Not a Rejection, but a solo show!

"Dear Ms. Clements,

Congratulations! Your work has been accepted by the College Fine Arts Gallery Committee for a solo show in our 2006-2008-exhibition schedule.

Our committee is composed of Full-Time and Part-Time Fine Arts Faculty, the Fine Arts Department Head, and the Fine Arts Gallery Curator. In total we received over 60 submissions for the 11 openings that we have planned in our gallery from August 2006 to May 2008, out of which 19 artists were selected for group and solo shows. Because of the limited number of spaces we have available in our schedule the awarding of a solo show carries extra prestige.

Attached you will find the pertinent material for your exhibition, including the date of the exhibition and required work delivery date. As stated in the call for entries, the gallery pays for the return shipment of artwork and insurance during the shipment. We ask that if you work is arriving by freight delivery, that you specify which carrier you wish for your work to be returned with and that you contact the carrier to confirm that they are willing to deliver fine art.

Again, congratulations on your solo show, we are excited to have you exhibit with us at the College Fine Arts Gallery. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,


The Curator"

How's that for a little encouragement? Every now and then you'll get a really good letter back. Don't let all the rejections keep you from trying. Rejection is simply part of the game, with so many different opportunities, venues, directors, and jurors, the odds of being just what they need, exactly when they need it can often work against you, but eventually something will shake loose.

And an email rejection... two for one today

"July 7, 2006

Dear Suzanne Clements,

Thank you very much for sending us your website link to your portfolio of work, which was presented to our selection committee at a recent meeting.

After carefully evaluating your material, we feel that we cannot offer you an exhibition slot at this time. This is no reflection on the quality of your portfolio. Rather, it is our assessment of what will provide the best balance of local and national art

If you should develop a new body of work that you would like us to consider, please feel free to re-submit.

Thank you for your portfolio submission to our gallery.

Sincerely,

The folks in charge"

I actually don't even remember applying to this one so it must have been a good while back. Email inquiries actually get fewer responses than snail mail. I think many galleries have email addresses, but either don't check them often enough, or ignore them altogether.

A Magazine Rejection... just for me

"Dear Southern Artist,

I am sorry to say these slides must be returned to you at this time, for it means that our juror, Mr. Smith, Director of the Such N’ Such Art Gallery at the University at Springfield, did not select them for this year’s southern edition. Only 40 artists could be selected from among the hundreds who competed in the eleventh Open Studios Southern States Competition.

Over the years, our competitions have become increasingly competitive. We do hope that you will compete again next year. Numerous artists we have published have submitted more than once before being selected.

If you would like a copy of the magazine in which this competition’s winners will appear, you can order a copy directly from us at a 40% discount. Mail this letter with your name and address printed below, and a check (or your credit card information) for $15. We will ship you a book when it comes off the press in June.

Thank you for competing. The deadline for next year’s southern entries will be December 31, 2006.

Sincerely,

Jessica Smith
Managing Editor"

Well... I tried. I suppose if as many as 500 artists applied for the book (I'd be kind of surprised if they had that many entries), and only 40 got in that I only had an 8% chance of being selected. To be fair, my chances were probably better than that given how many entries were likely unusable due to poor slides, incomplete entries, and other criteria not followed correctly (oh how often that happens). We shall see. I suppose I didn't realize there would only be one juror! That's quite a big job for one person.