The Portfolio Review is a chance for you to get feedback on your work, but it's also a chance to build relationships with professionals who respond positively to your portfolio and to meet a community of fellow artists. Here are some tips on how to make the best of it:
Your Portfolio:
- Your Portfolio should be limited to 20-30 of your strongest prints.
- The work should be thematically unified body of work. We suggest showing a maximum of two bodies of work.
- Bring a physical portfolio with original prints—no Xeroxes, laser copies, or iPads.
- Size it important. You should bring a set of prints that can be handled and that can fit on a 4' x 2.5' table. While reviewers might like to see your photographs as they are meant to be exhibited, showing them huge prints in this setting is not a good idea, as they tend to get damaged. If you print your work large, think about bringing a photo of how you intend to display your images to illustrate your vision to the reviewer.
- Put care into your editing and sequencing—keep in mind that this is a significant part of how reviewers will respond to your work.
- Bring business cards or postcards with contact information and something that reminds reviewers of your work (an image is best). Bring enough cards for reviewers and fellow artists.
- If you plan on bringing books, CDs, etc. for reviewers, make sure they have your contact info and an image of your work on them.
- If you're promoting an exhibition, any promotional material you have should have all information on it: number of images, sizes, matting and framing requirements, installation details and photos of previous installations.
- Be on time for your appointment.
- In the last few minutes of the review:
- Ask the reviewer for his/her card.
- Ask the reviewer if you can add his/her name to your email list.
- Offer the reviewer your promotional material (booklets, exhibit catalogs, etc.) and ask if they'd like to keep them.
- Don't go over time! Remember that there are artists behind you waiting for their turn.
Follow Up
- Write a thank you note to the reviewers you met with.
- If a reviewer asks for more material, send it to them as soon as possible, and be sure to keep in touch with them. We can't stress this enough! If a reviewer asks you to follow up, DO IT! They mean it.