Talent isn't the problem. It's preparation that's missing.
The Critical Care Package: The Opportunity is a free guide for working artists on how to navigate an exhibition, before, during, and after, so you walk away protected, clear, and ready for what’s next.
Most artists don't lose Opportunities because their work isn't good enough.
They lose them because no one
ever told them:
→ What to ask
→ What to protect
→ What to do when it doesn't go as planned
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There is no industry standard for exhibition contracts. Historically, they don’t always arrive at the very beginning of a relationship between an artist and a hosting partner. That gap, between the opportunity and the understanding of what it actually involves, is where a lot of artists get hurt.
We’ve seen it happen. Artists who walked into major institutional shows without knowing how to negotiate compensation, protect their formal components, or plan for the moment the acquisition falls through. Not because they weren’t talented, but because no one taught them how to navigate the system.
This guide changes that.
After working through this guide, you’ll finally be able to walk into any exhibition opportunity prepared, protected, and clear on what comes next: before, during, and after.
What You'll Get
Before
The questions to ask about compensation, contracts, shipping, and exhibition materials before you commit to anything.
During
How to navigate installations:
After
How to handle deinstallation, return logistics, and what to do when the outcome isn't what you expected.
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Written by artists who learned the hard way, so you don't have to.
I'm Ajay Kurian, artist, educator, and founder of NewCrits. I've spent 20 years working across galleries, museums, and institutions. I've been in the Whitney Biennial. I've had the commissions, the solo shows, and the moments that looked like 'making it' from the outside.
I've also walked away from a major institutional commission with $800–$11,500 in debt to my gallery, because no one told me to budget emotionally as well as financially, or to ask whether the museum intended to acquire the work before I said yes.
This guide, co-written with arts administrator Lynn Maliszewski, is everything I wish someone had handed me before my first major show. NewCrits exists because every artist deserves access to this kind of honest, practical knowledge, outside of the traditional systems that have historically kept it behind closed doors.
This resource is the first step in providing that transparency.
What artists are saying
Artists who've used our resources share how it changed
their approach to exhibitions and Opportunities.
"I have now been in conversations with Ajay three times in the last 5 months. It has been a gift of ongoing thoughtful attention and keen listening with someone new to my work and practice as I am navigating new mediums and exploring new professional goals. NewCrits community of artists supporting other artists is a model that centers the discussion around one's art and balances criticality, coaching and community."
"My first studio visit with you was memorable because it was the first time I felt what I was trying to do was recognized, and through that, made much clearer to myself. It’s not really the kind of feeling that has been replicated in any other prior or subsequent visit. Because I’m not you, it’s tough for me to put my finger on exactly what it is about your pedagogical method that elicits this unique feeling, but I think it has something to do with a dispositional positivity towards not just young PoC artists, but the art objects themselves. That they’re always-already active, and producing a particular logic, even when they’re unresolved or falling short in other ways. You engage this latent logic, and it makes for a generous and a generative approach. Every visit has concluded with me knowing exactly what I have to do next. Again, I really can’t overstate how rare that really is."
"Working with Ajay is to be treated with a synthesis of care and criticism that is often missing in the discourse of a contemporary studio practice. Ajay not only engaged with my work and material process, but also how to think about my work’s best way to be presented in applications. I came away from a meeting with clarity and with an understanding of my work and what avenues were available to pursue. NewCrits presents the opportunity for discourse and community in an art world that is becoming more decentralized and I will be making use of such a resource as much as possible."
The Opportunity is only as good as how prepared
you are to take it.
The Critical Care Package: The Opportunity is free.
It's practical, and it's built by artists who have
navigated exactly what you're facing.
Download it before
your next conversation
with a curator or gallerist.Â
Use it to ask better questions, protect your work, and show up for every Opportunity knowing you're ready.
Ready to go deeper? Book your Intro Crit here →
