I’m téa!
and I help artists get more opportunities with marketing strategic and effective communication
Promote your art work with authenticity to get more gallery shows, grants, residencies, and sales.
agenda
about me
why I care about marketing and why you should too
instagram 😖
website
newsletters
bonus
about me
Hi, I'm Téa.
In 2019, I moonlighted as an artist assistant to Sharon Kagan, helping her prepare for her solo exhibition at Show Gallery in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, during the day I managed marketing strategy and performance for 40+ clients at a highly awarded digital marketing start up.
When I quickly learned the quirks of the art world, I saw a huge gap in how artists and galleries found “success” compared to how other non-art businesses found their “success” (building relationships with their audience and selling their service/product).
With a mix of strategies proven to work and out-of-the-box creativity, I aim to bridge the gap by helping artists and galleries authentically promote work to their ideal audience, build loyal relationships, and close the deal (get a show, secure a residency, sell work, uplevel in status, etc.).
Working closely with artists and galleries comes with the perk of experiencing incredible art in all forms from all over the country, so I love to connect curious and experienced art buyers with ideal pieces for their home, developments, or business.
Sharon + I (still working together 6 years later)video projection design
newsletters
targeted outreach
opportunities
website
“We are born artists. And then society does its best to beat it out of us.”
How I got here
During a particularly challenging period in my life, art became my sanctuary away from the depths of existential dread and mental turmoil. I reintroduced myself to the artistic side of me that I had forgotten, leading to a realization — art is not a pastime; it is an indispensable lifeline. It taps into the deepest and most spiritual part of us and is necessary for our world to function. It expands conversations, addresses difficult subjects, and allows individuality to be appreciated. Artists must be nourished, valued, and supported.
THE ART WORLD IS UNPREDICTABLE…
ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES ARE here FOR YOU
Your work needs to be where the art world “gatekeepers” are looking.
While the right person might stumble upon your work by chance, taking action with the right strategy gives you the best chance at landing the shows, sales, and funding you want.
HOT TOPIC 🔥 instagram
find your purpose
be ready to meet the right person
be realistic and strategic
Have a professional and up to date “portfolio” on Instagram.
hot tip #1
ask yourself — does my instagram profile reflect my practice?
hot tip #2
if you want more people to see your post, share it with some people in the DMs and ask for comments and shares
hot tip #3
include in your bio — your location, type of work you make, and the word “artist
POST EVERY DAY OR ELSE!!!
TALK IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA!!!!
GO VIRAL!!!!!
NEWSLETTER
hot tip #1
make the subject line exciting
hot tip #2
add a personal note and ask for replies
Emails are the #1 best way to update your audience!
PLEASE have a newsletter.
You get to control the narrative and build relationships.
WEBSITE
straight from a “successful” gallerist
way more layers, like SEO
Easy to navigate
Reflect your practice
The purpose is to help others understand your practice
A way to collect new email addresses
*queue virtual fieldtrip
So…..
Instagram:
First, get clear on why you would post on social media at all. What’s the purpose? Especially if you hate it.
Post high quality content versus lots of “okay” content and curate your profile like a portfolio.
Newsletter:
Start one now.
Exchange emails with new people you meet and add them to your newsletter email list.
You’re not annoying people. You’re informing others and getting them interested and excited in the work you’re making.
You’re increasing the chances for when opportunities do open, that you’ll be top of mind.
Website:
Write a really good artist statement.
Make it easy to navigate.
Reflect your art practice in your design, if you want.
Encourage website visitors to sign up for your newsletter.
8 WEEKS TO PROMOTE YOUR ART
This process helps emerging to mid-career visual artists get the right visibility on their work to increase chances of grants, residencies, and shows.
Whether your practice is performance, painting, design, or interdisciplinary:
1. Let’s get clear about your goals
2. Reflect your artist identity in your online presence
3. Elevate how you represent your work
4. Connect to ideal opportunities
5. Network with meaningful contacts who would care about the work you do
6. Keep your momentum going with support, accountability and an action plan
RESOURCES
learn how to write a really damn good artist statement and bio
https://creative-capital.org/artist-resources/professional-development/
book your free 30 minute consulting session with me
https://teachura.com/promote-your-art-artist-services
PHASE 1 Foundation
Week 1
Get to Know You, Your Work, & Your Direction: meet to discuss what your work is about, who you are as an artist and human, what your practice looks like, who’s in your network, and where you want to take your career. Brainstorm ideal opportunities that move you in the right direction.
Result by this stage: Get clear on your unique visual and conceptual artist identity and journey so far, your goals, and the potential opportunities to pursue.
Week 2-3
Reflect Identity in Outward Presence: review, renew, or create artist statement, bio, resume, and work samples; review and plan action steps for website and social media presence (including portfolio).
Result by this stage: You’re clear about your artist identity and goals, have a strong online presence that reflects you and your work, ready to seek and create made-for-you opportunities.
PHASE 2 Done for You
Week 4-5
Curate Your Opportunities: research organizations and individuals who are most likely to value your work and move your career in the right direction; examine your existing network; curate a web of opportunities that fit your desired career moves (grants, residencies, galleries, open calls, collaborations, press, etc.); organize this information in an actionable visual; review with you.
Result by this stage: You have an informative visual of made-for-you opportunities with an actionable plan that you’re excited for.
Week 6-7
Outreach & Network Intentionally: put your work in front of specific gallerists, curators, & press; apply for made-for-you opportunities; line up strategic networking events, meetings, interviews.
Result by this stage: We’ve applied to every open made-for-you opportunity (grant, residency, open call, fellowship, award +), put your work and new ideas in front of specific important people, have a calendar of meetings with art contacts and future opportunities with deadlines.
PHASE 3 Momentum
Week 8
Keep Momentum: receive a summary of upcoming dates for made-for-you opportunities, new contacts, and progress. Check in with you.
* This is a loose description of how we will work together. The best part of this process is that it is completely tailored to you, so once we have our first in depth meeting, the outline may look slightly different.
Highlights
Tailored for You - You’ll have undivided individual support. One size never fits all (especially in art), so this whole process is completely custom to you: your work, style, medium, ideas, mission, experience, goals, and more.
Done-for-You Support - The time-consuming but career-making work is all done for you. Feel good about focusing on your art practice, working on current projects and having time to explore new ones. With thorough communication, collaboration, and weekly check-ins, know that your art career is driven by you and what you want to happen.
Organization - There’s so much information we will discuss, opportunities we’ll find, people we’ll talk to, and deadlines we won’t want to miss. So to ensure all of that is digestible, you’ll have all of that organized for you. (We’ll talk about your preferred way of seeing that information, too.)