An art exhibition press release is a one-page announcement that tells editors, critics, and listings desks what the show is, who made the work, where and when anyone can see it, and why it matters right now. It must contain the exhibition title, artist names, venue address, exact run dates and hours, the opening reception time, a short curatorial angle, a quote, a link to high-resolution images with captions, and a press contact who answers the phone. Everything else is optional. Miss one of those and a busy listings editor will skip your show for one that made the job easy.
Below you get a structure built for that editor, a fill-in template, and three annotated examples you can adapt.
Start at the wall: what the release needs from the installation
Most weak releases fail before anyone writes a word. The curator is still deciding which pieces make the cut, the registrar has not confirmed loan dates, and the press release goes out with “new works” where a checklist should be. Write the release from the installation plan, not from the concept statement.
Pull five sets of facts from whoever is hanging the show. First, the final dates: opening night, the public run, closing day, and any days the gallery shuts. Second, the checklist: how many works, which media, which years, and the one or two pieces you will lead with. Third, the artist’s details as the artist wants them printed, including pronouns, spelling of names, city of residence, and any representation. Fourth, the room itself: is this the gallery’s first show in a new space, a site-specific installation, a piece that takes up a whole floor? Fifth, the photography plan.
That last one gets skipped. The Museums and Galleries of NSW guide on promoting an upcoming exhibition recommends planning a behind-the-scenes shot during install, “such as the installation of a large artwork,” and inviting local media to capture it. A photo of a ten-foot canvas going up on a wall is often the image a local paper runs, because it shows something happening.
Ask one more question before you write: what will a visitor see first when they walk in? That piece is usually your lead image and the work you name in the second paragraph. If the answer is a wall of small drawings, say so, and pick the single drawing that photographs best for the hero shot.
Get final images of the key works shot before the release goes out, not after the opening. Name each file with artist, title, and year so it matches the caption sheet. A critic writing at midnight should never need to email you to ask which file is which.
The PLACARD framework for structuring an art exhibition press release
Gallery visitors read a placard in about ten seconds: artist, title, date, medium, credit. Editors read your release the same way. So I structure every art exhibition press release with a seven-part model I call PLACARD, in the order a busy reader needs it.
P is for Premise. One sentence, in the headline and first line, that states the news: who is showing what, where, and the one fact that makes it different (first solo show in the city, a decade of work, a new commission). If the premise needs a subordinate clause about liminality, it is not a premise yet.
L is for Logistics. Dates, venue name, street address, hours, admission price, and accessibility notes. Put these in the first or second paragraph, never at the bottom. Listings editors build calendars from this paragraph alone.
A is for Artist. Two or three sentences: where the artist lives and works, the career facts that matter (prior shows, awards, collections), and what they make. Link the full CV rather than pasting it.
C is for Context. One paragraph on the curatorial angle and why the show matters to this audience now. A local paper wants the local connection. A national critic wants the argument the work makes. The NSW guide says the same thing: tailor key messages to each outlet.
A is for Assets. A single download link to high-resolution images, a caption sheet, and installation shots once they exist. Include one quote from the artist or curator here, in plain speech.
R is for Reception and access. Opening reception time, RSVP instructions, press preview time, and public programs (artist talks, tours, closing events).
D is for Desk details. Press contact name, email, and phone, plus a two-line gallery boilerplate and “Ends” or ”###” so nobody wonders whether a page is missing.
Watch the language in the C section. In 2012, Alix Rule and David Levine analyzed every announcement e-flux had sent since 1999 and coined the term “International Art English” for the dialect they found, full of phrases like “radically questioned” and stacked clauses, as Hyperallergic reported at the time. Hyperallergic even keeps a running tag called “worst press release ever.” Write C the way you would describe the show to a smart friend at the door.
Opening reception details that get people through the door
The opening reception is the part of your release that readers act on, so treat it as an invitation inside the announcement. Give the day, date, start and end time, and whether the artist will be present. Say whether it is free and open to the public or RSVP only. If you need a headcount for drinks, give a single RSVP link, not an email address that turns into forty threads.
Separate the press preview from the party. Critics and photographers want the room empty and quiet. The NSW guide notes that photographers and camera crews need access to the space before a preview begins, and the Artfolio guide to media outreach before a vernissage suggests a 15-minute curator walk-through before doors open so reporters can gather quotes without the crowd. Put the press preview time in its own sentence and say who will be there to talk.
Add the practical details that decide whether someone shows up on a Thursday night: nearest transit, parking, step-free access, whether the event is family-friendly, and when the bar closes. If you have performances, a DJ, or a reading, name them with times. A listings editor can turn that paragraph into a calendar entry without rewriting it.
Then send a separate invitation. The release goes to media. The invite goes to collectors, members, neighbors, and the artist’s own list, with a cleaner design and a single call to action. Both should share identical dates and addresses, so build them from the same fact sheet.
Your fill-in art exhibition press release template
Copy this, replace every bracket, and delete any line you cannot fill with a real fact. A blank line beats a vague one.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE [or: EMBARGOED UNTIL date, time, time zone]
[GALLERY NAME] PRESENTS [EXHIBITION TITLE], [ARTIST NAME]'S [first solo show in CITY / new body of work / decade survey]
[Subhead: one line with the most visual or surprising fact about the work]
[CITY, Date] [Gallery name] will present [Exhibition Title], [number] new [media] works by [Artist], from [Opening date] through [Closing date]. An opening reception takes place [Day, Date], [start] to [end], and is [free and open to the public / RSVP at link].
[Logistics] [Venue], [street address]. Hours: [days and times]. Admission: [price or free]. Accessibility: [step-free entry, seating, large-print labels, etc.].
[Context] [Two to four sentences on what the work does, why now, and why this audience should care. Name one or two specific works by title.]
"[One or two plain sentences from the artist or curator about the work.]" said [Name, role].
[Artist] [Artist] (b. [year], [birthplace]) lives and works in [city]. [Prior shows, awards, collections, in one or two sentences.] Full CV: [link].
[Reception and programs] Press preview: [Day, Date, time], with [artist/curator] available for interviews. Public programs: [artist talk, tour, closing event, with dates and times].
[Assets] High-resolution images and caption sheet: [single download link].
Press contact: [Name], [email], [direct phone]
About [Gallery]: [Two sentences: founded when, what it shows, where.]
###The template follows PLACARD from top to bottom. If you only have time to fill four lines, fill the premise, logistics, reception, and contact.
Three illustrative examples, annotated
The three releases below are fictional. I wrote them for this post to show the template working in three common situations. The galleries, artists, and dates do not exist, so do not go looking for them.
Example 1 (fictional): a commercial gallery solo show.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Harbor Street Gallery presents Salt Lines, Mara Okafor’s first solo exhibition in Portland. Harbor Street Gallery will present Salt Lines, eleven new large-scale cyanotypes by Mara Okafor, from March 6 through April 18. An opening reception takes place Friday, March 6, 6 to 9 p.m., free and open to the public. Okafor made the works by exposing treated fabric along the Oregon coast at low tide, so each piece records a specific beach on a specific day. “The ocean finished every one of these,” Okafor said.
What works: the premise lands in the first sentence, the count of works and the medium are exact, and the context gives a local hook (the Oregon coast) that a Portland arts reporter can use. The quote is eight words and quotable.
Example 2 (fictional): a nonprofit group show.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Eastside Arts Center opens Night Shift, a group exhibition of work by seven artists who hold full-time jobs outside the art world, from June 12 through August 2. Opening reception: Thursday, June 12, 5:30 to 8 p.m., with a press preview at 4 p.m. The artists include a nurse, a bus driver, and two line cooks, and every work in the show was made between midnight and 6 a.m. Curator Dana Ruiz said, “We wanted a show about when art actually gets made for most people.”
What works: a group show has no single famous name, so the premise sells the idea instead. The press preview has its own time. The detail about jobs gives a features writer a human-interest angle that a critic and a local TV producer can both use.
Example 3 (fictional): an artist-run pop-up.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. For one weekend only, painter Theo Lindqvist will show 30 small paintings in a vacant storefront at 214 Main Street, Asheville, October 3 to 5. Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Free. Every painting is 8 by 10 inches and priced at $200, and Lindqvist will be painting in the window all three days. Images and captions: [link]. Press contact: Theo Lindqvist, [email], [phone].
What works: no gallery boilerplate, no curator, and it still covers every PLACARD element in under 80 words. The short run creates urgency, the price point is news for a local audience, and “painting in the window” is a photo opportunity a TV crew can schedule.
When and where to send it
Timing depends on the outlet. The NSW guide recommends writing the release about two months out and contacting magazines about three months ahead with a short FYI, because monthly print editors close early. Weeklies, dailies, and online listings can work with three to four weeks. The Artfolio guide lays out a countdown that starts with personal pitches 21 days out, sends the full kit at 14 days, and follows up with confirmed journalists the week before.
Send the release one journalist at a time. Muck Rack’s State of Journalism 2026 survey, as summarized by the University of Minnesota’s University Relations team, found that 62% of journalists prefer a one-to-one email, 69% prefer pitches under 200 words, and 70% value clear relevance to their beat. So the email is a short note with the premise, the dates, and why this writer in particular should care. The full release sits below it or behind a link, and the images sit behind a separate link.
Check each outlet’s rules before you send. Hyperallergic’s contact page asks for news tips at tips@hyperallergic.com and says not to send press releases to its general hello@ address. Many listings sections run their own submission forms. Paid announcement services such as e-flux reach a large international art audience, but they cost money and work best for institutions with international shows.
Use an embargo when one writer deserves a head start. If a critic at the city’s main paper wants to run a preview the weekend before the opening, send the release marked “Embargoed until” with a date, time, and time zone, and send the wider release once that piece publishes. The Artfolio guide suggests giving trusted journalists early access and publishing the broader announcement about 48 hours later. Honor the embargo yourself, too: no Instagram teaser of the lead work until it lifts.
Keep your list current. Arts beats turn over often, and a release addressed to a critic who left two years ago tells the next person you did not check. If you want a head start, the free journalist list from Instant Press groups arts and culture reporters by outlet and city so you can match each release to the right desk.
After the opening, send a short follow-up with installation photos and one or two moments from the night, which gives a critic who missed the preview a reason to come during the run.
The galleries that get reviewed next season will be the ones whose releases an editor can turn into a listing in under a minute.