Gallery Going 101
This guide covers:
➡ Galleries: before, during and after (How to find out about shows, how we look at art, and how we approach art writing/discussing art we’ve seen)
➡ How to actively interact with art
➡ How you can incorporate what you’ve seen into your practice
Written by: Shae Myles & Georgia Tooke
Edited by: Shae Myles & Georgia Tooke
Introduction
This guide was inspired by an episode of our podcast, The J&J Show titled “Art Debrief and Gallery Going 101.” We wanted to make a more concrete, readable version of what we discussed, so you can mull it over in a different way and put some of the ideas into practice. Going to galleries is sometimes super overwhelming and they often have a sticky air of inaccessibility, so we wanted to think about how we look at and digest art. We’ve also been writing a lot more, and so we wanted to give you some tips on that.
You definitely don’t have to go to galleries with a rigid plan detailing your every move, but we’ve both come away from gallery visits feeling like we’ve wasted the opportunity or that we didn’t get as much out of it as we could have. Whether you want fresh inspiration, something to write about or review, or simply want to enjoy some art, we hope this will be useful!
It might be helpful to get your hands on a teeny little pocket-sized notebook, make a few notes from this guide about what you’d like to start implementing, and then go to a gallery and put it to the test!
Part One: Galleries: Before, During, and After
How to find out about shows:
Insta: The majority of the shows I’ve been to see recently has been because I’ve seen someone post pics on their insta. It’s also helpful to save pics into a folder directly on insta so you can go back and plan!
Ask people!!! irl, post on your story with the question box, talk to staff while in galleries etc…
Mailing lists of ur fave galleries/organisations. This is actually the easiest way to remember what your city has to offer you, as once you’ve signed up, they do all the work for you by telling you what’s coming up!
Google galleries in your city and check out their current/upcoming shows (Pretty obvious but this is how I found this incredible resource in Glasgow!)
How we look at art:
It’s so important to remember that everyone’s approach to this is different, these are just some ideas!
Go into the gallery with a refreshed + open mind
Be prepared to spend actual time, no running around or feeling rushed by having a tight deadline for the next thing you’re doing that day. I like to do a once over just taking in the work and make a few notes if they come to me instantly, and then walk around a second time to fully take my time and think about what I’m looking at in more depth.
I like to take a teeny notebook in or make notes on my phone just so I can unpack my thoughts for writing later. Even if you don’t want to write but you want to remember how you felt or what you liked/didn't like (in real time) it’s helpful to have a stream of consciousness
Take photos or note down your faves to add into your sketchbook/research/look at again later! Remember to take of photos of the label beside it (I’m always referencing back to work I’ve seen after I’ve left the gallery and I would hate to have missed the info of who the artist was!)
Attention spans are a thing of the past!!! BUT, try and look at work for as long as you can. If there’s a video piece, really try to sit and watch the full thing. Yes. Even if it’s 40 mins long!!
If you have the time, challenge yourself to sit with a piece you maybe wouldn’t normally spend time on to see if you can gain anything more from it
Top tip from Georgia’s brother, Owen:
“I’ve had great experiences from accidentally entering an exhibition through the exit first. As the viewer you’re actively more engaged trying to figure out what’s going on, piecing it together backwards. When you enter through the beginning, the gallery is obviously spoon feeding you the chronological narrative, therefore you can kinda just cruise through.”
How we approach art writing/discussing art we’ve seen:
Shae - Writing
I like to write in a way that I would talk or text, or write in my notes to myself
I want my work to be easy to read, debunking the heavy jargon and scary academic stuff that I’m not personally drawn to
I want you to WANT to read it !!!!
This comes way more naturally to me, and makes it easier to write, let alone read!
TIP: try writing for yourself and see what style comes naturally to you, pretend no one else is gonna read it. It’s always good to expand ur research and read other people’s stuff to decipher the range of writing there is and what you enjoy. Make a list of the reasons you like specific work/pieces and go from there : )
Think about what do you actually want to write about. I write about my experience as a whole and what it made me think of after: I describe the work and explain how it made me feel
Shae - Discussing
When I’m in the gallery, I make notes of things I liked, as well as things I didn't
And most importantly, I note down WHY - this is hard sometimes but it’s key to developing a critical approach to viewing and making art
What did it make you think of afterwards, in your general life and not just in terms of art/your practice… did you think of it again when you were on your commute the week after? Did something someone said feed into it in a roundabout way?
What did it remind you of? Again, this doesn’t have to be directly about art.
What convos did you have after it with people who were there and people who weren’t?
What did u take pics of in the moment and why (galleries can be overwhelming and busy sometimes, so often your instinct is really valuable)
Georgia - Writing
Honestly I haven’t really done much art writing, and while I’m super inspired by Shae’s writing, I’m still lacking the confidence to write and share my own! So I guess my advice is to just try! Figure out why you want to write in the first place and what your voice is. Do you want it to be more informal and anecdotal or formal and researched? Write for yourself (good practice to deepen your understanding of work), write for a blog section on your website & share on your IG, write for your art friends or your mom to read so you can have someone to discuss it with.
Georgia - Discussing
I LOVE discussing art, as most of u know that’s one of the driving forces of J&J is bc Shae and I love talking about all things art. This is the spice of life!! Art can lead us to discover new feelings, ideas, understanding, knowledge.
Beers - One of my favourite parts of my undergrad was rounding up whoever was in the studio after class and heading over to the campus pub to discuss art. There’s something about sharing a pitcher of beer while debating topics in the art world or getting into a further discussion about how a crit went that just hits different in this setting! This is defs my preferred environment for art discussions: you’re out of the white stuffy walls of the institution and into the cozy booths of a pub chatting amongst friends.
Someone once told me a long time ago that it's important to form your own opinion on everything. You certainly don’t need to always share that opinion (in many cases, it’s good to keep it to yourself) but it’s good to have one. To form an independent thought, even if it goes against what your peers, profs or critics say. Be open to listening to others but you don’t always have to agree. But as Shae mentioned earlier, back it up with WHY
Bonussss = * WHAT ABOUT WRITING ABOUT THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE?
This is something I’ve struggled with recently, but art writing and art criticism is all about your opinion!
After all, art is subjective. As long as you back up the WHY, it’s totally viable. Remember, you can’t like everything!!
If you’re reviewing your peers, tread lightly. Be considerate but honest. This is different when talking about big institutions who have a lot of experience & training.
Part Two: General Tips
How to actively interact with art:
Note taking - as we’ve already mentioned, note taking in any form this comes naturally to you is key to digesting and processing art you’ve seen.
Pic taking - note artists you like and think about why.
Really take your time!! They say on average people spend 27 seconds looking at great art. Try and spend a full minute, 10 minutes, an hour. Build up your attention span and note down the differences you experience.
Tips on how to incorporate what you’ve seen into your practice:
Thematically/contextually - what did the work explore? What was it inspired by? What did it make you think of/could you relate to it? Most larger galleries will have artist talks that accompany the exhibition text, that you can either watch at the gallery or online. Both these types of material can be helpful to understanding the work more fully.
Look at the curation - what made the work successful (what didn't), how was it hung? What enhanced your experience as a viewer? What do you wish there was/what was missing?
Sometimes shows have further reading listed in the press release/accompanying text, or books on display in learning areas in bigger galleries. Take some time to sit and read them, or note them down for later!
What to do with the information critically:
Now that you’ve seen all these shows, you can use the inspiration to fuel writing, discussion, or incorporate it into your practice as directly or indirectly as you like.
✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹
That’s a wrap! If you want to hear us discussing gallery-going, listen to The J&J Show, Episode 2 on all major streaming platforms! We really hope this has been helpful in giving you some ideas for your next gallery trip, and if it has, we’d love to hear your feedback! Let us know what works for you, and how you approach looking at and processing art!
If you liked this support doc and found it useful, consider becoming a Patron!! Each of these guides can take upwards of 20 hours to create and we do it FOR FREEEEE - you can show your support for as little as £1.50 a month if you’re able to. We would be so grateful, and it’ll mean we can keep on creating these guides and ensuring they are accessible to all!
READ MORE/BECOME A PATREON HERE!
Remember these are some tips to get you started, and that we’re both learning and growing with you! If you think we missed anything in this guide, just let us know!
Lots n lots of luv,
Shae and Georgia xo