Each year, the New York Foundation for the Arts’ live technical assistance support for NYFA Source receives approximately 20 calls from artists looking for grants to participate in the Florence Biennial, held in Florence, Italy. The exhibition charges artists 2,700 Euros (approximately $3,850) to take part, a cost that does not include shipping, transportation, or travel expenses. The Biennial solicits “nominations” of artists from national and regional arts agencies, as well as from an International Scientific Committee appointed by the Biennial. Artists may also apply for nomination directly, although NYFA Source has never received reports of artists being rejected from this process.

NYFA Source staff have recently received a number of complaint letters from artists participating in the Florence Biennial. As a result, this inaugural installment of Ask Artemisia addresses many of the concerns these letters raise, along with a reply from the Biennial’s director, John T. Spike. While his letter did not deal with all of the artists’ allegations, I have included excerpts from it in this article, along with responses from artists whom he asked to share with NYFA Source their positive experiences of the Florence Biennial.

Artists are hungry for exhibition opportunities, and information on the Florence Biennial is among the most consistently requested topics responded to by NYFA Source’s live technical assistance. Hopefully, the dialogue and debate about the Florence Biennial represents a growing trend of artists raising questions and making informed decisions about participating in this event and others like it that charge artists to exhibit their work.

The Cost of the Florence Biennial

Many artists assume there is funding available for participating in the Florence Biennial. It is important to clarify that specific funding for exhibition costs—including participation fees, insurance, shipping, or travel—does not really exist in the United States, with a few minor exceptions, i.e., NYFA’s Special Opportunity Stipends (these grants are for up to $1,500, just a fraction of the Florence Biennial cost). Considering the growing number of alternatives to paid exhibitions—from nonprofit art spaces to online galleries—this lack of funding is unlikely to change. However, the expectation of finding outside funding for participation fees sometimes inhibits artists from asking business-minded questions—such as why the fee for the Florence Biennial is so high. As one letter NYFA Source received states, “There were 891 artists, and if you multiply the money paid to the Biennial by each artist, the total comes close to $2,000,000.” As with any paid exhibition opportunity, artists should ask about sales generated from the exhibition, attendance, and press records. Also ask about PR and marketing strategies, as well as what kind of buyers and collectors the exhibition attracts. Moreover, it would be useful to find out if artists are satisfied enough with their experience that they would continue paying to exhibit their work in a particular venue.

Occasionally, artists are lucky enough to find alternate means. One artist writes, “I suggested to a law firm in Australia that if they sponsored me to go I would give them an artwork equal to the value of the sponsorship. Immediately, I received the sponsorship to the value of $10,000.” While it is important not to assume this kind of fundraising is readily available, it can be employed not only in raising needed funds for exhibition and travel, but also for artistic projects, materials, and a host of other artists’ needs.

Quality of the Exhibition

Other artists wrote that they were very disappointed with the exhibition space and the overall quality of the artwork. One person wrote, “When I got to the exhibit venue two days before the opening they hadn’t even started on the installation. At the time of the opening 25% of the work had not been installed. Even a day after the reception there was still work leaning up against walls and even blank ones where clearly it was marked work was to be hung.” Another said, “I was given the impression that the participants were juried before they paid the fee. In fact, the only jurying effort was the fee itself. I would say there was no work at an advanced professional stage.”

Obviously, some of these issues are more subjective than others—for instance, the quality of the work. To find out more about the quality of participating artists’ work, it makes sense to follow Spike’s suggestion: “If you’ve been nominated, and are thinking of coming in 2005, I recommend you go online and visit the websites of the more than 2,000 Florence Biennial alumni. Ask them about their experiences and make your own decision.”

Other issues are quite clear. Exhibition space terms are clearly outlined on the Florence Biennial’s website, and artists are expected to sign a contract to this effect. One artist wrote us and asked how he might get his money back. If an artist receives less than was outlined in a signed contract, it is well within her or his rights to pursue the issue. A number of artists wrote in with comments similar to this one: “When we tried to approach the organizers of the event, we were confronted with denial and hostility and were told we were just troublemakers.” Remember that the Florence Biennial is run—very much in the black—on artists’ fees for exhibition. There are formal channels for addressing the organization and its organizers, such as consulting with a lawyer or your local chapter of Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, and artists should not be intimidated to do so.

Networking at the Exhibition

Overwhelmingly, positive responses to the show involved interactions with other participating artists. According to Spike, “This year artists from 73 countries participated, among them, Armenia, Bosnia, Croatia, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Peru, Poland, Turkey, and the Ukraine.” Some artists felt these networking opportunities were pivotal to their development. For instance, one wrote, “The opportunity to show with artists from all over the world, to have a discourse with them, and to have a one-on-one critique with any jury member became a turning point in my art career.”

The Florence Biennial has a seductive list of lecturing artists and International Committee members. Some artists had the opportunity to meet with them, such as one who wrote, “I was quite pleased that I was able to meet several members of the International Committee while at the exhibition, as well as Barbara Rose, a noted art critic. In fact during my short chat with her at the 1999 Biennial, she commented that she thought the Biennial had a lot of potential.” Meeting with important arts professionals can indeed be a powerful experience. However, this kind of networking is not limited to paid exhibitions. Many opportunities exist where artists can share their work, ideas, and feedback, ranging from art openings to membership in professional arts organizations. As is frequently the case with shows juried by major critics and artists, these professionals are often paid a princely sum to jury, and often do not know who created what work. People who read art résumés know this, just as they tend to know the quality of an exhibition venue by its reputation.

Artists should arm themselves with as much information as possible before deciding to pay significant amounts of money to participate in exhibitions such as the Florence Biennial. Free resources such as NYFA Source— the nation’s largest online database of grants, services, and opportunities for artists—make it possible for artists to research a huge range of free exhibition, networking, and professional development opportunities. Visit NYFA Source at www.nyfa.org/source.

(The preceding article is for informational purposes only and should not be understood as legal counsel. For further information, please contact your local chapter of Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.)

Previous Ask Dr. Art articles—Ask Artemisia’s predecessor—are archived on NYFA’s website at www.nyfa.org/quarterly.

A regular column in NYFA Quarterly, Ask Artemisia is made possible by the NYFA Source funding consortium. Major support for NYFA Source has been provided by The Ford Foundation and Cordelia Corporation. Additional support has been provided by Basil H. Alkazzi; Artist Legacy; Lily Auchincloss Foundation; The Cowles Charitable Trust; The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts; The Robert and Helen Gould Foundation; Independence Community Foundation; The Liman Foundation; Virginia Manheimer; The Joan Mitchell Foundation, Inc.; New England Foundation for the Arts; a gift in honor of Eva J. Pape; Pew Fellowships in the Arts; The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc.; The Judith Rothschild Foundation; The Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation; and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

Please note that the monetary amounts listed in this article have been updated to their 2011 levels.