An innovative concept for all aspiring and ambitious artists.

DEBUT CONTEMPORARY is an innovative concept for all aspiring and ambitious artists, showcasing the best of British creative talent across all art disciplines. Dubbed as “Kingmakers” (International Life Magazine) of creative talent, “London’s Top Tastemakers” (Time Out) and “One of the UK’s Most Powerful Couples in Fashion & Art” (The Times Magazine), husband and wife duo Samir Ceric and Zoe Knight, the “high profile couple” (Drapers Records) behind the launch of Wolf & Badger, Salon Contemporary (including Artist of the Week, Curator of the Month and Best of British competitions) and First Wednesdays, is now launching Debut Contemporary. Having already discovered some of the big names amongst emerging contemporary artists and fashion and jewellery designers in the last few years, the newly designed gallery space on Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, opened on Wednesday, 2 March 2011, with a special launch party.

Debut Contemporary provides an affordable exhibition and mentoring platform from £95-£145 a week for all talented emerging artists to showcase and sell their artworks where they will be introduced to collectors, art professionals and businesses. The licence fee will entail exhibition space, an 80% net profit from all sales facilitated by the gallery, be it for a piece of art or a commercial deal and most importantly guidance and mentoring by a team of industry professionals. Artists will be prepared with a business savvy mind whilst they maintain their artistic freedom and creative licence.

Be a part of the evolution. To apply simply visit www.debutcontemporary.com and enter your details using the online form under the APPLY section.

Collectors, art professionals and businesses can support DEBUT Artists by getting involved. For more information contact info@debutcontemporary.com.

Saturday 1 January 2011












DEBUT CONTEMPORARY NEW YEAR MASTERCLASS
Our top 5 tips posted daily to inspire you for some New Year creative drive.



1. GET OUT THERE
Are you still sitting in your studio waiting to be found? There’s no excuse – get out there and make your own success! Start by networking at exhibition previews and be sure to maintain contacts. It’s not easy to get picked up by a gallery until you’ve been spotted so have a group pop-up show. You can share the cost and each others networks, promoting yourself in the process. One exhibition often follows off the back of another in art circles so getting involved becomes easier. Find a mentorship scheme where you'll get an insiders guide to the art world > see www.debutcontemporary.com. Hold networking events with other artists you know and expand on each other’s ideas. If you see an opportunity to get your art noticed take it. Speak to the council about proposing a public art piece. See if that hotel/ cafe/ bar/collector is interested in your work (although make sure it is an appropriate place for your work to be seen). That said, there’s a lot you can do from your bedroom computer too. Make a website or find a budding student designer who can design you one as a course project. Create online profiles on artist networking sites and look out for opportunities on websites like Jotta, a-n, ArtQuest, Axis and ArtSelector. Your profile can be greatly increased by a bit of social media too. Blogs, Facebook, and Twitter keep you noticed by a vast and growing online arts audience.










2. BULLS EYE

Know your target market. Taste in art is as diverse as personalities. Draw out the categories surrounding the theme and content of your work and discover the types of audience who will be most interested. After a few showings you’ll start to get a feel for this but bear in mind that trends change and particular events can affect interested parties (if your subject matter is suddenly all over the news you may see a new type of audience following your practice). Additionally, learn how to approach different audiences. Be aware that galleries, curators, members of the public, universities and other artists will be looking for different things.





Pin-pointing your style also helps develop a loyal following who love what you do and know what to expect. Try not to camouflage yourself by getting swept into art trends and stick to your roots. Your unique selling point is the thing that will get you noticed in the herd.

3. IT'S PERSONAL

You can make a great impression by remaining personal with the people you’re dealing with. If you meet someone of interest at a preview event make sure you get their contact information and follow up the next day with a short message. Keep a list of contacts with the relevant information about them as you never know when it might come in handy. If you don’t like a comment you hear about your work you’ve either got to take it on the chin and forget about it or note that it’s a valid point and do something about it – wanting to give up, carrying a grudge or drastically adapting your work to suit others won’t get you anywhere. No matter what kind of mood you’re in, remember that when addressing people about art, this is your business. Always act appropriately and sell yourself without bad-mouthing others. The art world is close-knit and built on trust and reputation. Where possible send personal invites to the people you’d like to attend your exhibitions as they’re much more likely to attend than when they receive a mass mail-out. Also remember that in such a saturated industry, given the option, galleries, curators and writers will choose to work with artists that are professional, personable and efficient. If they ask for some information they expect it pronto and clearly laid out (this will help you too in making sure the information is correctly transferred on their side). 


 4. ATTENTION TO DETAIL

So you have a concept...now what do you do with it? Presentation is key to your success. Think carefully about the materials you use and how you use them. Where often a lack of skill and lazy finish is found in the end product, a considered high quality effort will be noticed and you’ll reap the rewards. Once you’ve created a piece, find an appropriate place to document it, and, if you don’t feel you’re up to the job, get someone else in to do it for you. It is essential to have high quality images of your work possible in all formats for opportunities, attracting the right people and developing a good body of promotional materials, so have it at the ready. Also, a few great images will have much more impact than lots of average ones. Remember to keep a record of each works title, date, medium and dimensions for future use. Take care in everything you send out to the public realm and make sure it’s of a standard that represents how greatly you value your artwork. Beautifully presented work (in any industry) is a pleasure to review and doesn’t need to be caked in art jargon to feel sophisticated.

5. BEAT THE BLOCK

Lost your creative mojo? Don’t let that temporary dry patch get the better of you. A bit of routine balances out the more ongoing, involved elements of being an artist so keep a daily book of ideas to stay on track. Get out and see other artists work to keep yourself up-to-date and inspired. Read books surrounding your subject matter to become more knowledgeable about the things that have interested you and to add weight to your practice. Arrange a critiquing session with artists to discuss each others work and find out what they suggest. Revive your working space by cleaning it out and putting up some new images for inspiration. When it comes to your practice, no-one knows it better than you do. Artists tend to get so involved with the process that it almost feels quite hard to explain what you’re doing, but never loose sight of the initial concept. If you don’t believe in what you’re doing you can’t expect others to, so refresh your passion and put on your war paint. Imagine someone put you on the spot and asked you what it’s all about. Re-visiting your artists statement is both a good way of keeping it current and a way to clarify what you are saying with your work which might just spark off something great.



So...here is the end our NEW YEAR tips and the start of a NEW YOU!
We look forward to hearing how you get on. If you’re ready for the challenge apply to become a DEBUT Artist and launch your career. 

Got your own top tip to pass on to other artists? Been inspired? Email us at info@debutcontemporary.com




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