Gallery Artist Information

CERES SHOWING ARTIST TO-DO LIST

2 –3  MONTHS BEFORE YOUR SHOW:            

  • Have your work photographed. 
  • Order your announcement cards (if using).
  • Order your posters for the lobby during your opening and for the hall. (optional but recommended)

4 – 6  WEEKS BEFORE YOUR SHOW: 

  • Send Stefany (art@ceresgallery.org) your show info including title, dates, materials and two sentence blurb. Also send the date(s) of your opening reception(s).

3 – 4   WEEKS BEFORE YOUR SHOW:

  • Compose and mail/email your Press Release (must be written in the 3rd person) with a copy of your announcement card (optional) to a selected few recipients.
  • If you are having your first solo show at Ceres, you must make an appointment with Stefany to review your installation plans.
  • Arrange for people to help you hang and dehang your show.  You cannot hang and light your show without help.
  • Contact the previous artist to confirm when she will have the gallery ready for you.  She must vacate the space and have prepared the walls by 12:00 PM, Sunday after the closing of her show; any earlier is at her discretion.  
  • Send Jo-Ann (joannbrody@me.com) everything required in her instructions on Page 2.
  • Send Francine (fsperlman@gmail.com) everything for Artsy, instructions on Page 2.

2 – 4 WEEKS BEFORE YOUR SHOW:

  • Send out your announcement cards, if using. Send or bring 100 show cards (recommended) to the gallery.

2 – 3 WEEKS BEFORE YOUR SHOW:

  • Order your wall signage.(www.wordsanywhere.com) (NOT SOONER)
  • Create an Invoice for your sales with info about how you can be paid, (i.e. Zelle, PayPal, Venmo, check)
  • Check storage closet to determine if there are the proper bulbs for lighting your show. 
  • Make sure that you have a key to the gallery and either a key card to the building or arrangements for access to the building on Sundays and after hours (such as meeting the other showing artists who have a keycard). 

CERES INFORMATION FOR SHOWING ARTISTS

CERES/STEFANY BENSON:212.947.6100 860.806.0679- CELL art@ceresgallery.org stefanygbenson@gmail.com
CATERERS: 
Whole Foodswww.wholefoods.com
Fresh Directwww.freshdirect.com  
FLORIST: 
Academy Florist212.222.0771
Gramercy Park Flower Shopwww.gramercyflowers.com 212.475.4989
VSF (Very Special Flowers)www.vsfnyc.com 212.206.7236
Angelica Flowerswww.angelicaflowersandevents.com 212.229.0272
Ovandowww.ovandony.com 212.924.7873
Ariston Floristwww.aristonflorist.com 212.929.4226
Chelsea Floristwww.chelseamerit.net 212.924.2821
GENERAL HARDWARE: 
*Home Depot 23rd between 5-6 Ave212.929.9571 www.homedepot.com
Chelsea Convenience Hardware 241 9th Ave , 25th St212. 463.7256
ICE/ WATER/SODA DELIVERY: 
*Hamptons Marketplace Deli 312 11th Ave (30th St)212.967.9077
LIGHTING: 
Eighth Avenue Lighting (37th) 545  8th Ave212.279.1323
Lighting by Gregory 158 Bowery212.226.2705
*Home Depot 40 West 23rd (5-6 Ave)www.homedepot.com  
PACKING/MOVING:   The Velvet Touch 718.742.5320 D.A.D. 212.226.0054  718.742.5320 914.764.0900 212.226.0054
PAINT (WALL): 
*Schames212.673.3860
PHOTOGRAPHER: 
Jessica Bloomwww.jessicabloom.com 978.319.1647
Matt Conanthttp://mattconantimages.com 512.659.0329
Noel Camardohttp://noelcamardo.com 917.7010260
Joel Barhamandhttp://joelbarhamand.com 347.439.6431
Kyle Lacywww.kyleaaronlacy.com 618.697.1487
*Max Yawneywww.maxyawney.com 646.258.9052
Josh Fuehnerwww.joshfuehner.com 513.417.7946
Atsuko Horiuchiahoriuchi@gmail.com
 PRINTING: 
4over4 www.4over4.com
*Got Printwww.gotprint.com
Modern Postcardwww.modernpostcard.com
RENTALS: (chairs, tables, plates, etc.) 
Party Time, Inc. Academy Chair Renting Co., Inc.718.457.1122 718.639.9105, 718.429.7852
SHIPPING: 
UPS1.800.742.5877
FEDEX1.800.463.3339
US Postal Service (USPS)1.800.275.8777 www.usps.com
STORAGE: 
Manhattan Mini-Storage 541 West 29th Street646.786.7205
WALL SIGNS: 
Specialty Signs 54 West 21st Street212.243.8521 www.specialtysigns.com
*Words Anywherewww.wordsanywhere.com
  
WINE STORES :(Tax Exempt Status is on Record)
*SoHo Wines & Spirits212.777.4332
Astor Place Liquor212.674.7500
Washington Square Liquor212.477.4395
  

* Most often used and reliable

Sending Work to Ceres Prior to your Solo Show Installation

  1.  First and foremost, you must contact the artists who are showing before you to talk about how intrusive your work may be in their space and when it will arrive.  If it is arriving after Sunday at 12pm, there are no issues.  If the work will be arriving before Sunday at 12pm, the previous artists have the right to not allow your work in their space unless our limited storage closets can accommodate it.
  2. You, yourself, have the best understanding of the quantity and volume of the arriving boxes/packages and whether you would want them in your space during your show.  We are a community of fair minded women.  Please be considerate of maintaining the good will and respect for each other’s needs we all have worked hard to maintain over the years.
  3. In the event that either: You determine the work to be too massive or, the prior showing artists think it is, Manhattan Mini-Storage is 2 ½ blocks from Ceres.  It is my understanding that they will pick up and bring back work at no additional cost when you rent a storage space.  It is even possible that they can receive shipped work although I do not know this to be a fact. Manhattan Mini Storage, 541 West 29th Street 212.239.3373.  Call them if you have any doubt about the arriving work being able to comfortably exist within the gallery space of someone else’s show.
  4. This means your work can arrive whenever you’d like if it is being stored at Manhattan Mini Storage and then it can be delivered to Ceres from there when you install.
  5. It is also likely that if you have doubts about or actually know your work will be too large to be accommodated by our space before installation, the packaging for your work after installation will likely also be too large to store at Ceres. If you rent a storage for the period of your exhibition, the packaging for your work can be stored there until you need it to repack at de-installation.
  6. Lastly, if the work is being shipped back after your exhibition, you will need to contact the artists who are showing after you to see how long your work can remain in the space beyond Sunday at 12pm.  It is up to the incoming artists to choose to allow or not allow your work to remain if it cannot fit in our closets.

SPECIAL POINTERS FOR NEW MEMBERS

  • Optimally, you should plan to be in NYC for at least the entire first week of your show.  Generally there is a Zoom gallery meeting during the first week and it’s beneficial for you to come to the gallery and speak about your work to member artists.  You should understand that the community of Ceres is every bit as important as the showing opportunity afforded to members.
  • The opening reception, also referred to as “the opening”, is not the first day of your show (which is always Tuesday).  “The opening” is most often scheduled for the first Thursday evening AND/OR the first Saturday afternoon.  It’s your choice to have your opening any time you’d like but the largest number of people will attend your opening on those two days of the week.  Also, the building is not officially open on evenings other than Thursday so you would have to privately hire the concierge to be there for you and your guests.  You have no choice about that.
  • The building is locked all day Sunday, so in order to gain access to the gallery you will need a key card and the key to the gallery door.  Without a key card you cannot enter the building.  Period.
  • When you are installing, you are entitled to begin at noon on Sunday and you may work straight through (including nights) until Tuesday at noon (if that’s what you need to do).
  • You can and should have people who will assist you with your installation.  You may hire a professional and/or call upon friends and members.
  • We discourage you from having signage on the walls other than your name and the name of your show.
  • We discourage you from hanging too much work.  A gallery show that is over-hung looks unprofessional.
  • We encourage you to be in touch with the artist(s) who is showing in the other gallery space. 
  • You should contact the artists who are showing before and after your exhibition in order to know what they are planning regarding logistics.  They MUST be completely out of the gallery before 12 Noon on the Sunday you are coming to install and conversely, you MUST be out of the gallery before Noon Sunday on the day you are taking your work down.

 REPAIRING THE GALLERY

CLEAN HOLES OF LOOSE PARTICLES.

SPACKLE: Large holes may require several applications and longer drying time. 

                     Be certain to allow yourself adequate time.

 LET DRY: Sheetrock walls ½ hour; masonry walls 1½ hours.

SANDING: Patch should appear dry; sand lightly until the surface is silky smooth.

      PAINT: Paint with a roller only.  You must supply your own roller cover.

    TRASH:  Sweep the Gallery and remove all trash.

REPAIR MATERIALS:

SPACKLE: Durabond Wall Compound or Lightweight Spackle

      PAINT: Benjamin Moore

                             Regal

                    Premium Interior Latex

                    For Walls and Ceilings

                    Flat Finish Wall Satin

                    Super White 215 02

MORE  INFORMATION ABOUT SHOWING AT CERES

1.  Don’t forget to have a sign-in book with a pen attached at your exhibition.

2.  Make sure that the gallery has a word file for your artist’s statement and/or press release and any other printed materials you wish to have available during your show so that if they should run out unexpectedly, we can make a few copies for you.

3.  Reminder- the gallery does not make the copies of your price list or other materials except a few in a pinch.  You need to bring a pile of those documents at the time of your installation and replenish them when necessary.

4.  You will not get credit for gallery sitting at the time of any event or opening reception during your show.  You can only get credit for sitting during your show if you are scheduled to be the only person sitting the gallery at the time.

5.  You can install your exhibition starting Sunday beginning at noon, all day Monday and Tuesday until noon or any piece of time therein including nights.

6.  You should coordinate your installation with the artist showing in the other space as well as consult about scheduling with the artists who are taking their work down before you install and those hanging work after you de-install.

7.  Make sure that you have a Key Card and gallery door key.

8.  You should obtain a Key Card from Stefany.  The Key Card will open the front door of the building on Sunday and any day after regular building hours.  This Key Card also works the elevator if the building is closed.  You also need a key to the gallery door.  This is a Medeco silver key with a big square top.  Any other keys you may have ever had no longer work.

9.  It’s always a good idea to create blank invoices for yourself with space for information about the purchaser and when/how they plan to pick up the work, if they have paid etc. Include the ways you can be paid, i.e. Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, check, etc)

10.  It’s best to call the gallery or come to the gallery during your show as often as possible.  Make the most of your show by bringing friends and calling to invite everyone you have ever known.

11.  It’s always a good idea to plan events at the gallery during your show.  This brings in a larger audience to your work.  Past events have included poetry readings, dance performances, musical performances and lectures.

12.  Always bring or hire additional people to help you hang or de-hang your show.  You cannot do this alone.  Ask friends/members for help or ask about who would be available for hire.

13.  You should place a pile of your show cards on the desk in the lobby of the building.  The front and back of your card should be taped to a window pane in front of the building as well.

14.  It’s recommended that you have only a small numeral on the wall or stand identifying each piece in your show, or you can choose to purchase numbered map pins for numbering the work.   A list with these numbers as well as the name title, media, size and price of each piece should be made available to gallery visitors.  Alternatively, if you have a list with thumbnail images of the work, numbering the pieces is not necessary at all.

15.  Please try not to have any additional text on the walls of your exhibition.  A clean, unsullied wall with work that has breathing room is the best way to feature your work in most cases.

17.  For those members who are not familiar with Ceres operations and Chelsea in general, it is optimal for the artist to have her opening reception on Thursday evening or Saturday afternoon as those are the times when there is the most traffic.  Also, planning to attend the monthly Zoom meeting or be at the gallery during your exhibition to speak about your work to the membership. It is important and beneficial to your work and to you.

18.   Your dues must be fully paid up before you install your exhibition.  No exceptions.

POINTERS: HANGING YOUR SOLO EXHIBITION

 At Ceres, the guiding principle is that we want our gallery artists to have more opportunity to make choices regarding their exhibition than they would have at a commercial gallery. Therefore, we choose not to impose the usual constraints of the marketplace on exhibitions.  We especially try not to impose any aesthetic constraints on an exhibition as an artist’s show is hers to create as long as it does not place any other artist at a disadvantage.  However, there are some aspects of a successful show that we ***URGE*** our members to consider.  These are not marketplace considerations, they are just good exhibition choices.  PLEASE:

1.  Do not hang/install any more work than is necessary to communicate what you would like to say to your audience.  After all, art is a form of communication and just as a rapidly spoken, garbled statement with long run-on sentences is a poor way to verbally communicate, a show in which one cannot see each piece with clarity and precision makes for a not very successful show.  Although we understand that you may have been working in the studio for years to assemble the work for your show, filling the gallery with as many pieces as you can fit in the space detracts from your efforts; it looks unprofessional and IS unprofessional.  Unless your work’s narrative is over-the-top visual excess, you should consider editing your work….seriously editing it down.  EDIT YOUR WORK !

2.  Do consider the lighting of your show to be one of the most essential aspects of installing your work.  Do not wait until the last moment to light your show.  Make every attempt to get someone who is adept at the fine art of lighting to help you or to actually do it for you.  You should think about hiring someone if no one you are friendly with has the appropriate knowledge.  LIGHT YOUR SHOW WELL!

3.  Do not use oversize numbers on the wall for identification of your work.  We would like you to have numbers that are unobtrusive, such as lightly penciled small identifying wall numbers or very tiny press-on ones.  Do not, under any circumstances, use placards, description cards or large vinyl numbers as identification for your pieces.  Your overall installation will dictate how to handle the identification of your work. A list with the numbers and information about each piece should be made available at the desk and the walls should contain as little as possible other than your work, your name and title of your show.  In some cases it’s not even necessary to number your work.  A list with thumbnail photos of each piece could suffice. KEEP THE WALLS CLEAR OF ALL EXTRANEOUS VISUAL CLUTTER!

4.  Do not order wall signage with letters larger than 2.5 – 3 inches.  Your signage should be informational but not obnoxious.  It should look professional and not glaring.  The work is the most important visual element, not your name.  KEEP WALL SIGNAGE A REASONABLE SIZE!

POINTERS CONTINUED: HANGING YOUR SHOW

There is limited shelf space in the storage room for incoming shows where you may keep your packing materials and other things for your show.  The storage space is also limited.

You should bring all the tools and fasteners that you may need to install your work.  In addition, you might want a brush and a paint roller for touch up.  You will find touch up paint in the storeroom.

You are responsible for any cards, signage, price lists, etc. that you feel are necessary for your show.  Your opening is also your responsibility: scheduling it and providing any refreshments.  Additionally you are responsible to hire a bartender if you require one and to pay the concierge if your reception takes place at any time after building hours. (8-6 Mon,Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat and 8-8 Thurs)

The Gallery has excellent track lighting.  Be gentle with the track!  Spare bulbs are usually available.  If not, you will need to purchase bulbs.  Bulbs MUST be LED. If you have special lighting requirements you may provide alternatives as long as you do not exceed the wattage and amperage in each gallery.  There should not be more than 1000 watts on each dimmer switch.

You should have your own guest book and may have any other support materials.

You are welcome to set up tape recorders, slide viewers, and video monitors during the exhibition as long as it does not interfere with the other showing artist’s exhibition. You must, however, leave instructions for the sitter.

If your exhibit has any special requirements (i.e. subdued lighting, audio, or electric components, etc.), please leave clear, concise instructions.

DEHANGING YOUR SHOW

Saturday, at 6:00 PM, your show will close.  Dehanging and removal of purchased pieces may begin at that time.

Repair the walls by filling any holes with spackle and then sanding and painting to prepare the gallery for the next show. You must have repaired the walls and returned any sculpture stands to the storage closet by 12 noon on Sunday.  Brooms and dust bins are in the storage room.  The gallery should look as if it is a virgin space when you have finished.

Leave a note for Stefany if, when you are repairing the gallery, you find that you have used up any painting/repairing  supplies .

Guidelines for Artists Sharing Showing Space 

1) In the instance where two Affiliates are sharing the Full space and each Affiliate is a 2-D artist, the gallery walls should be divided up in any way both artists feel is equitable BUT the amount of work on the walls for each artist must not exceed, approximately, the amount of work they would have installed individually in the Affiliate space. 

2) In the instance where two Affiliates are sharing the Full space and one Affiliate is a 2-D artist with work on the walls and the other is a 3-D artist with work on stands or the floor, the Full space should be divided in half.  In no case should the 2-D artist use all the wall space and the 3-D artist use all the floor space.  As in all cases, the amount of work for each artist must not exceed the approximate amount they would have shown in the Affiliate space.

3) In the instance where two artists, one Full and one Affiliate, have decided to share the entire gallery space (both galleries) because they are slotted to show at the same time and elect to share the space, they can choose to divide the walls and the floor in any way they agree upon with the proviso that a show that is too crowded looks unprofessional and does not well represent Ceres or the artists.

Finally, it’s important for members to abide by these guidelines because making showing as equitable as possible is important for the life and health of our community.  It is required that in the case of two Affiliates sharing the Full space, the plan for the division of space be presented to the Director in advance of the installation and she reserves the right to request changes to that installation, if necessary, even after it has been installed. 

FLOOR PLAN-BOTH GALLERIES

Instructions for the eBlast, Website and Artsy

DO NOT SEND THE REQUIRED INFO THE LAST MINUTE

One month before your show please send for the EBLAST to Jo-Ann:

1. Your card image or your featured image (not an image of your card but the image of the work on the card)

2. Title, year, size, media for that image

3. A two sentence blurb about the show

4. Date and time of reception(s)

5. Full Press Release

6. Any information about special hours, events or when you will be in the gallery

One month before your show, for ARTSY please send to Francine: 

1.Your show only gets listed upon opening but the images can go up earlier.

2. All of the first list (above)

3. Up to 5 new images from the show along with the Artsy forms filled out including price. These will be additional images in your folder. You originally submitted 8, then you got an additional 4, now you are getting another 5. We won’t be removing images after the show. I need information about the work to publish your images. Artsy has requirements that must be met.

4. A price list of up to 50 pieces as a pdf (optional)

If you are not already on Artsy, please send Francine a brief bio so we can make an artist folder for you. This is the only way you get to show what is in your show. (Look at the Artsy guidelines.)

One month before your show for Ceres WEBSITE please send to Jo-Ann: 

1.Your show is posted between takedown of the last show and the opening of yours.

2. All of the first list (above)

3. If you want to update your CV, now is the time. Please mark changes. Don’t make us read thru each line to see what changed and what didn’t.

4. If you want to change your images you must let Jo-Ann know which images you are removing—you only have 10 total.

5. The new images must include title, year, size, media for each.