Hanging artwork in restaurants

You may have noticed a trend with fine dining establishments reserving display space for original fine art, usually by local artists.  When I first started painting, there were two modes of thought on this... Some artists felt that hanging your artwork in a restaurant was undesirable and was simply decorating another's space... for free! I was advised by some to not hang my art in restaurants... But, since I have been painting, I have had my artwork in many, many restaurants.  And it has almost always been a win-win situation.  If you are an artist and are thinking about hanging your work in a restaurant, here are a few pointers... Most importantly, make sure that certain things are agreed upon up front... The restaurant should always give you permission to have your work for sale and you should always be able to display label information with your artwork so patrons know your work is for sale. Along with your artwork, hang an artist statement with your contact info, website and social media links.  Make sure there is decent lighting and if the space has a hanging system in place, bonus! If not, make sure the owners are ok with you moving hangers if you need to. Determine the percentage the restaurant is taking (if any... some don't take a percentage!) and determine who will handle the sale, should someone want to purchase a piece.  Also, it doesn't hurt to have the staff on board and knowledgeable about your work so they can talk about it positively when you are not there, so you might want to leave a little info sheet for them to get acquainted with you..  I have had a lot of success hanging in alternative venues like this and would encourage any artist looking to put their eggs in more than one basket to give it a shot.

Take More Chances, Dance More Dances, oil, 8"x8"
Will be available at one of the 2 venues mentioned....

So, point of story....  I will be hanging my work in 2 beautiful restaurants on Monday! -  Say Cheese in West Reading and the Soltane Cafe in Phoenixville.  My gallery, Art Plus, has had a relationship with Say Cheese for some time and we hang our member's work there all the time. It is a wonderful restaurant and has a great gallery space towards the back of the restaurant where they even installed a hanging and lighting system to make it easier to hang your work! Things have been so successful, the owners are looking to expand the hanging space into the front of the restaurant. Very cool!  I have never hung in the Soltane Cafe before, but am so looking forward to getting my feet wet in the Phoenixville scene, and the manager, Emma Peabody is a total sweetheart. 

As you may have imagined, the past few weeks have been jam packed for me with preparing new work for these two shows.  I've painted 14 new paintings (which I can't even believe...) and am in the process of finishing frames.  The weekend will be spent deciding which work goes where, printing labels and putting the finishing touches on everything.  :) Life is good... 

Check out the details of both shows below, and happy Friday!