2023 Year in Review: Exhibition Submission Data
I spent the final hours of 2023 building spreadsheets and analyzing numbers. Why? There’s a growing trend among artists and makers to share annual reports; some of my favorites come from Sarah Ruiz, Kenny Sing, and Kaitlyn Elyse Willow. I love the transparency these stats provide.
My artistic practice doesn’t generate a lot of income at the moment, but when I saw Rachel Ivy Clarke share an Instagram post that broke down her exhibition acceptance rates for the past year, it inspired me to compile some data on my own exhibition submissions.
First, Some Context
The submission process for many quilt shows and art exhibitions tends to straddle multiple years. To make my life easier, I organized the following data based on the year a show takes place.
For example, submissions for QuiltCon Raleigh were due in October 2023, but the show takes place in February 2024. So figures for this show aren’t included in my 2023 stats, even though acceptance letters have already gone out. They’ll go into next year’s bucket, along with data from several other shows.
If multiple quilts were accepted into a single show, I counted that as one exhibition.
Let’s dive in!
Total Submissions vs. Acceptance Rate
In 2023, I submitted quilts to a total of 21 exhibitions—the most since I started showing my work back in 2017—and received 17 invitations to participate. That’s an acceptance rate of 81 percent.
Before the pandemic, my acceptance rate hovered around 50 percent, but it has grown steadily over the years. I like to think it mirrors an increase in the quality and workmanship of my more recent quilts.
Expenses and Income
However, exhibiting work comes at a cost. There are two main annual expenses: submission fees and shipping fees. In 2023, I spent $745 on submission fees and $910 to ship quilts to various venues. I started using Pirate Ship last year to cut down on shipping expenses, but it’s still a big chunk of money.
SIDE NOTE: I want to take a minute here to acknowledge that entry fees and shipping fees are cost-prohibitive for a lot of people. The process of exhibiting work can be exclusionary, and I often wonder about ways to make shows more accessible to more quilters. One idea that keeps bubbling up in my mind is a quilter’s “Buy Nothing” group or mutual aid forum, where people could connect to exchange items like fabric, tools, notions, books, or just money to help cover the cost of things like exhibitions and workshops. If this idea also intrigues you, please reach out in the comment section!
Winning prizes is one way to recoup the cost of participating in exhibitions; I received a single prize worth $300 in 2023. Another way is to sell your work. I wasn’t comfortable with that idea until this year, but I found the courage to part with two quilts for a total of $854. That makes $1,154 in income generated in 2023.
As you can see, my expenses were higher than my income—I had a net loss of $501. Last year was also a net loss, but I actually made a small amount money in 2021 thanks to a handful of awards I received.
What Kinds of Shows Did I Enter?
I was lucky to have quilts accepted into a wide variety of exhibitions. Of those, 85 percent were juried and 80 percent had a specific focus on quilts or fiber art. While the vast majority of exhibitions required submission fees, 15 percent of the shows were free to enter.
My work was seen in several types of venues: 41 percent of the shows hung in art galleries, 47 percent were convention center quilt shows, and 12 percent were in other locations such as airports and temporary exhibition spaces.
Nearly a quarter of the shows I participated in were regional exhibitions, meaning they were within a short drive of my home in Eastern Tennessee. 71 percent were located elsewhere in the U.S., and 5 percent of shows were international.
Looking Ahead to 2024
Overall, I’m pleased with the direction my creative practice is going. This year, I achieved two long-time goals: exhibit work at Quilt National and sell a quilt. I also participated in my first mixed-media group show, which was a smashing success. And I was delighted to have two exhibitions use my quilts as their main publicity images. Last but not least, I got to host a series of panel discussions with many quilters I admire for Curated Quilts, and the journal published an article I wrote about showing your work.
In 2024, I want to seek out more opportunities for group exhibitions and strategize the development of a solo show. I plan to continue exploring surface design techniques and alternative ways to finish quilts. Finally, I look forward to sharing more of my thoughts and knowledge with you in spaces beyond this humble blog (more on that soon). Cheers to a new year, I can’t wait to see what surprises it has in store!
