Studio visits: what to get right the first time

What to take away

• A studio is a workplace and often a home. Behave like a guest in both.
• Ask about process, not about meaning. Process questions get generous answers; meaning questions get defensive ones.
• Do not touch anything, do not move anything, and do not photograph anything without asking.
• The visit is not the point. The relationship afterwards is.

The questions that work

Artists answer questions about how things are made with real enthusiasm and answer questions about what things mean with visible fatigue. Choose accordingly.

• How did you arrive at this material?
• What does a normal working day look like here?
• What is the hardest part of this process to get right?
• Where do you get that, and is there a better supplier?
• What would you do differently if you set this studio up again?
• Who else here is working on something related?

Six questions is more than enough for a first visit. Leaving with two unasked is better than filling every silence.

What not to do

Do not arrive early, since the last half hour before a visit is usually spent tidying. Do not bring more than one other person. Do not ask what something sold for. Do not offer unsolicited critique, even flattering critique dressed as a suggestion.

And do not overstay. The single most common complaint from artists about visitors is the visit that would not end.

One more thing worth avoiding: comparing the studio to somewhere else you have just been. It sounds like conversation and lands as a ranking. If you have seen three studios that week, keep the comparisons for your own notes. The same applies to relaying gossip about other artists in the city, which travels faster in small scenes than anyone expects and attaches itself permanently to whoever repeated it.

Understand what the studio is for

Studios exist in a wider context of commissions, public projects and community work, and knowing that context makes for better conversation. The National Endowment for the Arts maintains a set of public art resources compiled to help administrators establish public art policies and run public art processes. Reading a little of that before a trip means you can ask sensible questions about how a commission actually worked, which is far more interesting to most artists than another question about inspiration.

It also tells you which studios are likely to be busy and when. An artist mid-commission has a deadline and very little patience for a leisurely visit.

Turn the visit into a contact

Most first visits end politely and then evaporate. The fix costs ten minutes: write within three days, mention one specific thing you took from the conversation, and do the thing you said you would do.

That pattern is ordinary relationship-building, and it works the same way in any trade. The Small Business Administration's list of ways to get new customers opens with asking for referrals and building a system for it rather than waiting, which is exactly the discipline missing from most artists' networking. The equivalent for a studio visit is asking who else you should see and then actually following through.

The studio itinerary planning guide covers building the trip around these visits, and the first visit tips for workshop towns cover the different etiquette of a shared teaching studio.

Common questions

Should I buy something? If you can afford it and you like it, yes. It changes the relationship more than anything else you could do.

How long should a first visit be? Thirty to forty-five minutes unless you are clearly invited to stay.

Can I bring a portfolio? Only if asked. Bring one small piece instead and show it if the moment arrives.

What if the conversation dies? Ask about the building, the neighborhood or the equipment. Every studio has a story about at least one of them.