How to get your first press coverage as a new gallery

01Understanding the art press landscape in France and internationally

The art press in France is structured around several reference publications. Le Journal des Arts covers market and institutional news with a rigorous journalistic approach. Art Press is a critical review publishing in-depth articles on contemporary creation. Beaux Arts Magazine reaches a broader audience with a mix of features, reviews and thematic dossiers. Connaissance des Arts addresses a readership of collectors and informed enthusiasts. Alongside these historic publications, online media such as The Art Newspaper (French edition), Slash Magazine, and the culture sections of generalist media like Le Monde, Liberation, Les Inrockuptibles and Telerama complete the landscape.

Internationally, Artforum, Frieze, Art Review, market data platforms News, Hyperallergic and The Art Newspaper constitute the principal references. For a French gallery, national press coverage is generally more accessible and more immediately useful than international coverage, though the latter becomes a natural objective as your programme acquires an international dimension. The important thing is to understand that each publication has its own readership, editorial interests and production calendar. An article that would be perfect for Art Press may not interest Beaux Arts Magazine, and vice versa. This detailed knowledge of the media landscape is the foundation of any effective press relations strategy.

02Building a press kit that makes journalists want to write

The press kit is your primary tool for soliciting media coverage. A mediocre press kit, even accompanying a remarkable exhibition, will be discarded after a glance. An excellent press kit, on the other hand, can convince a journalist to visit a gallery they do not yet know.

The press release is the centrepiece of this kit. It should fit on one page, two at most. The first paragraph must contain the essential information: who is exhibiting, what, where, when. The journalist who reads only this first paragraph must know whether they are potentially interested. Subsequent paragraphs develop the exhibition's proposition, present the artist and contextualise the work within the contemporary landscape. The tone must be informative and rigorous, not promotional or lyrical. Journalists are writing professionals who immediately spot texts seeking to sell rather than inform, and this perception deters them from reading further.

The visuals accompanying the press kit are as important as the text. Provide high-resolution images (minimum 300 dpi at A4 format), correctly captioned (artist, title, year, medium, dimensions, photo credit), and ready to be published without further handling. A journalist who must search for image credits or who receives low-resolution files will move on to another dossier. Galerie Marian Goodman is renowned in the milieu for the impeccable quality of its press kits, which considerably facilitate the work of journalists and editorial teams.

Add to the kit an up-to-date artist biography, with a complete exhibition history and a selection of critical texts published about their work. If the artist is truly emerging and few texts exist, a short essay written by an independent critic or curator provides an intellectual endorsement that can make the difference in the journalist's decision.

03Identifying and approaching the right journalists

Sending your press release to an entire magazine editorial team is ineffective. Editorial teams are organised by sections, and each journalist covers a specific segment of the art world. Identify journalists who cover the emerging scene, new galleries, artists of the generation you represent. Read their recent articles to understand what interests them and adapt your approach accordingly. A journalist who has recently written about the emerging Parisian scene will likely be more receptive to your solicitation than one who primarily covers major auction sales or museum retrospectives.

The first contact with a journalist must be professional and respectful of their time. A concise email, with the press release attached and a few introductory lines explaining why this exhibition might interest them, is the appropriate format. Do not call a journalist to ask whether they received your release: this practice is universally detested in editorial offices. If your release is sufficiently interesting, it will be read. If it is not, no telephone call will change that reality.

A follow-up is acceptable if it is spaced and relevant. A follow-up email sent one week after the initial mailing, bringing new information (a scheduled press visit, a novelty in the exhibition, an associated event), can revive attention without being intrusive. Beyond two follow-ups, you risk irritating your interlocutor and compromising your chances for future solicitations.

04The press visit as a seduction tool

The press visit is a format that works particularly well for young galleries. Rather than hoping a journalist will visit spontaneously, organise a press visit ahead of your opening, to which you invite a small number of selected journalists. This visit offers the journalist privileged access to the exhibition before the public, a quiet moment to look at the works and the possibility of meeting the artist for an exchange that will enrich their article. The exclusive nature of the invitation flatters the journalist and increases the probability they will attend.

Galerie Jocelyn Wolff used this format effectively in its early years. Press visits organised in its Belleville space allowed journalists to discover not only the exhibition but also the neighbourhood, the context, the energy of a place that did not resemble the established galleries of the Marais or Saint-Germain-des-Pres. This unusual setting itself became a narrative element journalists could integrate into their articles, transforming a simple exhibition review into a richer story about the emergence of a new scene.

Prepare these visits carefully. Have a thorough knowledge of each exhibited work, be capable of answering technical and conceptual questions, and let the artist speak if they are present. Journalists appreciate dealers who genuinely know their artists' work and can discuss it with conviction and precision, without unnecessary jargon or hollow formulas.

05Alternative routes to media coverage

Traditional specialist press is not the only media coverage channel. Specialist blogs, art newsletters, podcasts dedicated to the art world, independent critics' social media accounts: these outlets constitute a complementary media ecosystem that is often more accessible to young galleries and whose influence should not be underestimated. An article published on a high-traffic specialist blog can reach an audience of collectors and professionals as effectively as an article in a print magazine, and sometimes in a more targeted way.

Independent critics who publish on their own platforms or contribute to online media are often more receptive to proposals from young galleries than journalists at major publications, who are overwhelmed with solicitations. Partnerships with local publications can also be fruitful. Regional newspaper cultural supplements, neighbourhood magazines, local cultural guides: these publications seek content and are often delighted to present a new gallery settling in their coverage area. This local press may lack the prestige of national reviews, but it reaches a local audience that constitutes the natural pool of your first visitors and collectors.

06Patience as a foundational strategy

Obtaining your first press coverage can take months, even a full year. Young dealers who expect press coverage from their very first exhibition are almost always disappointed, and this disappointment can lead to unjustified discouragement. Journalists need time to identify you, to verify the consistency of your programme, to ensure your gallery is not a flash in the pan that will disappear after two seasons. This observation period is normal and should not discourage you.

Continue sending press releases for every exhibition, with the same rigour and quality. Continue inviting journalists to your openings and press visits. Maintain an online presence that documents your activity professionally. Consistency and perseverance always pay off in a milieu that values long-term commitment. Artedusa contributes to this visibility by offering partner galleries a presence on a platform dedicated to contemporary art, consulted by collectors and professionals seeking new galleries and artists. This complementary visibility reinforces your credibility with the press by demonstrating that your gallery is part of a structured professional ecosystem and that it has an audience beyond its physical space.