Can I just walk into a gallery and show my work?

Rarely successfully. Most galleries prefer an emailed submission or an open call, and turning up unannounced with a portfolio tends to interrupt their day. Visit first, then make contact the way the gallery asks.

What should an artist's submission include?

Usually 8 to 15 good images of recent work with titles, sizes, media and prices, a short artist statement, and a CV. Send what the gallery's submission page requests, and nothing it doesn't.

Do artists pay galleries to exhibit?

A reputable commercial gallery takes a commission on sales, typically around 40 to 50 percent, and does not charge artists an upfront fee to show. Spaces that ask you to pay to hang work are usually vanity galleries.

How long does it take to hear back?

Often weeks, sometimes months, and sometimes never. Galleries receive far more submissions than they can answer individually, so a lack of reply is not a verdict on your work.

How artists get into galleries: the submission process explained

Artists get into galleries in three main ways: by responding to an open call, by being referred or scouted, and by building a relationship with a gallery over time until representation follows. There is no single application form for the art world, and the route in depends as much on the kind of gallery as on the strength of the work.

What does “getting into a gallery” actually mean?

Getting into a gallery can mean several different things, and it helps to be clear which one you want. It might mean having a piece accepted into a one-off group show, being invited to a solo exhibition, or entering an ongoing relationship in which a gallery represents you, holds your work and sells it on your behalf. These are very different commitments. A group show might involve a single submission and a few weeks on the wall; representation is closer to a working partnership that can last years. Knowing your aim shapes who you approach and how.

How do open calls and submissions work?

Open calls are the most transparent way in, because the gallery has told you exactly what it wants and when. A gallery, art fair or membership society announces a theme, a deadline and an entry process, and any artist who fits the brief can apply. Societies such as those based at Bankside Gallery run regular open submissions where work is selected by a panel, and many independent spaces hold annual open exhibitions. You will usually submit digital images, the basic details of each work, and sometimes a small entry fee that covers administration. Read the brief twice. A large share of rejected submissions fail not on quality but on simple things: wrong file format, missing prices, work that ignores the stated theme, or a deadline missed by an hour.

How do artists approach a gallery directly?

Approaching a gallery directly works best when you have done your homework first. The single most common mistake is sending the same message to fifty galleries at once. A gallery that shows large abstract painting will not respond to a portfolio of small botanical etchings, however good they are, because it has no audience for them. So visit the gallery, look at who they already represent, and decide honestly whether your work sits alongside theirs. When you do make contact, keep it short and specific: who you are, why this gallery in particular, and a link to clear images. Most galleries have a stated preference, often an email address or a submissions page, and following it is the first test of whether you are easy to work with.

Galleries are not only choosing work. They are choosing the person they will be emailing, framing and chasing payments with for years.

What should a submission contain?

A good submission is small, clear and easy to say yes to. Include between roughly eight and fifteen images of recent work, each properly photographed, with the title, dimensions, medium, year and price. Add a short artist statement of a paragraph or two that explains what you do in plain language, and a CV listing exhibitions, education and any collections. Avoid the temptation to send everything you have ever made; a tight, coherent body of work reads as a clear artistic voice, while a scattergun selection reads as uncertainty. If the gallery asks for a specific format, give them exactly that and nothing more.

How important are relationships and referrals?

Relationships matter more than almost anything else, which is the part newcomers find hardest to hear. A great many gallery shows begin not with a cold submission but with a recommendation, a studio visit, or a curator who has seen your work in another context. This is why artists are advised to be present in the wider scene: to enter open exhibitions, take part in artist-run and studio spaces such as Bow Arts, attend openings, and let people get to know the work over time. None of this is about networking in the cynical sense. It is simply that galleries take on artists they trust, and trust is built by being visible, reliable and generous within a community before you ever ask for anything.

How do you handle rejection?

Rejection is the normal condition of the process, not the exception, and treating it that way protects your momentum. Galleries see far more strong work than they can ever show, and a no often means only that the timing, the space or the programme did not fit. Many established artists were turned down by the same galleries that later represented them. Keep making work, keep applying to the open calls that genuinely suit you, and keep building relationships. Persistence, paired with honesty about where your work belongs, is what eventually opens the door.