(Some people refer to May as Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Month, but now the list includes Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs). )

Last May I was knee-deep in completing grad school and finishing up the thesis show. My experiences at ICP reminded me of the importance of getting people to have takeaway items after the show, whether they be postcards or pamphlets. It’s a great way to market your work and have a lasting reminder of what they saw. I decided to make 200 bookmarks for the thesis show. Visitors can take a remnant piece of the work (e.g., a partial image of different images made during my time in grad school). Surprisingly, all 200 bookmarks were taken before the end of the show’s run.

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I learned a few things from that exhibition when it comes to sharing work:

1. People like freebies.
2. Accessibility of my art is important to me.
3. Connecting with people is another important factor in sharing my work. (Maybe that’s the marketing side talking here.)

Also, as I was researching places to apply to show my work, I found an interesting project, Bibliothēca Project, at the Roman Susan Foundation. The premise is simple: make a small art piece and place it inside the library. Artists who have participated listed the book’s catalog number and library location.