My artwork was recently accepted to be displayed in the Amsterdam Whitney International Fine Art Gallery (a physical gallery, not just an online one). Although it was free for me to submit my artwork, the fee to exhibit is just at the edge of my budget.

Since I don't know much about the gallery (besides their website), I was wondering if anyone knew anything about them.
Is this a highly prestigous gallery and should I pay almost anything to get in?
Or is this a gallery that takes anyone who submits? (I seriously doubt this is the case, but you never know.)

Thanks
--John

WHOAH. A big fee is a big warning flag. Read the paperwork very, very, very carefully. There are some nasty scams out there that, at the least, might involve you signing away all rights to your own art just by agreeing to submit it. A physical gallery does mean something, tho. Less chance of this being a scam. You are definitely doing the right thing in asking about it, though.

**AMSTERDAM WHITNEY  GALLERY
**
511 West 25th Street Chelsea,
New York, NY 10001
Tel: 212-255-9050
Fax: 212-255-9020
Tuesday-Saturday - 11:00 - 5:30 pm

Maybe someone living in the area can go and see if it's a legit?

Or you can contact the Better Business Bureau in the NY area and ask them?

Or you can hire a Private Investigator to check them out?

It all depends on how suspicious you are.

I did a "Who Is" check:

Whois Record for Amsterdamwhitneygallery.com

Page Information

Website Title: Home Record Type: Domain Name About Us: Wiki article on Amsterdamwhitneygallery.com### Server Data

Server Type: Apache
(Spry.com also uses Apache) IP Address: 70.85.186.50 IP Location: - Texas - Dallas - Theplanet.com Internet Services Inc Response Code: 200 Blacklist Status: Clear  SSL Cert: 3kserver7.com expires in 292 days Website Status: Active ### Registry Data

ICANN Registrar: DSTR ACQUISITION VII, LLC Created: 2002-07-04 Expires: 2007-07-04 Registrar Status: ACTIVE Whois Server: whois.dotregistrar.com Name Server: NS2.3KSERVER7.COM ### DomainTools Exclusive

• Registrar History: 2 registrars. * NS History: 2 changes. Using 2 unique name servers in 4 years. * IP History: 2 changes. Using 2 unique IP addresses in 2 years. Reverse IP: 120 other sites hosted on this server. Monitor Domain: Set Alert### Whois Record

Registrant:
  Ruthie Tucker (AMSTERDAMWHITNEYGALLERY-COM-DOM)
  12 E. 86th St.
  New York, NY 10028
  USA
  +212.2559050
  +212.2559020
  

  Domain Name: AMSTERDAMWHITNEYGALLERY.COM

  Administrative Contact:
   Ruthie Tucker 
   511 West 25 Street
   New York, NY 10001
   USA
   +212.2559050
   Fax- +212.2559020

  Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
   Adi - Xponse 
   Amsterdam Whitney 511 West 25th Street
   New York, NY 10001
   USA
   +212.2559050

  Record last updated on 10-Jun-2006.
  Record expires on 04-Jul-2007.
  Record created on 04-Jul-2002.

  Domain servers in listed order:

  Name Server: ns.3kserver7.com
  Name Server: ns2.3kserver7.com

Did some searching around. What I'm hearing on ArtScuttlebutt is that this is a vanity gallery, and not worth a major financial investment on your part. They aren't necessarily illegal, and, yes, people do sometimes get discovered through vanity presses. But the reality of most vanity outlets is their business model is based on getting money FROM artists, not helping artists sell. Many have little to no advertising or contacts. So I'm sorry to say, but this seems a bad idea for you. Get yourself into gallery spaces that don't charge you a huge fee. Check your local area, too!

Wow, I didn't know there were vanity galleries.  But now that I think of it...of course there would be!

I've never heard of a gallery charging an artist to display artwork..that would turn me away instantly..I've displayed in gallerys years ago & the only fee they got was from sales

Sounds the same as music recordings and book publishings. If they want money up front, it's not a good thing.

What I'm hearing is similar to the publishing business. A gallery may reasonably charge a "hanging fee" of twenty bucks or so. Everything after that they are supposed to make from commissions -- 40 to 60% there. Although there are some extremely prestigious galleries that might up that hanging fee to a hundred bucks, something in the thousand-dollar range is a clear sign you are dealing with a vanity gallery. (Like publishing...there is a growing number of publishers that ask a reading fee now, but it is nickel-and-dime stuff. A reading fee in the hundreds of dollars means their income doesn't come from selling books, it comes from selling an imaginary service to YOU.)

Sounds similiar to a "vanity press" - where you pay a publisher to print your book. But you would at least get some books that  you could distribute and use to publicize yourself, etc.  Perhaps a "vanity gallery" is less valuable 'cause nobody will see your work that doesn't wander in off the street. Just a thought.

That's about it. At least Amsterdam Whitney has a fine glossy magazine that you can walk away with. And they do seem to make some effort to make themselves visible. Some of the most rotten of the rotten are the vanity presses that never ship the books they promised. But even many of the ones that do, the quality is shudderingly bad. Basically you are better off going to a printer yourself. Used to be some good links on the racket via the SFWA web page, and the loosely-associated "Preditors and Editors" site.

Well, I'm not suspicious enough to hire a private investigator. lol
Since they're a physical gallery in Chelsea, New York, I figured they're sort-of serious about the whole art thing.

Though, on the other hand, I have no idea how many invitations they may have sent out. Maybe they simply got a list of artists and sent everyone an invitation. Then, maybe they accepted everyone who sent back samples just so they could get "exhibition fees".
On the other, other hand, this sounds like I'm being really cynical. ;)

Anyway, how much of a "hanging fee"/ "exhibition fee" is considered too much? $50? $100? $500? $1,000?
Even if the artwork doesn't sell, how much is the "exposure" worth? Or will the same thing happen: someone from another gallery sees the artwork, sends out invitations, and offers a space in their gallery for another $500 "exhibition fee"?

--John

On the other, other hand, this sounds like I'm being really cynical. ;)

No, it doesn't.  Read this thread again.  This is a "vanity gallery."  They are trying to extract money from wannabe artists, not trying to sell your work.  A hanging fee of more than $20 is a red flag. 

Save your money.

Quote -
On the other, other hand, this sounds like I'm being really cynical. ;)

I agree with what  Randym said.

Quote - Even if the artwork doesn't sell, how much is the "exposure" worth? --John

It's worth whatever you are willing to pay to be able to put  "gallery exhibition" on your resume.  Apparently from what I've read in this thread,  that's all these types of galleries amount to.

For future reference, here's a link that slinger found over on ArtScuttleButt about this gallery:
ArtScuttleButt Discussion Forum. Needless to say, I've been talked out of paying to exhibit at this gallery.
 
--John

Are you sure that is the right link?  All I see is a squabble about someone having posted in the wrong forum and trying to get a post deleted.

I did find something that talks about "is it worth the risk", which probably will answer your question of "is it worth it?"

http://www.nyfa.org/level4.asp?id=159&fid=1&sid=51&tid=202

Quote - Are you sure that is the right link? 

Yep... though it looks like I posted the link for page 2. :(
Click on the link for "Previous" to see how the discussion started.
 
--John