Pay to Play

 Like most artists I search daily for opportunities to exhibit my work but over the last 12 years it has become almost impossible to find galleries that are either open for submissions or do so for free. Artists rarely have enough income to survive let alone pay to enter contests masquerading as  exhibitions. A quick internet search today showed me enough pay to play contests to pass the $600 mark with ease. There's something very disingenuous about the current state of the art world below the blue chip level. I don't expect this to change anytime soon as there are plenty of people willing to pay without the understanding of the ramifications. Yes galleries are trying to survive but they would be better off trying to educate than giving in to trends. It's bad enough that the internet is full of art contest scams that we don't need it coming from brick and mortar galleries too.