Heather Darcy Bhandari's Art/Work: A Guide for Artists Navigating the Art World

Heather Darcy Bhandari, a New York-based curator and consultant, co-authored Art/Work with art lawyer Jonathan Melber in 2009, with a revised edition in 2017. The book fills gaps left by art schools, covering legal issues, taxes, contracts, copyright, CVs, grant applications, and packing art for shipping. The 2017 update added digital marketing and alternative art markets, replacing 'galleries' with 'venues' to include non-commercial spaces. Bhandari co-founded Art World Learning (AWL) with Dexter Wimberly to provide online business and financial education for creatives, offering 19 courses on taxes, contracts, and O-1/EB-1 visas. She also co-founded The Remix, a curatorial collective and podcast. Bhandari emphasizes radical transparency, artists' cultural and monetary value, and the importance of local communities post-pandemic. She notes that success can come at any age, citing older artists gaining recognition, and advocates for a more inclusive art world. Her favorite quote is from Fred Tomaselli: 'When you look at art history, you see a history of nonconformists: people doing the wrong thing. I'd like to see more artists doing the wrong thing.'