Anything and everything has a virtual option these days due to the ongoing pandemic. If you’re an artist, this phenomenon bodes well if you want to market your work from the comfort of your home or studio. Online exhibitions certainly help to get your particular genre of art out there and exposed to more buyers than if you were to simply exhibit through a local gallery.
Since the start of the pandemic, art event organizers, gallery owners and individuals increasingly took their exhibitions online so that art-lovers everywhere could browse and purchase original artwork from the safety and security of their homes. And also so that the artists themselves could continue to make a living.
For many independent artists – whether connected or not to a gallery – taking their work online and choosing the virtual route was a perfect solution for exhibiting their art while the pandemic imposed lockdowns on them. And they soon realised just what a great way it was to reach a larger audience and in turn net better sales.
Virtual exhibitions can be as simple or as complex as an artist wants… ranging from simply posting artwork on a social media platform like Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest to a more formal show employing a professionally operated e-commerce platform – ergo, a virtual event.
As An Artist, Should You Consider One?
A well-staged virtual art exhibition will not only attract more visitors and boost sales but can also turn out to be more affordable. They’re also easier to host, incur lower costs and offer significant management flexibility as compared with physical events.
6 Benefits of Exhibiting Online
Virtual art exhibitions offer the following benefits to exhibitors and art event organizers:
- Greater and more convenient access: Your online virtual art event can be viewed by anyone, from anywhere, at any time. The time limit is yours to determine. With the click of a button, art lovers/buyers/collectors can repeatedly come back to your online show for another visit. And all from the comfort and safety of their own home.
- Virtually flexible exhibition space: A large selection of artwork can be showcased without concern for space constraints which brick and mortar galleries often impose. Smaller exhibitions can be attractively and dramatically presented online, whereas in a non-virtual setting, a small show might appear less significant.
- Easy management: Artworks may be rearranged, updated and replaced quickly keeping the exhibits’ material fresh, current and interesting.
- Purchasing art from a virtual exhibition is equally easy. It’s no different from any other online shopping experience when you have the right payment portal and a delivery/shipping service in place.
- You can market your event more cost effectively. Targeted social media campaigns can be designed for a fraction of the price as a ‘real’ showing and reach a greater and more far-reaching audience. As a result, there are no more costs necessary to produce postcards and posters or direct mail packages to get the word out.
- Minimal insurance and security costs, if any, as opposed to what a normal gallery exhibition would charge. Insured shipping costs would be your one expense – if necessary.
Become a Virtual Success Post-Pandemic
Going forward, virtual art exhibitions will most probably remain popular with art-lovers and collectors alike due to ease of access, flexibility and convenience. However, there is something to be said about actually seeing a painting, print or illustration up close and personal, to get a sense of scale or to observe, in the case of sculpture, the three dimensional aspects of a piece. There’s nothing like it!
One Final Note
If you’re planning to hold a virtual art exhibition, you may wish to hire a company who specialises in such events. A good event planner can assist you with organizing and operating your exhibition every step of the way, usually for a modest fee or percentage of sales. A professional event company will work with you in designing your virtual event, host it on a secure e-commerce platform and can also be called upon to promote your show locally, regionally and beyond.
