It was a bit of a struggle trying to get the 10 photographers to respond, They kept saying, "yeah yeah we're in" but not really offering me anything concrete, so I was little worried that it would all come together. I just had to trust that they would come through and they did. All the photographers I had asked produced at least one image some giving three or more images each to hang.
Another friend, a graphic designer, did the invitations, and I started sending them out. The responses were all really positive with lots of people promising to come which was great, suddenly it felt very real, and it did feel like it was going to be ok.
Next I gathered prizes for raffles as I realised I was going to have lots of people there at the opening but not everyone would buy photography so it was important to make the most of the crowd on opening night by having other options where by they could make a contribution if they couldn't afford to buy artwork.
Again I asked friends and clients for prizes, we had the Cadbury hamper and cherry ripes and also a magazine subscription and books from a client, I also donated a photo shoot/family portrait as a prize and Blanco Negro donated a B&W print for this too, So this ended up being a good way of raising some more money on the night.
I then needed a sponsor for wine on the opening night, luckily I have a few wine clients and so I put in a request with someone I knew. I was having trouble getting an answer and hadn't heard anything back, I was getting worried and running well out of time with this and then as luck would have it, after Kelly's event I bumped into Lisa McGuigan from Tempest Two, and asked if she had heard about my request, she hadn't, it had been lost somewhere in the line of people trying to get it to her, but she said yes on the spot and on the Monday had cases and cases of champagne delivered to the venue. Sometimes things just fall into place.
My next hurdle was hanging all the prints, some were framed and some not making it tricky so a few friends gathered at the gallery, the day before the opening night to help me get the images up. Photographers dropped in to see there work and it all started to look fantastic.
I ran around the day of the opening doing last minute stuff, mostly everything felt organised, until I got to the gallery and realised I had left my speech at home, this really threw me, left me with a nervous bumble of thankyou's which I still look back on and cringe, but luckily Jade's speech had the whole room hanging on her every word.
It really was fantastic and one of the photographers, Stuart Spence, got the crowd all geared up for buying. We sold quite a few that night, and the raffles and donations at the bar were a good idea too.
The exhibition overall went really well. I have been quite fearful of exhibiting for a long time, the last time I had a solo exhibition I was very young and fear hadn't crept in, there is something quite revealing about showing your work. So for me this was a good way of facing some of those fears.
After the opening I then had another two weeks to encourage people to go and I spent both Saturdays at the gallery talking with people about the exhibition, the charity, Girls on Top and the adventure we are about to set off on. This bit I really enjoyed, the Saturdays at the gallery, just a really nice time to catch up with people and talk about what we are doing.
So now with it all taken down, images being organised to send off to their new homes I have had some time to do the tally.
xx Cath |