1.Be your authentic self

Always believe in yourself as an artists, know what you are creating, what value does it holds and how is it different from others. Believing what you are bringing to the table while speaking about art as an artist is really important. Insightful thinking, it’s essential to understand what you make so that you can make other people connect better with you art and the idea behind it. You have to ask yourself 3 questions: Who am I? , What is it that I am making? and Why I am making it? The answers to these questions does not come overnight, you have to think and give time to develop with time. To talk about your art confidently you need to first be confident about yourself and for that it’s important to know what’s your art is all about and in the process of finding that, you can ask other people what they see in your art. See how people are responding to your art. By doing this you will be able to understand what other seeing from their eyes & experience and what you see from yours and thus you can learn what your art is all about and this way you will find your authenticity as an artist.

2. Understand your audience

First & foremost, you have to understand your art. The important task to do here is to know what’s special in your art & what’s meaningful to you in your work before you tell it to anyone else. Figure out that ‘one thing’ that is the most authentic & important about your art which you want people to know. Once you have figured that ‘one thing’ out for yourself , it will be much more easier for you to speak in front of people as you will be well prepared for it.

3. Do some ground work

Even if you have your elevator pitch ready, it’s still important to already have some full fledged plan & idea for the show you are going to present. Being confident at this stage is the most essential & will only happen when you are well prepared from the start. You have to feel confident inside out about you art and everything you will be talking about. People should know what different you are bringing to the table. Don’t limit yourself to just one things and can talk to your audience about anything you will it is important for them to know and anything by which you feel your audience will be more connected with.

4. Don’t Oversell

So you are meeting somebody for the first time, do you think it is okay to start blabbering your sales pitch? No, it’s not required at all. You can not talk to everyone you meet with the intention of selling your art to them. This is a big big turnoff for anyone listening to you. Art is something very personal and subjective. So it will only interest people who will feel connected to it. No matter how much you have spoken, they will only buy it once they will be able to understand or feel it personally. It will be very useful for you try not to exaggerate about your work. Try to just move with the flow and not show your vulnerability by using negative words like overboard. So just try to be as authentic and real as you can & let the other person decide weather they love your art or not.

5. Be active on follow ups

Now that most of your work is done, be prepared for all the questions and follow up’s you will be getting. You obviously have made some connections or networks there so now it’s time to make those connections last longer. Be active on whatever places you’ve told people they can contact you through such as instagram, email, facebook etc. You have to make sure that if anybody tries reaching you, they can easily. Thus you have to be well prepared for all the questions & follow ups you will be getting. If you have shared something uniques with you audience then you should be prepared for more questions probably. The best way to rehearse for this is by talking to people you are comfortable with,make them your audience for now and tell them to ask questions and then try to answer them in the way you will answer your audience professionally.

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Written By: Akanksha Verma

ATH Artists Meet Up’s are a great way to begin networking with women creatives from around the world.