Writing an exhibition proposal

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'Writing an exhibition proposal' How to tackle
writing and putting together an exhibition
proposal. Jenny Brownrigg
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• Exhibition proposal
• Usually comprises of
• -Proposal
• -Artist Statement
• -Images
• -Image List
• CV
• -Supporting material
• cover letter (if appropriate)
• Budget (if asked for)

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• Proposal
• Tips
• ensure that all is typed and in the same font,
  from proposal through to image list and cv
• No curly fonts! Keep it Helvetica or Arial
• Keep it in a logical order so the panel can read
  through it easily
• Dont write an epic. It will not be read. Keep
  proposal to maximum of 2 x A4 sides if the
  organisation has not set a word count
• Good quality digital images - keep same size and
  300dpi. Ensure they can open on mac and pc. Do
  not supply over the amount asked for (normally
  10)
• Supporting material If supplying a film have it
  cued at bit you want the selection panel to see -
  it may be you edit an excerpt or have a showreel
  with a menu that they can select to watch. Again
  a panel will only spend max 3 mins on watching
  something. Stick to what they ask for re.
  duration

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• -Exhibition Proposal
• Write a clear proposal
• Dont make generalisations, be specific and
  articulate your idea / concept clearly without
  going down path of high-theoretical language -
  Dont quote Deleuze, Derrida or Lacan!
• -Project working title
• - names of artist/s
• -Detailed summary of your idea
• Themes of the project
• Proposed idea
• If group show why are you working together?
• If solo how would this opportunity be key in the
  development of your practice

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• Example
• See handout
• Excerpt of Exhibitions Dept proposal to Cupar
  Arts Festival 2008
• -Project working title Fifeman
• -Detailed summary of your idea
• This exhibition is an unconventional exploration
  of the psyche of Fifeman by four male artists
  all hailing from towns in Fife. All four artists
  utilise myth, storytelling along with the people
  and places of Fife in their work. Fifeman
  presents the work of Dunfermline man Alan Grieve,
  Kelty lads Jason Nelson and Kevin Reid, with
  Peter Haining who was schooled at Bell Baxter,
  Cupar and Buckhaven High School. All Fifemen
  attended Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and
  Design, Dundee.

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• Example
• Lower Foyer exhibition
• Lauren Gault and Ashley Nieuwenhuizen
• -Project working title Moult-in
• Aim of project
• Gault and Nieuwenhuizen had identified
  theoretical and stylistic connections between
  their work, which they had realised during their
  degree show in 2008, which they wanted to have
  the opportunity to explore through working
  together in collaborating on a two-person
  exhibition.
• -Detailed summary of your idea
• Excerpt from proposal
• Moult-in will give us the opportunity to explore
  the dialogue between our practices.
• Through the morphing of her body, to that of
  animal, Ashley Nieuwenhuizen explores the
  relationship between man and creature, and the
  similarities and characteristics shared. Lauren
  Gaults work centres around a preoccupation with
  the brutal and often violent reality of the
  processes in nature beyond the realm of
  instinct.

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• -Artist Statement
• Purpose This provides a summary overview of your
  practice
• Aims It provides a logical overview of your
  practice and will support the idea you are
  presenting in your proposal.
• Make sure it links to your proposal idea
• NB If you are proposing an exhibition of bronze
  bridges, it would not make sense if your artist
  statement is about your self-portrait paintings.
  The panel would just discount it as it is too big
  a jump.
• Form it takes
• Introductory paragraph to main themes or ideas of
  your work
• Second paragraph could pull out some examples of
  projects that have formed your practice

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• Example artist statement
• Catherine Street
• Catherine Streets practice stems from drawing
  but encompasses writing, performance,
  installation and video. Much of the work on paper
  involves the modification of found printed
  matter, through drawing, collage and cutting.
  Sources for this work include photographic
  imagery from vintage crime, nature and scientific
  books and magazines, as well as digital imagery
  generated by searching the web. Drawing and
  writing are developed in tandem and often overlap
  with each other so that writing becomes part of
  the practice of drawing and vice versa.
• Performance to camera work has looked at drawing
  and performance, with four Ink videos which
  bring the act of drawing close to the body, as
  ink is dripped on to the flesh, blown out of a
  straw or, in the case of Ink 3, blood is used as
  ink. Current avenues of interest centre around
  developing performances based on documentary
  video footage or from previous performances. The
  writing and collage based elements of drawing are
  used in the derivation of scripted performance.

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Budget Income total should always equal
expenditure total Income amount might be stated
by organisation. If expenditure is more than that
you would have to specify where other funding
comes from What costs does organisation cover?
Artist fee? Print, opening, travel costs? AN has
good guide of charge per day for your time if you
need to put that in, even as an in-kind cost eg.
New graduate artist 183 per day
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Supporting material Types of images Installation
Shot
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Detail shot
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Detail shot
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Above Image of Second project NB. Always select
the images to support that particular
application You dont have to show them
everything - stick to selecting a couple of
projects that support that particular
proposal Never send more than they specify - the
panel will not look at it
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Proposal title Your name Image List (comprises
of numbered index Title of Work, Year, Medium,
and if necessary, short explanation of
image) 1. A Conflict of Interests, 2008 Carved
beech wood taps, on a beech shelf with soap
dishes carved into it. Installed on a wall as
part of my degree show, the title coming from a
conversation I had with an artist 2. Cmon Tim,
If Not For Yourself, Do It For England, 2008
Interactive croquet set comprising of a tennis
ball, ragged bronze hoops and rudimentary
mallet 3. Club Tie Series (1st, 2nd and 3rd),
2008 Painting triptych produced for a show at
Wasp Studios, Glasgow, which also appeared in a
show at White Nave, Devon, in an exhibition
curated by graduates of Central St Martins
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CV Example PLEASE NOT THIS! CV Name Address Emai
l contact Phone number Born dd/mm/yyyy Educati
on 2004 2008 BA(Hons) Fine Art (1st Class
Honours) Exhibitions 2008 Jul
Aug Departures Charlton Art Centre, Dover

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CV Name Address Email contact Phone number Born
dd/mm/yyyy In headings section always start
with most recent dates and work back - also
edit!!! Education 2004 2008 BA(Hons) Fine Art
(1st Class Honours) Exhibitions 2008 Jul
Aug Departures Charlton Art Centre, Dover
Jul Aug New Generation Show 2008 Compass
Gallery, Glasgow Jun Aug Francis Boag
supporting exhibition Just Art,
Fochabers 2007 Nov Preview Roseangle
Gallery, Dundee Nov Multiply in conjunction
with Great Glen House, Inverness More Than
Us, Dalziel and Scullion
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Work experience 2008 present Committee
member, Generator Projects, Dundee 2008 Deboardi
ng Degree Show areas, University of
Dundee 2007 Invigilator at WASP Studios, Dundee
Six Cities DesignFestival 2006
present Curator Writer of exhibition
interpretation and accompanying text Gallery,
A New Contemporary Space, Dundee
Other headings could be Curated
Exhibitions Awards and residencies Publications

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If you are writing a proposal to a brief provided
by the organisation, make sure you identify and
answer all the questions they ask, in your
proposal Example Hand-out Nine Trades of
Dundee brief Fraser Macdonald proposal

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Useful Website www.a-n.co.uk Good Practice
Guide for New Artists http//www.a-n.co.uk/publi
cations/document/360872 which summarises areas
to think about with reference to further a-n
published reading available for A-N and also uses
artist case studies to give examples. The two
further reading sources which are most relevant
to writing proposals are the following Going
for Grants http//www.a-n.co.uk/knowledge_bank/art
icle/257212 about Writing a Clear Proposal,
Compiling a Realistic Budget, Speaking the
Language of the Funders and writing in Evaluation
of your Project. Proposals http//www.a-n.co.uk
/knowledge_bank/article/81045 which speaks about
different Contexts for the Proposal and
Opportunity, Matching your Agenda to that of the
Organisation, how to Handle the Element of
Competition and making sure your Documentation is
up to scratch.