FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1) Why do Sweet ‘Art ask artists to contribute to costs for some exhibitions?
Sweet ‘Art are a non-funded, not for profit arts organisation and every penny of artists exhibiting fees goes toward the costs of hosting our exhibitions.
An approximate breakdown of where this money goes is as follows:
Rent - 50%
Volunteer expenses and staff wages - 4% (most of what we do is unpaid voluntary work and our volunteers get expenses for travel and food)
Insurance - 5% (we are legally required to have public liability insurance)
Marketing - 15% (includes all promotional materials, printing plus a photographer)
Equipment and materials - 8%
Logistics - 3%
Professional fees - 15% (when we have workshops, paid performers or a requirement to pay other professionals such as our accountant)
Please do take a look at our terms and conditions to learn more about our contracts with artists and any charges.
2) Shouldn’t artists be paid to exhibit their work, not the other way around!
Yes we believe they should. We always apply for funding from the Arts Council and other funding bodies, but in London this is extremely competitive. As a non-funded organisation we are not currently in a position to offer to pay artists, or exhibit their work for free except on very specific occasions. All our fees however are relative to the predicted outgoing costs of an exhibition and we keep our costs as low as possible by securing partnership working opportunities, volunteers, and sponsorship.
3) Does work exhibited with Sweet ‘Art have to be for sale?
No. Artists can choose to either have exhibited works for sale or not. If you do not wish for your work to be for sale do provide this information on your submissions form.
4) Do Sweet ‘Art take commission on sales of work in exhibitions?
No. As we charge exhibiting contributions to cover costs of hosting our exhibitions we believe it would be against our mission and values to charge artists a commission on sales in addition to fees. We also want to challenge the idea of the 'art market' - we are not a commercial gallery and enjoy exhibiting work which is challenging in terms of subject matter, form and aesthetic and for which sales are less likely.
5) How many works are exhibited for the exhibiting fee?
This may vary depending on our curating plan for the exhibition. The fee is per artist and not per work. If accepted, you may have one piece selected or several. This will be made clear in your acceptance email and the fee will remain the same unless stated otherwise.
6) Can I submit only one artwork?
Yes. You will see on the submissions form that you can submit up to 6 pieces of work, so yes you can submit just one piece or several, but not more than 6. However, if you have an artwork that consists of several pieces that are exhibited together they can be submitted as one piece.
7) I am an artist from overseas. Can I send my work to Sweet ‘Art to be exhibited and will you send it back if unsold?
Yes. Do take a look at our terms and conditions regarding the sending of works to us, and about how we manage return postage if works go unsold. We can also offer to print digital work in the UK.
8) If accepted, can I change the details of the work, such as title and price after I have completed the submissions form?
We prefer that you submit the final information on your submission form but if you are submitting for work in progress, you may amend details if you do so soon after receiving your acceptance email. Please note that the details given on your form will be used in various ways such as being included in a catalogue, on labels accompanying the work in the gallery space or on our website or press releases. Please make information as accurate as possible on your submissions form for this reason.
9) Can my work be for sale if I exhibit it with Sweet ‘Art?
Yes. We take no commission on sales made through our exhibitions but will help to facilitate the sale.
10) How big is my space in the exhibition if I get accepted?
This is dependent on our curating plan for the exhibition and our fees are not based on a specific space size. We do not host our exhibitions like an art fair and so artists are not all allocated an equal space. Works are accepted on the basis of their individual aesthetic and conceptual contribution to a larger curatorial vision. All works accepted will be included in the exhibition and given a space that best showcases the work.
11) Does my work fit the theme of your current call for artists?
You tell us! We really enjoy reading interesting ways in which your work fits our show themes. Sometimes this isn’t always an obvious fit or link but if you feel your work is relevant to the theme we are exploring, and can clearly let us know how on your submission form, then the panel will want to hear from you!
12) How are art works selected for each exhibition?
A panel of up to three Sweet ‘Art team members make the selections for each exhibition. A curatorial vision for the show may be already apparent or may become clearer during the selection process. Works are considered on the basis of how they may interact with each other and the space, along with many other practical and creative considerations including the work size, its weight, its medium, its strength in terms of exploration of the theme or accomplished execution of an idea etc. Works that are not selected for a show may just not be right this time for a number of reasons and we encourage artists to resubmit if unsuccessful. Where possible we offer feedback to unsuccessful submissions.