Of late, Societies / Groups of Botanical Artists have developed a number of ONLINE / VIRTUAL (i.e. digital) Exhibitions of Botanical Art and Illustration.
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  • Some only exist online - while others complement exhibitions in art galleries and other exhibition spaces.
  • Some are online during specific dates - while others remain online for much longer periods.
  • Some are on dedicated gallery sites - while others are videos
  • Most involve selling artwork online
  • All are currently for societies of botanical artists - but in principle there's nothing to stop an individual artist having an online exhibition.....

The next development will be downloadable Online Catalogues - which are, of course, much more sustainable than the printed version - even if we all like the printed versions better - and also cut out the mailing costs!
This page details
  • CURRENT Exhibitions - which can be seen online
  • UPCOMING Online Exhibitions (if notified)
  • PAST Exhibitions by year (which will become an Archive Page in due course)
  • TIPS for organisations planning future online exhibitions - it provides information and advice about the practical and aspects and rules associated with selling botanical art online - and then getting it safely to the buyer.

​I'm very happy to add in links to advice sheets or other information about how to make life simple for those creating online exhibitions. Do please contact me or use the form at the bottom of the page.

CURRENT ONLINE Exhibitions of Botanical Art & Illustration
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American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA)

The Fourth New York Botanical Garden Triennial:
​Abundant Future: Cultivating Diversity in Garden, Farm, and Field

Virtual Exhibition Dates: November 21, 2020 - April 25, 2021​
BUT It remains online on the NYBG website!
This exhibition celebrates the astonishing diversity and fascinating history of cultivated plants grown for clothing, healing, and most of all, for food. The subjects of these works were discovered on international travels, picked up at the farmer’s market, even plucked from artists’ own gardens.

This was the first Online Exhibition for the Triennial.
I think it created a great standard - and should remain online throughout the three years. It would be nice if it could also move to an archive page in due course.
ASBA - Dare to be Square

This is the small works exhibition normally associated with the Annual Conference. In 2021 the Conference was Online - and so was this exhibition!

This video replays the Dare to be Square 2021 Small Works Exhibition featured at the ASBA Virtual Conference 2021.

The really nice thing about making an exhibition into a YouTube Video is
  • it makes it accessible to all
  • it can remain online after the event it is associated with finishes
  • it includes a contact email for any interested prospective purchasers!
Association of British Botanical Artists  (ABBA)

‘ReflectionS’, no plants-no planet’
This exhibition was inspired by COP26 ( United Nations - Climate Change Conference ) due to be held in Glasgow in November 2021.

The exhibition will comprise a juried and digital collection of botanical art by ABBA members that reflects the pivotal role that plants play in preserving the planet's biodiversity.
This will be displayed:
  • On a large screen for viewing by visitors to the Shirley Sherwood Gallery, Kew Gardens, between 16th October 2021 and 27th March 2022
  • Simultaneously exhibited in the ABBA Online Gallery to an international audience. 
Botanical Art Society of Australia (BASA)

Flora - The Art and Science of the Plant 2021
Dates: 26 October to 6 November 2021 (at Long Gallery, Salamanca Arts Centre, Battery Point, Tasmania)

This is BASA's Annual Exhibition. This year
  • The exhibition at the Gallery  is accompanied by a Virtual Exhibition - accessible to all.
  • These are the Prize Winners
  • The works will be available to purchase online after the Gallery exhibition closes.
The Garden Museum

The Botanical World of Raymond Booth 

Raymond Booth was a painter, plantsman and naturalist. The Botanical World of Raymond Booth is a celebration of his intense interest in the study of plants. He tended them himself and would not paint a plant that he had not grown and observed through an entire season. For those who were unable to visit the 2022 exhibition in person, the Garden Museum is sharing his paintings online to enjoy from home.
The works in this exhibition are available for purchase, in aid of the Garden Museum and the wildlife charities Booth supported in his lifetime.

UPCOMING Online Exhibitions ​of Botanical Art & Illustration
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Let me know if your organisation has plans for an online exhibition - see the form at the bottom of the page

Online Exhibitions in 2022
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Botanical Art Society (Singapore), Indonesian Society of Botanical Artists, Thai Botanical Artists & Philippine Botanical Art Society

Flora of South East Asia
Exhibition dates: 15 November 2022 - 15 February 2023
Venue: Singapore Botanical Gardens

All the artwork will be exhibited online simultaneously with the exhibition of the actual artwork in Singapore Botanical Gardens.

It's unclear at the moment whether the online exhibition will remain online for a longer period and/or whether there will be an online catalogue - but plenty of time to work that out!

PAST Online Exhibitions ​of Botanical Art & Illustration
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This will eventually become an archive on a separate page.
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Online Exhibitions in 2021
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Society of Botanical Artists (SBA)

Plantae 2021 (no longer visible online)
Dates Online: 4th - 18th June
This was another online exhibition, following the one in 2020.
​This is ​
REFERENCE
Edinburgh Society of Botanical Artists (ESBA)

ESBA 9th Annual Exhibition
This was ESBA's first online exhibition.
Dates Online: 8th February - 22nd March 2021 - and remains online

ESBA artists are all graduates of the internationally recognized Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Diploma course in Botanical Illustration. Many of the artists have exhibited paintings nationally and internationally, won awards and had work selected for publication, and for inclusion in the RBGE Florilegium.

This was an impressive online. I very much appreciated:
  • ​the opportunity to see all artworks by one artist - through the use of thumbnails (one per artist) to index the exhibition 
  • ​keeping the online exhibition online after the intended dates for the 'real' exhibition. 
  • each artwork had an email link attached to it so that prospective purchasers could contact the artist direct

REFERENCE:
Picture
Thumbnail images on the home page for the exhibition take you to the artworks of individual artists

Online Exhibitions in 2020
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Society of Botanical Artists  (SBA)

Plantae 2020
The planned annual exhibition to be held at the Mall Galleries was converted into a digital exhibition for a limited time period. 
  • It included 426 artworks - paintings, drawings, fine art prints, and 3D work - by 221 artists
  • around 20% of the artists came from countries outside the UK - with a number of countries being represented for the first time
  • it was probably the biggest ever exhibition of botanical art online. 
Dates Online: 3rd - 30th June 2021 but is no longer online.

REFERENCE:

TIPS for those planning future online exhibitions
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Creating great Images for Online Galleries

It's vital that the Call for Entries provide explicit and easy to understand information about what sort and size of digital image is required. Most are getting better at this - but there is still scope for improvement!

The major problem for many organising online exhibition is that many artists lack knowledge about how to create a great digital image - where the white paper is white!

Artists - with appropriate advice and training - can do this for themselves or need to employ professional photographers or scanners.
REFERENCE:

For information about image creation and management see the following sites:
To sell artwork online you need to make it both easy - and legal!

I find there's a lot of ignorance about all the things you need to know about to comply with all relevant legislation and regulations.

It's not unusual to make all sales a contract between the artist and purchaser with the host website acting as an "introduction agency". 

It's absolutely imperative that those organising an exhibition and selling artwork ONLINE understand what is involved in relation to:
  • law and regulations in the host country 
  • law and regulations in the country of a purchaser e.g. is there a local sales tax which is applicable to all purchases made online - in which case it is imperative that all sale prices make clear that they exclude all local taxes due in the country of the purchaser.
(NOTE: Post Brexit a lot of artists have stopped selling art into Europe because of the complexities associated with different rules in different countries - and significant import taxes!)
REFERENCE:
My other website - about Art Business Info. for Artists provides dedicated pages of information and advice about:
I RECOMMEND taking a look at the 2021 Exhibition by the Scottish Society of Botanical Artists - which is still online - for how to provide a link for individual artworks direct to the artist.
To frame or not to frame
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Artists might want to consider supplying/selling original work matted to a standard size and not framed.​

The reason for this are as follows:
  • The frame is part of what a buyer would pay for (in some instances) but the frame is not on view 
  • The choice of frame is also a very individual choice -(e.g. I detest black frames for botanical artwork and would move on rather than buy an artwork in a black frame. By way of contrast, other people of course love black frames!) 
  • Framed artwork increases costs for the buyer i.e. they have to pay commission on the frame as well as the artwork
  • Framed artwork can increase the cost of shipping (i.e. frames increase both size and weight) ​
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My personal choice would always be to
  • buy matted artwork
  • properly packaged (to professional standards)
  • use the money I save on not buying frames from the artist to buy more artwork!
REFERENCE:
For more about framing art, see 
​EITHER my Making A Mark blog
OR My ​Art Business Info. for Artists website section about
Shipping - Domestic and International

Information about shipping on the online website is always helpful. It needs to be
  • easy to access and
  • totally transparent about process and costs

Participating artists will be doing the shipping and need a lot of support and help to promote a smooth transmission from their studio to the buyer.

A society that contracts with a reliable shipper who provides a quality packing service can probably achieve more cost efficient and effective methods of shipping - domestically and internationally - than an individual artist who might not be used to selling online - and then packing and shipping - with all relevant documentation.
​(e.g. Do you know what an EORI number is?)
REFERENCE:
For more information see these pages on my companion website 'Art Business Info for Artists'
IMPORTANT NOTE re. ART BUSINESS INFO FOR ARTISTS
Content and the law change all the time. It's impossible to keep up with if, like me, you're not working on the topic full time. 
I research topics carefully. However, I am totally unable to warrant that ANY and/or ALL information is 
  • complete and/or
  • professional and/or 
  • wholly accurate and/or 
  • totally up to date - and all links lead to the most current information.​
Hence all information I provide comes without any LIABILITY whatsoever to you for any choices you make. 

How to tell me about an Online Exhibition you have planned
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Use the form to let me know about:
  • the name of your organisation
  • the name of your online exhibition
  • dates of the online exhibition
  • whether it will remain online for a longer period
  • purpose and scope of the exhibition e.g. Does it have a specific topic? 
  • If open entry - please also provide details of the Call for Entries and associated URL
  • name of primary contact for the exhibition - please make sure the email provided relates to this individual or the organisation's own email address

    NOTIFY: Upcoming Online Exhibition
EXHIBITIONS