Notes on Non-profit Art Shows

Between the springtimes of 2014 and 2015, I shall have participated in three benefit art events for non-profit or not-for-profit organizations. Aside from the twin sources of pride—beauty and goodness—coursing through my veins, I felt curious to learn what makes such events successful. Surely, more than my keen eye and winsome rendering skills.

Through direct observation and reflections with more seasoned artists, I have found part of what I was looking for: a work-flow of a successful benefit art show. Infra, an outline of the tasks to be done in putting on a show, forthcoming a description of the kind of person needed for each task.  It is hoped that this latter addition will help with those putting together such shows.

I am especially grateful to John Mac Kah, the landscape painter, whose leadership made possible Of Time and the River, the first annual show to benefit Riverlink, the Asheville, NC organization headed by Karen Cragnolin that leads the region in stewardship of the French Broad River. In preparing the show, I was lucky enough to work with fellow painters Jason Rafferty and Christine Dougherty, who made light work of many tasks, and Ruthanne Kah, who knows the economic side of the arts.

Consult the outline below, and if you’d like to work on a benefit show, contact me through this site.

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