Val was a fantastic support and mentor and really helped me to work towards my first solo show at The Chair. Over the course of a few months she helped me put together the show through a combination of studio visits and one to one support with the gallery and exhibition itself. Her support and creative eye offered a much needed additional perspective and her wealth of knowledge of bringing together an exhibition was invaluable to my experience of showing for the first time at The Chair.  I hugely valued her experience in the art world, her passion and warm encouraging approach. 

The mentoring process started with an initial studio visit to discuss the progress of the work for the show. Val offered a very helpful additional perspective and eye which was invaluable to me as I am an artist who works mostly on their own like many and this show to me was the launch of a new body of work and a new direction, so it was the ideal time to engage some external support.  By having Val’s insight and mentoring at this time in the show preparation I was able to see how I wanted the show to come together and it really helped my planning and confidence in the work both technically for the space, in terms of the specifics of measuring and choosing pieces for the space, and also creatively. 

We then planned a second visit before the work went to be framed which was the final curation of work for both the e-catalogue and the show itself. 

I commissioned the e-catalogue and invitation for the show through the mentoring process. Both were beautifully designed and Val oversaw the creation of this marketing collateral. The e-catalogue showcased the work to a much wider audience through the digital reach . I received a number of sales directly from the e-catalogue before the show opened and it has served as a brilliant portfolio for this body of work and I would definitely catalogue my work this way in the future. The art market has become much more open for emerging artists and buyers to access work online and the e-catalogue added a lot to my marketing before and after the physical show itself. 

The mentoring process also extended to advice and positioning of the hang on the first day in The Chair. The gallery itself takes a huge variety of work and as the walls change so frequently it is wonderful to see the space transform with all the artists very different styles and media. Val’s expertise in the hang were vital for me and her experience and calmness were hugely beneficial on what could have been a nerve wracking day when there is of course a great deal to think about.