Welcome to another episode of the Curated Muse podcast. In this episode, we are going to talk about what is a gallery watch list. So let's just go ahead and jump in because I'm sure many of you listening to this are like, what does that actually mean? So when you submit to a gallery for an open call or general submissions or for a project, you either are going to be accepted and get notification, or you're going to be rejected, whether or not they notify you or not. Just depends. As you know, if you submit to things, sometimes you get notifications, other times, silence is the answer. You just know by the deadline to receive notification. If you are not notified, then you are not actually probably going to be a part of it. But when we submit ourselves to different things, being an artist, we have to be willing to accept that rejection and flow through it because rejection is just a part of it. Sometimes galleries don't think you're ready, sometimes you don't actually fit their programming. Sometimes, and this is where we're going to lead into that watch list. Sometimes you're just not ready yet, or they're waiting to see where you're going to go with your career. So a watch list is when somebody submits to us, and I've heard this from plenty of other gallerists that I've been friends with over a couple decades, that there is this pile of yes, and there's this pile of no, but there's this pile of called watch. And galleries call it all different types of things. Maybe it's up and coming or check back in, but we call it our watch list. And what it means is we look at an artist and we see that they're just on the brink. And what that means, well, it can mean many things. It's not just one thing, it could mean that their technical skills are almost there. They're not gallery ready yet, but I see that they're working hard and they're getting there. And I want to check back with them in a couple months and see where they are. It could also mean that an artist has amazing technical skills, but they haven't found their voice just yet. They haven't found their unique style, but they're a fabulous painter or sculptor or whatever the case may be. They're really good at what they do. They just aren't original enough yet. And there's plenty of other reasons why we may watch an artist. We may watch them because they have zero followers and they've just come on the scene, but their work is pretty amazing, and we're trying to figure out like where do they come from? Do they have a history? Did they pop up because of AI? Like, where and who and why? So sometimes we watch people for that reason. And then other times we'll watch artists because they are actually outside of what we show typically, but we find their work very interesting and we want to integrate it into our programming, but we need to figure out the best place for them. So let's say they're more of an abstract artist, or maybe they do these specific types of sculptures that really don't fit into a lot of our curated theme shows, but we do have this one show next November that really would fit what they are doing. And so we always hold on to artists and put them in the watch list when we like their work. They have a good voice, they have great style, they treat people really good on the internet. That's important. We pay a lot of attention to how artists engage with their followers, other galleries, and things of that nature. But they just don't fit in something we're doing right now, but we do want to include them in the future. So remember, when you're submitting to a gallery, just because you don't hear from them does not mean that it's a no. And also check back because some galleries do allow you to submit a couple times a year and keep resubmitting. Sometimes we will have an artist on the brink where we think their style is good, their technical abilities could grow, and we see them growing, but they're not there yet. But yet they continue to submit, they continue to engage with us, and they continue to be kind and engage with other artists, then we'll take a risk and bring that person into a show. That's also something to think about. So a gallery watch list has a lot of components, and I'm just one gallerist, so I'm sure other galleries would say different reasons why they put artists on their watch list. But the general idea is that we are watching to see where you go, what you do, how you communicate, how you work in the world, so that we can see if you're a good fit. If we're watching you, then we have interests in you. And sometimes those artists we're watching, they have the perfect fit for something coming up, or they shifted and they've grown in a certain way that just goes kapow, and we're like, yes, okay, we're ready, let's work with them. And then sometimes artists don't. And sometimes we remove them from the watch list because perhaps they are really jerky to other artists, or they're not very professional in their submissions or other things of that nature. There are so many variables to be put in that watch list to be moved to the yes list or to be moved to the no list. But really, the idea behind this podcast is to just share that there's this middle area. And it's important to note that it's not always a yes or no. It's sometimes there's this gray area, and you could just be sitting in that gray area waiting for the right and perfect opportunity. And remember, perfect opportunities come at the right time. It's always hard in life and also to be an artist trying to grow, be emerging, and feel rejected all the time. It's not a really good feeling. No one likes it, but it's part of this career choice. It just is. And there are no rules of engagement for being a professional artist except for just being kind to other people, just be professional. Just make sure that when you submit, that you submit and follow all the directions, that you engage in support and care for other people, and that you really put forward effort into your craft. What you do should be the most important thing. Whether or not you get into a gallery or a magazine or anything like that, that's a bonus. But so many artists right now are driven by likes, views, and social media, and they're losing their way with their craft. And when we are looking at submissions, we're not looking at people that have a huge social media following that are dancing around and making a scene out of things. We're looking for strong, hardworking artists that have a soul in their work, that love to do what they do. And not saying that there aren't artists that dance around and appease the social media gods that don't have soul in their work because they do, but we're weeding out those that don't. And that's something for you to remember. If you put your soul, you put your heart, you put your energy into your work, people will see it and they will notice it. And doors will open if you continue to be persistent. Don't get knocked down by the rejections. Just keep getting back up and trying again. At some point, a door is gonna open for you. I hope that this helps and that you guys have an amazing day. And we will be back again for another episode of the Curated Muse podcast. Also, don't forget Hyperlux Magazine Issue One is out if you go to hyperluxliving.com. And if you want to listen to other episodes of this podcast, make sure you go to curatedmuse.com.