Create a Price List for Art Instead of Putting Price on Placard
Pointers on Wall Labels for Your Art Exhibition
- August 8, 2019
- by Alyson Stanfield
Arroyo the making of the wall labels you place next to your artwork with thoughtfulness and common sense.
The Basics for Exhibition Labels Adjacent to Your Art
Many fine art exhibitions open with a statement by the curator or artist. Those longer labels give context to what the viewer is about to see and are placed at the entry to the show.
And then there are individual labels adjacent to each artwork.
Your fine art labels should include your proper name, object title, and media/support/technique—at a minimum.
A retrospective of your piece of work should also include the dates.
In a ane-person exhibition, your proper noun need not be every bit prominent on labels and you might, instead, make the title larger and put it before your name. When showing with other people, distinguishing between artists is more important and names should be get-go.
If there are multiple rooms in the exhibition and your show'south championship text doesn't appear anywhere near your works, you might demand your proper noun on every label.
If your work is hanging at a eatery where a customer could stare at it for longer periods of time, your proper name should be on every label.
If the exhibit is small-scale or in a single room and there'southward a big sign with your name on it, you probably don't need your proper noun on every label.
Size of Wall Labels for Your Fine art
The size of your labels depends on the size of the fine art, the size of the font you use, and the size of the oversupply expected. Museums that wait huge crowds for blockbuster shows need larger labels so they tin can be read from further away and over other people's heads.
Simply large labels look silly next to small works, like Margaret Kasahara'due south in the image above.
Labels used to exist a lot smaller—think business-card-sized—until studies showed that they were hard to read. Make the font size at to the lowest degree xiv points. Larger is meliorate when yous desire the majority of your audience to be able to read the labels.
No demand for large margins around the text on a label. Ingather information technology closely.
You can include more than one artwork on a label (as in the image to the right) every bit long every bit viewers tin can discern which information belongs with which piece.
1 Art Label, iii Ways
Traditionally, titles of artworks are italicized. You could, instead, make them assuming, all caps or larger than the other text. Distinguishing the titles is especially important if they give clues almost the content of your work, such as the location of a landscape.
"Mixed media" isn't a medium. Using it is like saying something is a "painting" instead of "oil on linen" or "sculpture" instead of "bronze." Spell out the various media you utilize within each mixed-media artwork. A curator is going to ask y'all that later on anyhow, then you might every bit well start treating your fine art similar it's in a museum now.
If the piece of work is for sale, show the auction price on the characterization adjacent to the art.
Labels can be printed on cardstock and stuck on the wall with rolled masking record or something like Elmer's Tack removable adhesive putty. I don't recommend using the latter on textured walls because the agglutinative gets caught in betwixt the bumps.
For a more polished presentation print labels on regular paper, adhere the paper to mat lath with spray gum, then cutting out with a mat cutter.
Labels inside an exhibition should all be the same size unless there is demand for longer, explanatory text.
Place object labels to the right if at all possible. Large sculpture may require that you place a label on the nearest wall or floor.
Hang all labels at the same height and utilize a level to make sure they are parallel to the floor.
Art Label Cheat Sheet
- Viewers must be able to see your name when looking at your work.
- People shouldn't have to guess what your work is made of.
- The price, if for sale, should be clear.
- Exhibition labels should be thoughtfully made. Any crooked sides or torn edges will detract from an appreciation of your work.
- To a higher place all, the labels should be consistent throughout the exhibition.
Your Art Exhibition Installation
Compose your fine art evidence just as yous would a composition. Each aspect tin contribute to the success of the show or make information technology seem less than impressive.
It begins with curating the work, but in that location is so much more than that goes into a successful exhibition: preparation, installation, documentation, marketing, self-promotion, follow-up and more than.
Click the graphic beneath to download a gratis comprehensive checklist for your show.
This post was originally published September 4, 2012. It has been updated with comments left intact.
49 thoughts on "Pointers on Wall Labels for Your Art Exhibition"
Source: https://artbizsuccess.com/wall-labels/
I've establish that clear labels piece of work the best. They look professional, adhere well, and can easily be moved and removed. They come in various sizes (I use the shipping label size (2″ x 4″ ).
Laurie: But don't use them on textured walls. They look terrible! And they expect bad when they start coming off from the wall, so work best with shorter exhibitions. I've seen clear labels that look actually bad. Gotta keep tending to them.
Exceptionally useful advice…wish I'd had it final week! LOL
Sorry I'm late, Victoria. Y'all'll get 'em side by side time!
Just what the doctor ordered. Thank you Alyson!!
Yeah, you accept a bunch of exhibits coming up, don't you Susan? Glad yous found this helpful.
Whatsoever thoughts nigh including the size of the painting on the label?
Jennifer: I don't retrieve that'due south necessary since the artwork is correct in front of the viewer.
Hi Jennifer and Alyson,
Cracking advise on the labels. I always include the size of the painting. The reason existence that some people think in numbers. They need to know how large a painting is to be able to envision it on the wall of their living room. Some customers don't need that information at all.
Question:
When should you NOT put a cost on the label?
Col: When it's non for sale, when it's shown in a museum, or when the guidelines of the venue dictate.
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Great tips for labels… I don't know if your suggestion to put labels to the right covers this, but my preference is to put the labels at eye level beside the painting. I have shown with a number of artists who like the label below the painting and the price in a show guide. The argument is that information technology looks professional. My thought is "Why make people work and then hard to learn virtually your piece of work?"
Sandy: There's all kinds of research on this. What is "eye level" for you might not exist eye level for someone else.
This document gives a wide range of 36-67″.
In the museum, nosotros were very concerned with accessibility issues, and then we placed them lower for people in wheelchairs. It'south an eye opener to get through your exhibit in a wheelchair!
Thanks for providing this helpful info. I'll try the color-full labels at my side by side art festival.
Great info! This is on my "to-practise" list. Thank you!
How about including a small QR code with link dorsum to your site/info?
John: Sure, that works, as well. Be very careful that they don't go to your home page or a sales page. They MUST become to juicy data that pulls people in.
I may be pessimistic, simply I come across QR codes as a waning fad. Whenever I use the QR codes at the museum, I notice I'thou the just one doing then. Are y'all finding more positive results?
I'one thousand nearly to utilise QRs at an exhibition. They each get to a blog post that shows the whole start-to-finish process of the piece of work. Might be successful, might non, I'm new to the whole business organization!
Love it, Suzanne. I'd like to know more!
I've struggled for years for the all-time way to do price labels for outdoor or indoor festivals. Everything in the booth is my work and my name is in several places, plus on the artwork, so name doesn't seem necessary. Everything needs to go upwardly fairly chop-chop and the artwork is slightly different each fourth dimension. I've settled on using tags which I prepare in batches with a piffling swish of watercolors. I put the title and the toll. Since I exercise Mixed Media, I very much similar the idea of calculation the "ingredients" of each artwork. Good topic!
Thanks for the tips, Alyson. Just wondering. Many of the galleries use numbers adjacent to the work and so have a typed up list for the patrons to hold as they walk through the gallery, with the information regarding the painting adjacent to the respective number.
What are your thoughts regarding this type of identification?
Wonderful advice every bit always! I'm starting to offering prints of certain paintings and am considering putting that data on my labels for my upcoming open studio event. Something similar "Original $1500; Prints available". Would you suggest also putting the price of the print on the label (or non mentioning them there at all)?
Crawly advice! I've had a couple of shows at odd venues (ie: in the foyer of a local contained sometime movie theatre) that didn't really have good places for business cards and the like. I decided to put QR codes on my tags that linked directly to the Etsy folio of the painting.
To attach labels, I utilise Scotch Foam Mounting Squares, specifically the removable ones. They easy to use, potent, attach to about any surface, and come up off quickly. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QMQ12E/
I actually utilise the Avery clean edge concern cards for my labels: one side has all of the information virtually the artwork, the other is a business concern card. This gives a consequent size and format for the labels (you can ready up templates but like for address labels), is like shooting fish in a barrel to impress and a breeze to detach – no cutting involved! Then when the work sells, the collector takes abode the detailed data about my piece AND has a business card with all of my contact data. Another selection is to use the self-print postcards if you need a larger size to fit more information, like a story about your artwork, or a mini-artist statement. The postcards don't take equally nice of stop/print quality as the business organization cards though.
Great tip about the Elmer'due south poster tack – I will definitely be using this instead of scotch record. Thanks!
Thanks for the tips. Very useful blog!
Thanks for this info Alyson. I just saw a fabulous exhibit at The Portland Art Museum (Portland , OR) and the wall titles were semigloss letters adhered straight to the wall. It was beautiful and elegantly understated but very legible.
Does anyone know what fabric that is? How it was done? Thank you!
Hi, David. Yes, those are probably vinyl. Any sign store can print them for you.
Hello Alyson,
Thank you for your advice.
I volunteer as part of the hanging team for a gallery that has very express funds. Today they had the data on business cards and affixed a piece of Scoth Brand clear tape folded over on itself in each corner of the card. I am convinced there has to be an equally inexpensive way to affix the cards to a wall.
I would virtually grateful for any suggestions you may have.
Warm regards,
Astrid Adler
Astrid: I can't tell if you mean that they taped the artists' business cards or they printed on something the size of a business card.
Either manner, masking record (rolled) on the back would look much better. We used masking tape to hang most of our signs in the museum!
For vinyl letters you could employ a cricut machine.
And, I utilize gorilla make mucilaginous putty. It tin can be establish at your local arts and crafts store in the craft/glue section. I then use a discount coupon that takes the cost down to less than scotch record.
I am thankful I plant this site. It is reassuring to know I'yard on the correct rails.
I am in a show this weekend where each artist hangs their ain art. I am curious how the labels are going to await considering 5 different artists are each bringing their ain.
That certainly is an upshot, Mechel. Sounds similar yours volition stand out above the rest.
I am director of a pocket-sized community arts middle with a beautiful little gallery space. We accept a multifariousness of artists showing in our infinite – some bring very nice looking labels and others go far with viscid address labels that peel off very easily or only don't work well in our space for whatever reason. Growing tired of this, I recently purchased plastic acrylic holders in standard business organization card size. Some are flat and we added velcro dots to hold them on our carpeted walls. Others are "L" shaped for use with 3D pieces on pedestals and in our display example. Artists tin can easily send me a spreadsheet with details in columns. Then I can do a mail merge to an avery template and print on avery business cards. Information technology is perhaps a small improvement, but so wonderful to present a more polished look in our gallery.
Sounds perfect, D! You are in a position to instill professional practices in the artists you piece of work with. I encourage yous to utilise each opportunity to brainwash them.
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Exactly was I was searching for. 🙂 I'm working on branding for an artist and this was really helpful for the vignette. The only thing that I'thou non sure about, I don't think I saw the size on which they should exist printed on…
How-do-you-do, Isabelle. I'm happy this is helpful for yous. The size kind of depends on the size of the audition and the size of the font. Let me update this right at present.
Added, Isabelle! Unfortunately I can't be exact, simply I hope those extra guidelines are helpful. Thanks for asking.
I agree about the "Mixed Media" description needing to be specific nearly materials used. My question is, how specific do you lot need to be? For case, I often use both watercolor pencils and watercolor from a palette. Exercise I have to spell that out or can I only say "watercolor"?
The labels yous link to aren't cream. And so exercise y'all use foam ones or the ones in the link?
This is so helpful, thank you. Your site has get my "become to" for this kind of question.
I am starting to show some limited edition linocut prints.
My question is – would I put the specific number on the label (E.g. 9/13) or just say how big the edition is (East.g. Edition of xiii)
Many thanks!
Howdy Alyson —
I also really like the no-nonsense approach you offering in your guidelines. I wonder if you lot tin recommend a label protector product – acrylic maybe. We are leasing artwork from a museum for long-term display in the public areas of a Hilton Hotel that will open up soon. I need something durable that protects the card stock characterization that doesn't look tacky.
Thanks !
Stephen: Yes! Yous can put acrylic over the labels. Simply make certain it doesn't have also much of a glare on it. Y'all can likewise have fancier labels printed at print shops–on material that is more durable. Many museums use the newspaper on top of mat board approach, but they have guards in all of the rooms to make sure people aren't mucking around with the labels. Good luck! And thanks for dropping in.
Hello there, delight could you let me know what font y'all have used for these labels?
All-time wishes
I'm not certain which labels you're referring to, Rebecca, only the just ones I "made" were the digital examples of Arthur Jackson. And I did that so long ago (almost twenty years) that I can't recall.
what do you suggest for labelling artwork in a infirmary setting? Do transparent labels work in a long term situation?
Sande: I would exercise the same label. You lot can apply plexiglas or something else more than durable for longer term—as long as the full credit is visible. Thank you for asking.