Blue Portal Announces New Artist Intake Appointment Opportunities for 2022

New information: 1/13/2023 [See Artist Guidelines for 2023]

We are pleased to announce that New Artists will be considered for addition to the Blue Portal family. Appointments are 30 minutes long. A full introduction to the program is given at that time, but we do expect the potential artist to have read all of the supplementary material in the “New Artist Folder”. Appointments will be on Mondays starting at 10 AM. Please visit the shop before you apply so you have a feel for what we are. This will help you – and us.

To aide us with our first contact with you we do require that you send photos of what you propose bringing so that we have a specific idea of what you do. It is necessary that you indicate the size of your pieces, the medium, and your desired price. There are some categories that historically do not do well here and we would alert you if your work falls in that area. Further, less than 1% of our inventory costs over $80 – our average item price is about $15. Work that is more “gallery quality” – wall art or ceramics over $100 are not in tempo with the special purpose of Blue Portal. We are a philanthropic program for senior artists whose work would not find a venue in a normal gallery. There are changing trends in patron purchases and inquiries that our computer system allows us to keep up with so that we can fairly assess the chances of success at Blue Portal. We have so many venues for artists in Albuquerque that when you have material that may not work here – we may be able to suggest a potential venue for it.

All new artists start out with a limited number of pieces to see how they fit in Blue Portal. With limited space and over 400 artists we do our best to keep the inventory fresh and interesting as well as honoring the traditions of our talented seniors. As the popularity of an item grows, so does the number of items we take.

What follows is our present “demographic” of categories/types in order of popularity. This also weighs in the assessment of what and how much we take. From most popular in descending order: Fabric Arts, Wood, Décor, Jewelry (earrings/necklaces), Kitchen-Utensils, Glass, Notecards (original art better than photography), Pottery/Ceramics. Our slowest categories are Paintings/Hanging Photography/Matted Prints, Purses-Tote Bags, and Random Accessories .

These are a few generalities to help you get a fuller feeling for what Blue Portal looks at when evaluating your potential participation.