are adding a personal touch so the audience can feel connected. I think this is more important for an online exhibition or event, due to the physical separation. I would suggest to do this, if you are also putting an event together. It takes a bit of time, but once you have the list of what to do, and the dates you need to post, it is just a case of getting the shizz done!!
The other thing I have done to prepare is download the Adobe Spark App, it has just made things sooo much easier to make posts look good and cohesive. I’m my own graphic artist on this one, so any help I can get is worth the money. So far, that is the only thing I have paid out for.
If you are thinking of organising something online put some time into research beforehand. There are lots of people and organisations doing more and more of it, so there’s plenty of tips out there. I will post more about my exhibition and how to attend, closer to the time.
That’s all folks. Hope you are all well. Let me know if the comments below if you enjoyed this post.
Catch you next time. xx
Kick: Creative Action 