The New York Presence/National Gallery Placement Program for Visual Artists

While people are engaged in the arts throughout the country, most arts professionals do at least a portion of their business and maintain professional contacts in New York.  Curators, dealers, writers, editors, producers, designers, architects and collectors from around the world pass through this city with varying degrees of frequency.  News and ideas are exchanged, opinions and advice sought and rendered and proposals floated.

The New York Presence Program is designed to give artists access to the kinds of opportunities an independent New York City curator or freelance agent typically hears about.  The majority of the Company’s Associates are located in New York City and the Company has long-term ties to many professional resources and contacts.  The New York Presence Program is administered by Associate Director of Special Projects, Robert Curcio, and Company President Katharine T. Carter. Robert Curcio is an independent curator, writer, private dealer and co-founder of Scope Art Fair, Inc.  Katharine T. Carter a nationally recognized painter, lecturer and artists’ advisor.  These two experienced professionals will meet with the participating artist for advice, assessment and discussion.

Beyond the rare but omnipresent possibility of a one-person exhibition in a New York City gallery, non-profit or alternative space, participants in the New York Presence Program may also have their work considered for a number of other opportunities in the greater metropolitan tri-state area. Also, the number of group exhibitions mounted in and around New York is staggering. Independent curators, critics and gallerists seek out new art and artists for thematic group exhibitions and potential reviews.  Many upscale retailers, restaurants, florists and other businesses host artists’ work in their establishments.  Some specific types of art are used by the creators of everything from concert posters to subway art programs to movies and commercials.  Dozens of private, public and corporate collectors and acquisition curators reside or do regular business in New York.

This program is recommended for artists who have had several one-person museum exhibitions nationally or internationally, or who have had ten years of exhibiting experience and exceptional professional performance in the areas of exhibitions, reviews and collections.

Participating artists may be considered for:

• dealers, both private and public
• curators, affiliated and independent
• critics who would be interested in their work based on prior writings in art publications
• publications that might feature their work in articles or on the cover
• corporate collections
• consultants
• university/college exhibiting opportunities in the greater metropolitan area, to include institutions with Masters level and Ph.D. programs in Art and Art History and MFA programs
• inclusion in group exhibitions at non-profit, corporate, commercial and alternative exhibition spaces;
• small group or solo exhibitions at prestigious non-traditional public venues such as libraries, offices, restaurants and storefront windows.

The program also provides artists with information on:

• thematic and juried shows in and around New York City
• new galleries that may be relevant to the artist’s work
• trade fairs and other pertinent events.

Participation Guidelines:
To participate, artists must first have a preliminary one-on-one consultation with Katharine T. Carter and Robert Curcio. Preliminary requirements are that a participating artist provide 12 complete sets of slides and appropriate supporting materials, with postage for each package provided. These are first reviewed by the Company’s Associate critics and independent curators prior to studio visits or seeing the work.  Artists who reside in the New York City area (including Brooklyn) will have 60-90 minutes of studio visits with the senior Associate critics and curators.  Artists who live outside of the immediate area would need to make arrangements to bring their work to New York City to a suitable location for a minimum of three days. The artist must be present for each in-studio consultation. Following these consultations the associates provide the company with a list of 20-25 recommendations and a 150 word critical analysis of the work, which are forwarded to Robert Curcio. 

Includes: 10-12 private one-hour studio consultations conducted by the Company’s Senior Associates critics and curators and the production of written support and press materials.  Each associate provides a list of 20-25 venue recommendations within the greater metropolitan area, tri-state area and nationally. The Company assembles the lists into a single master list of approximately 150 recommendations. The master list is provided to Robert Curcio who meets with the artist independently in a second 3-hour consultation to discuss recommendations leads; this meeting also provides advice, assessment, and best possible techniques for approach including support materials, cover letters, etc. Katharine T. Carter then assembles all materials, creates pitch cover letters for the mailing as based on Robert Curcio’s recommendations. The 150 piece mailing is implemented in three waves over a six month period. Associate Robert Curcio then acts upon these leads. Periodic reports and meetings are scheduled to review what has been accomplished, responses, and discussion of future follow-up. Throughout the 12-month contract period, Robert Curcio represents the artist and is continually researching new opportunities and following up appropriate leads.  Curcio will assist in arranging and being present for in-studio visits by interested parties.

Placement Fees are in addition to the contract fee. Twenty-five percent (25%) of the Placement Fee is due when the gallery takes a minimum of three works on consignment.  Fifty percent (50%) is due when the dealer includes a single work in a group exhibition or when a client’s work remains at the gallery for a six-month period.  Seventy-five percent (75%) is due when the artist is given a two-person exhibition. One Hundred percent (100%) of the Placement Fee is due “payable in full” upon receipt when the gallery contracts the artist for a one-person exhibition.  Once the formal introduction of the artist’s work is made to the dealer, the terms of the contract with Katharine T. Carter & Associates are binding with no time limitation.  Under this contractual agreement no commission on sales is paid to Katharine T. Carter & Associates.

The key advisors:

Robert Curcio of Curcio Projects
Robert Curcio is a private dealer, an advisor to collectors, as well as a writer, curator and co-founder of Scope Art Fair.  His career began at Tyler School of Art, Temple University and BFA as a mixed media artist and assistant at the University’s gallery.  Eventually moving back to New York and exhibiting in SoHo and East Village galleries.  Past Director of Ward-Nasse Gallery, a non-profit artists’ organization, he went on to co-own Curcio/Spector Gallery, specializing in cutting-edge art by emerging and mid-career artists.  Many of the artists he has represented have been included in exhibits at Artists’ Space, Rare, and DeChiara/Stewart, Art Resources Transfer, Art in General, Anita Shapolsky, Exit Art, New Museum, OK Harris, Ricco/Maresca, Robert Miller and Throckmorton Fine Art.  Artists represented by Mr. Curcio have been written/reviewed in Art News, World Art, The Village Voice, NY Press, dART International, Where and The Villager.

Katharine T. Carter
For over 15 years, Carter traveled coast to coast, spending as much as 250 days per year on the road speaking on current trends in contemporary art and on all levels of professional career development.  She has lectured to literally thousands of artists and met personally with hundreds providing them with guidance on their own personal careers as artists. As a practicing artist, Ms. Carter has exhibited her work in New York at the New Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art at P.S. 1, and the Hal Bromm Gallery.  She has had over 20 one-woman exhibitions in museums and leading college and university art galleries throughout the country.  Her paintings have received attention from critics of national and international prominence such as: Donald Kuspit, William Zimmer, Robert Mahoney, Peter Frank and Vivian Raynor.  She received five reviews in The New York Times alone, one by noted critic John Russell. Her teaching credits include: Drew University, Rutgers University, University of the South, the State University of New York and other colleges in New Jersey.  Since 1985, she has personally presented over 1,000 public lectures at over 200 museums and universities throughout the United States.