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Organizing Art Festivals and Galleries

on professional art. Customers can come directly to the gallery to meet with the artist and browse through his work. Still other galleries show the art of multiple artists, or they have rotat- ing collections that allow customers to stop by and see new art every time they come in. These galleries may have themes, or they may high- light local artists who want to sell their art. Some art galleries sell arts-and-crafts made by people in other coun- tries, including handmade items like sculptures, baskets, and home dé- cor. These sorts of galleries offer a space for artists in other countries to gain access to customers in North America who have more money to spend on art. The artists can then rely on sales from their art to make a living back in their home countries. CURATORS People who organize galleries are usually called curators. To curate means to design and take care of an art exhibit in a museum or gallery. Curators decide how to set up a gallery, what sort of art should go in it, and how to display it. Curators for galleries that showcase a lot of different artists’ work may decide to have a show based on a theme. Maybe a curator cre- ates a show about living in a certain neighborhood or about technology. Then she finds artists whose work fits in with that theme and asks them if they would like to contribute. Then the curator will need to decide exactly how to display all the works of art she’s getting. She may start with a floor plan and map out the gallery exhibition. Lots of techniques are used to organize art, while hanging it on the wall or placing it in the room. Gallery shows can be as simple as hanging a picture on the wall with a foot of space between each one. Or they can be complicated and involve hanging art at lots of different heights while also incorpo- rating text written directly on the walls. Setting up the installation can similarly be simple or complex, depending on the display plan and the type of art being exhibited.