Art auctions can be beneficial to artist and non-profit organizations when held for fundraising or charity. If you're an artist an art auction fundraiser is beneficial for exhibiting your art work to the public. However, if you don't have the help of an organization to holding an auction for your work can be difficult. You must consider your audience and whether your art work is fairly well-known for participants to be greatly interested and make well-priced bids.
Instructions
1. Make sure you have enough art for an auction and that you have made a name for yourself in the local area you live in. People may not be interested in an action for an artists they've never heard of. Make sure you're professional and that you have a portfolio of your best work ready. It's also beneficial to have some awards or credentials, possibly from winning an exhibition contest.
2. Spread your name and artwork more before officially setting up your auction. Have professional business cards to leave at other art shows, coffee shops, book stores, or wherever art aficionados may go. On your business card have a link to your personal website that displays your work. If you get your name out to the public at least more than two weeks in advance of advertising your auction, your work will be fresh in people's minds.
3. Find a space to hold your auction. You can contact a place that often holds art auctions or exhibitions or you can consider contacting a community hall center, a restaurant, a hotel conference room, or public library. There are many options, but you'll want to consider whether the place you hold your auction has the date you want to book the auction and space to show the various artwork you have.
4. Promote the auction and make sure that will people will come by having more popular artist open the auction. This could be a professor you've worked in the past or a friend that you have a connection with. Use such resources to help bring people into coming to your auction. Also, consider contacting an organization that you care about to hold the auction as a fundraiser. If you decide to do a fundraiser you will have more people helping you to set up the event and more bidders will be interested in purchasing your art to benefit a charitable cause.
5. Set opening bid if you refuse to sell your art below a specific price (See References). Tell the auctioneers that your work must meet a specific price to be sold but that they can start it a lower price as long as it reaches the price you want. Don't insist on too high of a price. Consider how much your art would normally go for on the market.
