Artist Professional Practices Consulting
Mallory Shotwell works with artists, arts organizations, and cultural institutions to support exhibitions, public programs, and professional participation in nonprofit and civic art contexts.
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She provides strategic and operational support to mid-career artists navigating exhibitions, juried opportunities, residencies, and institutional processes, as well as to organizations seeking clarity, coordination, and follow-through across programs and initiatives. Her work addresses the practical realities of professional art practice: aligning materials and timelines, managing applications and proposals, coordinating communication, and supporting projects through completion.
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With over a decade of experience in curatorial leadership, artist-run organizations, and arts administration, Shotwell brings deep institutional fluency to both individual and organizational work. She has directed exhibitions, managed multi-stakeholder programs, supported artists through complex opportunity cycles, and built systems that enable sustainable, ethical participation in the arts.
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Her approach is grounded in an active interdisciplinary art practice and an independent curatorial career, and is focused on how art moves through real systems rather than on coaching, motivation, or personal development.
She works across individual and institutional scales to translate artistic and programmatic goals into clear structures, executed work, and durable public outcomes.
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Supporting Artists
​Works to support artists who are actively engaging with exhibitions, juried opportunities, museum acquisitions, residencies, public programs, or nonprofit and civic institutions.
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So if you are an artist who is overwhelmed with admin, have opportunities arrive unevenly, is continually rejected and don't understand why, needs an update with website/CV/statement, or more complicated elements like contract or insurance support, support is here.
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Supporting with professional practice support to include, but not limited to -
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CV, bio, and artist statement refinement
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Application and submission preparation
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Image selection and documentation
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Deadline and opportunity tracking
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Professional correspondence with buyers, curators, galleries, jurors, and institutions.
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Opportunity research and prioritization
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Inventory and consignment tracking
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Exhibition and program preparation
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Pricing and edition structure
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Systems and workflow setup
Supporting Organizations
Works to support arts organizations, nonprofits, museums, universities, and civic or community-based institutions engaged in exhibitions, programs, public initiatives, or artist-centered projects.
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If you are a part of, or leading an organization that has deadlines to meet, programs to run, artists to communicate with, and systems that need to work under pressure, this work provides structure, implementation support, and durable processes.
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Supporting with programmatic and professional practices support to include, but not limited to –​
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Coordination of exhibition and program materials
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Alignment of artist documentation with institutional requirements
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Support for juried exhibitions, open calls, and application-based programs
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Communication coordination between artists, curators, and program staff
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Process design for artist participation, onboarding, and follow-through
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Support for program documentation, organization, and archiving
Learn about the Process
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Clarity
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Meet with a Discovery Call to understand artist practice or organization. Surface what matters now, what can wait, and what is blocking progress.
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Structure
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Puts materials, deadlines, and commitments into a usable order.
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Support
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Carries coordination, communication, and administrative load during active cycles.
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Execution
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Prepares, submits, and follows through on time-sensitive work.
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Continuity​
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Ensures that each opportunity strengthens the next, so the artist or organization is set up for ease, and success as they go forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
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