Fresh Talk: Danny Simmons

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Conversations About Creativity in the 21st Century

Danny Simmons, a high profile Brooklyn-based artist, shares the essential elements of his creative practice—writing, painting, collecting and, most of all, philanthropy. 

Sound Editor: Leonardo Madriz 
Photos: Mark Blackshear

We Speak Your Language

Amy Sherald, Fresh Media Director, English
Wang Qianfei, Chinese
Estefany Cormana, Spanish
Cathy Byrd, French


Amy, Cathy, and our new interns, Qianfei and Estefany, are the burst of energy behind FAI Tweets in English, Chinese, Spanish and French. These four post the latest international art news on FAI Facebook, too. Our own big news flash? Qianfei just created an FAI Twitter page on China's weibo.com!

If your first language is not English and you'd like to join our fresh media team, please write to freshartinternational@gmail.com. Hasta Pronto!

Fresh Rx.3 with Kesha Bruce

Solutions to Your Creative Dilemmas

The gallery that represents me doesn't show or sell much of my work. Should I look for a new space? 

A sculptor, Montreal

Galleries have a tough job. They generally represent a large group of artists in an already very crowded market place. And in this “new economy,” their work isn’t getting any easier. So, before you jump ship, why not have a sit down with your gallery’s director and discuss the problem? Try to leave emotion out of the equation and figure out a better way to market “the product.” After all, the Artist/Gallery relationship is a business arrangement, pure and simple. Why not find out if there is a way that the two of you could work together to increase your profit? That’s what business partners do.

If, at the end of the day, the gallery doesn’t seem enthusiastic about trying new tactics, or they don’t take your work or your concerns seriously, then by all means consider moving your work to another gallery. Sometimes a gallery’s focus changes, the artist’s work changes, or the gallery’s audience and collector base changes. No one is at fault. It’s just the natural evolution of things. There’s no reason you can’t end a professional relationship with a gallery on good terms and make a positive move to show your work in a new setting.

Note: For a gallerist's view on the subject, consider reading this blog by Ed Winkleman, owner, director of Winkleman Gallery, New York. He offers advice to artists seeking and changing galleries.

Send me your questions. I'm here to help! freshartinternational@gmail.com
Kesha Bruce

Upcoming Fresh Talk for 2012!

Fresh Talk 2012 Cathy Byrd sparks conversations with Creatives Danny Simmons Waxing philanthropic Kesha Bruce Making art and opportunities Antoni Muntadas Merging language, creativity and community Khadijah Queen Writing peculiar black poetry Papo Colo Introducing the world to El Junque Regina Frank Shifting environmental interventions And MORE...

Fresh Talk: Ira Kip

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Conversations About Creativity in the 21st Century

In this episode, theater director Ira Kip talks about the raw space between medical politics and domestic violence in the LGBT ( lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual) community. The presentation of her new play She's Baltimore begins with a February 14, 2012, benefit at the LOFTheatre in Baltimore to raise funds for assisting young women who are victims of domestic violence. The play premieres on February 17, 2012, at the LOFT. 

Sound and Photos: Ira Kip

FAI Looks Back at 2011

This bright beginning anticipates a stellar future for FAI:

Fresh Rx.2 with Kesha Bruce

Solutions to Your Creative Dilemmas

I'd really like to be represented by a gallery. How can I make that happen?

A printmaker, Paris

There’s no one formula that will guarantee your entry into any gallery, but there are a few steps you can take to make the path a bit easier.

The first step is to do your research. Take a look at galleries that interest you. Does your work fit in with their current roster of artists?  Do you have anything in common with their other artists in terms of style, medium, career stage, and price range? If the answer to all of the above is 'yes,' then you can move on to the next step where you visit the gallery website, find out their submission policy, and send your beautifully designed informational packet.

That said, in my experience, the easiest way to get your work into a gallery is to be introduced to the gallery's director by one of the artists that’s already working with that space. Get on the gallery mailing list and start going to their openings. Add the gallery to your mailing list (This means your snail mail, postcard invite mailing list. Never add a gallery to your e-mail list without permission!) Introduce yourself—not only to the gallery director, but also to the other artists who work with the gallery. Once you’ve spent time getting to know the workings of the gallery, the director, and the gallery's artists, then you might go about asking the director if they’d be interested in looking at your work.

If this whole process sounds a bit like a dating ritual, that’s because in some ways, it is. Essentially, when you sign a contract with a gallery, you’re entering into a complex business relationship that involves plenty of risks for both parties.  When viewed from this perspective, clearly, a bit of “courting” is in order. 

Send me your questions. I'm here to help! Kesha Bruce: freshartinternational@gmail.com