Reflection
Challenges
One of the obvious challenges was the language barrier. If I had come in speaking Italian, I know I would have made a better connection with the customers and owners of gallery. There was one time I was unable to speak to the customer at all because they only spoke italian. This is a challenge I can overcome by studying and practicing Italian- and one I will before I return to Italy next spring.
Another challenge was learning all of the different artists and memorizing their stories and work. In the beginning it was overwhelming and challenging because they represent a good amount of people, from all around the world. However, after making flashcards and taking extensive notes I could walk around the gallery without my guide book and name each artist. By the end of my time at SyArt, I could see a new piece I had not seen before and know whose piece it was based off of prior knowledge. This was a challenge I was excited about, and one that was useful. When I visited positano with my family, I saw an artist that we represent at another gallery and the manager there was very impressed I was able to point out his name.
The challenge during the live painting was the lighting and timing for event. Usually during a live painting, I have one subject I paint- but for the event I was asked to create a pop art image, so I decided to do a collage of Andy Warhol pieces. Pop art is not my style so that was a bit of a challenge as well, but finishing the piece in the three hours of the dinner was a feat. The dinner began after the sun went down, so I did not have lighting for the piece. Once it got too dark, I was given two spotlights for the piece, however they attracted bugs so it hurt as well as helped. It was a challenging live painting, because of the setting and time, but one I would do over and over again. It was a beautiful dinner and I was lucky to have been apart of this challenge.
Skills
In my internship, I gained skills on how to improve social media, how to promote art and events, how to speak and sell to customers and how to best organize a space to display artwork. I helped with social media, such as instagram, facebook, pinterest and youtube. I researched and learned ways to better promote the gallery, so it reaches a greater amount of people.
A very important skill I learned was how to best use the space to display the artwork. It was important to constantly rearrange, so it kept it interesting for new and returning customers and to show a greater amount of artwork. It was also very important to make sure the space was clean, the walls were white and holes were patched. I gained the skill of learning how to use plaster to fill in a wall one day! I gained a greater skill set on utilizing space, without overdoing it. Open walls are very necessary to not make the art an overwhelming sight to see. Rearranging the gallery so often gave me skills in organization and creativity. One painting that had four parts was vertical since I visited the gallery, but I had an idea to change it to horizontal- which completely changed the piece and space. After changing the space a few times, I understood better why and how the curator chose where pieces should be.
Watching how my owners interacted with customers and mimicking those practices, gave me a greater skill for communicating, improving my assertiveness, self confidence, and flexibility. I observed how to read customers and change my approach for communicating based off of the person. This internship gave me a better voice and a lot more self confidence for approaching new people. I learned to be flexible from the various people from all around the world I encountered at the gallery. I am more adaptable to a workplace, now that I have worked in another country with a different culture. I have a greater knowledge of how to sell to others after learning from my bosses at SyArt.
Future
I plan to use this internship in my future by using the knowledge I gained working at the gallery in my art career. This summer I got to see what pieces people gravitated towards; what color, subject matter, size, etc. people from all around the world preferred. I got to see first hand which pieces sold, and using this information I can hone in on aspects of my paintings to make them better for the market. It varies for each customer, but overall seeing the reactions and hearing the comments about their choice of art was a very helpful insight. I also got to watch my boss sell artwork, and see how what she says to the customer really sways them to buy the piece. She is personable and gives them her card with her personal phone number on it, so the customers know she cares. I plan to take this practice of selling with me in my future, and not doubting the prices, but being able to negotiate as she did. I want to sell internationally so I am able to incorporate travel into my career and lifestyle. People travel and purchase art when abroad- and learning this makes my goal to show in galleries abroad as well as the states.
In the future, I also plan to use the skills I gained from researching the artists. I had to learn about each artist; their statement and story. From learning this, I feel I have a better perspective on successful artist statements and how they present their work. I learned talking about your personal story and giving a brand to your work makes the artwork sell better. Including background, education, accomplishments and why/ how you make the work sells the customer that they are purchasing more than just a painting, they are buying your story along with it. I found how people photograph their work can make them look professional, and that people are more likely to buy your work when there is a short pamphlet on you. From studying the artists, I received a lot of helpful insight on how to be a successful freelance artist. These small details are what differentiate a lot of people from taking their work to the next level.