The NEW #SmallWins by Art Storefronts!

I have a solo exhibition coming up in Lagos next month and I want the posts about it to actually reach people who can physically walk in. Not collectors in London or New York, people who will be in Lekki or Victoria Island on that Saturday.

Most of my following came from posting character design work and process videos, so the audience is global and mostly other digital artists. That is great for engagement but not for filling a room.

I have been experimenting with location tags and local hashtags but the reach still feels random. Wondering if anyone here has found ways to organically push exhibition posts toward a specific city or neighbourhood without running paid ads. Did tagging the venue help? Collaborating with local pages? Anything that actually moved the needle for you?

I checked my numbers recently and my reels over a minute long are getting significantly more views than the short ones. This surprised me because everything I read says keep it under 30 seconds.

For stone carving content it kind of makes sense. Showing a form emerge from a block of limestone isn't something you can rush through in 15 seconds without it feeling like nothing happened. The slow reveal of a polished hollow catching light, or the moment a fracture changes the whole direction of a piece, those need a little room to breathe.

But I wonder if the algorithm is just rewarding watch time right now and will shift again next month. Has anyone else noticed longer content performing better lately? And does it depend on what you're showing, like process versus finished work?

Has anyone set up Google Merchant Center free listings with their ArtStorefronts site? Did Merchant Center pick up products automatically from the site, or did you use a Google Sheet feed?

Anyone using the Galleryy Service? I’m wondering how some of you are displaying your Galleryy/s on your website? It is very big on my website and want to see other ideas on placement on the website.

Pick up a honorable mention for both of my submissions to Teravarna's 17th Abstract International Juried Art Competition. These are both photographs of reflections with minimal post processing, i simply liked the abstract nature of the image when I captured them. Which one is your favorite

Woke up yesterday to about 200 fewer followers on Instagram. Nothing changed on my end, same posting schedule, same kind of content (process shots from the bench, finished enamel pieces, the occasional kiln fail). I haven't been inactive or done anything differently.

I know the number itself isn't everything, but it rattled me a little. I rely on that audience to find buyers for my small silver and enamel work, and Providence isn't exactly a massive local market for what I make.

Has anyone figured out whether these drops are just Instagram purging bots and inactive accounts, or is it something else? Did changing your content or posting frequency help recover, or did you just wait it out? Would love to hear what actually happened for other makers who saw this.

Hey everyone!! 🤗

I’m guessing a lot of you have seen the noise about Meta’s updated commercial terms in the last couple weeks. If not, here’s the quick TL;DR version:

• Meta proposed new terms for business accounts on IG, FB, Threads and WhatsApp

• The original wording said Meta could use content from websites linked to those business accounts to “develop, improve, research, train” their products. Yep, that would include your art website if it’s in your bio or connected to your business profile

• After a big backlash from creators, publishers and even a US senator, Meta removed the word “train”... but legal experts say words like “develop” and “improve” are still pretty broad

• There was no opt-out option in the original version

• It was supposed to start Oct 30, got pushed to Nov 20, and now Meta says it’s postponed until they finish consulting with industry groups. So for now, the old terms are still in place
  

Nothing has actually changed yet. But honestly, the fact that this was even proposed is making a lot of artists uneasy, and I’d love to hear where you’re at.

A few questions to get us going:

1. How did you feel when you first heard about this? Angry, worried, shrug?

2. Are you thinking about changing how you use Instagram or Facebook? (posting less, watermarking, switching to a personal account, trying other platforms?)

3. Have you done anything to protect your work online so far? What’s worked for you?

4. For those in the EU or UK, has anyone filed an objection with Meta? How was the process?

5. Do you feel like you can step away from Meta, or is it just too important for reaching buyers right now?
   

No wrong answers here. This is a safe space to vent, share tips, or just say “I have no idea what to do”

Let’s talk 👇

It's Boost Day! Here's how it works:

• drop a link to your latest social post, and the community will show up with likes and comments.

• Then return the favor – visit a few links in this thread and do the same for others.

Why this works: receiving engagement (ie: likes and comments) on your social post tells the social algorithm that it's valuable and entertaining content – making it more likely that the post is then shown to your own followers and art fans outside of your network.

So by helping each other “get the ball rolling” with engagement, we all grow! The system only works when we all contribute though – so be sure to give back as part of participating in this weekly thread.

A win! This piece, "Sunseekers" 24 x 36, will be hung in the waiting room of an area hospital. yay! Initially, they asked for a reproduction. Then, bought the original.

I finally got around to setting up an Instagram account for my work. Small furniture, carved spoons and bowls, that sort of thing. I put my shop name as the display name and figured that was enough.

Then someone told me I should have my real name visible somewhere on the profile, not just the business name. Their reasoning was that people connect more with a person than a brand, especially for handmade work. But I also wonder if having a shop name makes it easier for people to find me when they're searching for a specific type of work.

For those of you selling handmade or one of a kind pieces, did putting your real name on your profile make any noticeable difference in how people engaged with your account? Trying to figure out the right balance here.

Hi everyone!!

If you’ve ever wished you could take better advantage of our referral program but don’t really know who to refer, this one’s for you.

We regularly talk to artists who are thinking about joining ASF, and a lot of them want to hear from someone who’s actually using the platform. So we’re opening up an opt-in list of members who’d be up for chatting with them. Instead of you having to find referrals, we’ll send them straight to you.

How it works:

• You sign up using the form below

• We match you with prospective members who work in a similar medium or niche

• You chat with them about your experience and answer their questions, in whatever way you prefer (phone, video, email, or text)

• Every time one of them signs up, you get paid

Your reward for each referral that joins:

• $150 via PayPal, or

• 3 months added to your license

There’s no script and nothing to sell. Just share your honest experience so they can decide what’s right for them.

Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSePN8pv7GCApxYzF9BkITZ7AbpULaGwnMkl8711v07rrnK0Pg/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=102083464334073900905

Opting in doesn’t commit you to anything, and we’ll always check with you before connecting you with someone.

If you have any questions, drop them in the comments or send me a message.

Thanks! 🙏

Casting news just landed, and it's a big one.

Rapper Kid Cudi announced this week that he's making JEAN, a biopic of Jean-Michel Basquiat. He's writing it, directing it, and playing Basquiat himself, with production set to start next year. He calls it a "love letter" to Jean, the 80s, and New York City, and says he's put in a lot of research, reading books and talking with people who knew the artist.

It's also not Cudi's first step into the art world. He paints under the name Scotty Ramon, debuted his work at Art Cologne in 2025, and had his first solo show in Paris this January.

Some will say a fellow artist who grew up inspired by Basquiat is exactly who should tell this story. Others will say a legacy this big deserves a different kind of voice behind the camera.

Should a Basquiat biopic be told by someone like Cudi, or is this one too big a role to take on?

I have maybe twelve carved pieces I feel good about, mostly small limestone and alabaster forms, and another shelf of work that cracked or went somewhere unexpected. I keep thinking I need more before I can seriously offer anything for sale, but then I wonder if I'm just stalling.

When I was drawing I had hundreds of pieces to choose from. Stone is so much slower. A single form can take weeks, and some of those weeks end with a fracture that sends the whole thing in a new direction.

Did anyone else work in a slow medium and still manage to start selling with a small body of work? How many pieces did you actually have when you first put them out into the world?

It's almost Halloween, so if you're feeling inspired to dress up for this week's Breakfast Club, this is your invitation. PLEASE don't let me be the only one who shows up in costume!!!!!

do you think I should add a voice over and cta, or just leave the video like this and put everything in the caption?

Anyone else jumping on the bandwagon of: 1. changing their IG account to "private" , if its public now, due to META upcoming scrubbing of accounts? 2. Deleting their content ( omg, I'm crying over here ) 3. Going dark for awhile? 4. Are our websites protected against AI scrubbing???

A photographer I know spends a small budget boosting one reel per month and apparently pulled 180,000 views and 300 new followers off a single one. That's a wild number for someone who isn't exactly a celebrity.

I'm trying to figure out if that kind of approach translates to sculpture at all. My stuff is small figurative work, clay torsos and hands, and I'm not sure a 15 second clip of a hand form sitting on a turntable has the same scroll stopping power as a dramatic photo edit. I barely have time to post consistently between the studio and coaching my kid's soccer team, so the idea of putting effort into one post and paying to push it is honestly appealing.

Anyone here boosted posts for sculptural or fine art work? Did it actually bring in people who cared, or just vanity numbers?

Just had an image made with digital photography filtering accepted for an Abstract Art Exhibit in my local gallery!

Contemporary | Abstract Exhibition 2026 Jury Outcome

Dear Tom Levasseur,

Congratulations, your submission id: #94 titled: Colors of Fall, has been chosen for the exhibition.

Please note that you will only receive notifications for the pieces that have been accepted. If you submitted multiple works, a separate email will be sent for each piece. Please don't delete any messages from ArtCall.

You will need to:

1) Properly hang/frame the piece.
2) Print the online receipt (the receipt will be sent with your physical submission).
3) Physically submit the piece to the show.

4) Work must be received by November 4, 2026.  One Washington Street, Dover, NH 03820  suite 1177  open 10-6 Monday through Friday and Saturdays until 2.

Logon to https://contemporary-abstractexhibition2026.artcall.org to print submission receipts and get locations and information for physically submitting your artwork.

Contemporary | Abstract Exhibition 2026 Committee
https://contemporary-abstractexhibition2026.artcall.org

Last week I posted a short video of myself in the studio talking about a portrait I'm working on, just rambling about how I keep overworking the eyes and having to scrape back layers. Nothing polished. It got three times the likes and comments of the finished painting I posted two days before.

This keeps happening. A photo of me mixing skin tones on a palette knife, me standing next to a piece talking about a sitter's posture, even just a shot of my paint-stained hands. All of it outperforms the actual work.

Part of me gets it. People connect with people. But I came up doing sign painting, not performing. The work should carry itself, right? Or is that just stubbornness.

How do you all balance showing yourself versus showing the art? Does the personal stuff actually lead to sales or just vanity metrics?

Last week I tried filming a short video of me cutting dovetails by hand, and the audio came out terrible. Between the saw strokes, the scraping of the chisel, and whatever hum my furnace was adding, the mic picked up everything except my voice.

I was using the built in mic on my phone propped up on the bench. Clearly that is not going to cut it. But I also do not want some elaborate setup that gets sawdust in it or takes twenty minutes to rig before I can start working.

Anybody here found a simple microphone setup that actually works in a small, noisy workshop? I am mostly trying to do short clips where I talk through a process, nothing fancy. What kind of mic, where do you place it, and do you do anything to reduce background noise on the recording side or just fix it after?