SBA Annual Exhibition to go online - from 3rd June

Good News! The Society of Botanical Artists announced today that ALL the artwork selected for Plantae Annual Exhibition 2020 will now be available to view in a NEW ONLINE EXHIBITION.

The original Annual Exhibition had been due to open at the Mall Galleries on 3rd June 2020.  However on 19th March, the SBA were informed by the Mall Galleries that they would be closed with immediate effect - with no date for reopening in sight.

Instead Plantae will now go online on exhibition will open on 3rd June 2020 - and the exhibition will remain online until the end of June.

Hence it will be capable of being viewed - for the very first time - by anybody interested in botanical art living anywhere in the world!  

Given the number of selected artworks in the show this is no small achievement - indeed I think it may well be the biggest online exhibition I'll have seen since lockdown started!!

Maybe online exhibitions will become the norm for all botanical art societies going forward? The Pandemic has certainly already changed a lot in terms of what we think of as normal going forward.  At the very least, I think it's very appropriate that the oldest botanical art society in the world should be the first botanical art society to host a very large exhibition of botanical art available online.

To get some sense of what has been achieved -

• Last year there were 431 artworks by c.190 botanical artists. 
• If you take a look at my review of last year's exhibition Review: Society of Botanical Artists 2019 - Plantae - you can see a sample of the number and standard of of artwork on view in the exhibition in my photos.

Announcement of new ONLINE exhibition opening 3rd June 2020 (Cherry Blossom painting by Billy Showell PSBA)

I'm not entirely clear about what which website the exhibition is going on or what the URL for the online exhibition will be. That will of course be announced by the SBA nearer to the time the online exhibition opens.
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Sale of artwork
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I queried with SBA whether or not any of the work will be for sale on the online website or not - facilitated by the website.

This is the response I got.

This is predominantly a chance to exhibit the work accepted for the 2020 show more than a selling show.

Given the current situation in relation to the global pandemic, and the fact that both artists and buyers are resident around the globe, it is impractical to deal with payment and shipping for many of us at the moment. Enquiries for sales will be handled by the SBA who will then contact the artist to discuss the practicality of any sale, on an individual basis. The SBA are waiving the commission as a good will gesture.

For any artist needing help with shipping, you might want to take a look at available options below. 

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Shipping art
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If any artist needs any help to do with shipping please see my other website Art Business Info for Artists and these pages in which I try to cover the main topics you need to think about and available options

For example, there are companies who will collect your art from your home and then pack and send it for you.

These are four pages you may find helpful. Please note I do NOT provide advice re. individual transactions.

• Fine Art Transport - a section of the website which provides a Compendium of Information & Advice about Packing & Transporting Art
• How to mail art - General Post and Parcel Services - an overview of the generic post and parcel services on offer in the UK
• UK Art Movers, Couriers & Fine Art Transport Services - How to get your fine art from A to B without using the post or taking it yourself + Checklists re assessing couriers/movers (This includes pack and send companies baed in the UK who are reopening recently or shortly)
• ​How to ship art internationally - What you need to know to ship (export) artwork internationally for exhibition and/or sale ​
  

PS Also consider sending artwork unframed for a reduced price. This option can eliminate a lot of the hassle and also enables buyers to choose their preferred frame.