How to Feel Confident Visiting an Art Gallery, According to Gallerist Hannah Traore

Visiting commercial galleries is one of the easiest ways to encounter contemporary art. They’re free to enter and feature rotating shows of curated artworks, making them a crucial part of how art is circulated and discovered.

But for many, the prospect of visiting a gallery can be anxiety-inducing. Stereotypes of sparse wall texts, aloof staff members, and a veneer of elitism have affected the popular perception of galleries, making them feel impenetrable to many outside of the art world.

The reality is that the vast majority of galleries are run by passionate, enthusiastic people who are more than happy to engage with anyone interested in the art they are showing. Still, many new audiences report difficulties with visiting galleries, from feeling intimidated to being unsure about whether artworks are for sale. To better understand these issues, I invited a group of participants who were unfamiliar with the commercial gallery world to visit a number of spaces across New York and report back their experiences. Then, I brought their concerns to rising tastemaker Hannah Traore, whose eponymous Lower East Side gallery emphasizes underrepresented artists and makes the experience of viewing and collecting art feel a little more human.

“[Being inclusive] was one of the huge concerns that I wanted to tackle when opening a gallery, because it becomes a class and race thing as well,” Traore told me. “Who is a typical buyer at a gallery, and so who gets that type of attention? It’s not young people. It’s not often, unfortunately, even though it’s changing, but it’s often not people of color. It’s super unfortunate because galleries should be the most accessible art viewing experience.”

I met the 30-year-old gallerist at her Orchard Street space, where “Who? Me?,” a group show focused on contemporary self-portraiture, occupied the front, while the back room held a solo presentation by Maryland-based interdisciplinary artist V Walton. After studying art history at Skidmore College and completing a yearlong internship at the Museum of Modern Art, Traore opened her gallery in 2022, and it has fast become an anchor in its local gallery community thanks to its program of buzzy shows.

Traore sat down with me in her office, which was full with works from the gallery’s artists, to help demystify the gallery experience and answer the concerns of our participants.

Here are the four main issues I heard—and how she responded.

The biggest concern among some participants was that they immediately felt intimidated by the experience of visiting a gallery. Decades of perceived cliqueishness—often reinforced by popular culture—have given galleries a reputation as spaces exclusively for the wealthy elite. Some participants weren’t sure who they could approach when they entered a gallery, or whether it was even appropriate to do so. On some occasions, there didn’t appear to be any staffers present in the space whatsoever. “I didn’t feel like I was hosted in any way,” one participant told me.

Traore encourages visitors to remember they’re not alone when feeling this way. “I studied art history. I grew up going to galleries, and often I feel that way,” she told me. “Galleries should be the most accessible art viewing experience; unfortunately, they’re inhibiting in all these other ways.”

That sense of exclusivity can be alienating and is an unfortunate aspect of visiting some galleries, where even seasoned art world participants can feel this way. But Traore notes that galleries are there to be visited. “There’s a reason that galleries are open,” she said. “If they didn’t want people walking in and experiencing the work, then they would have appointments.”

While some galleries may present as intimidating, those which are unfriendly tend to be the exception rather than the rule. “The art world I was introduced to is super inclusive and very diverse,” Traore noted. Knowing the galleries that you want to frequent is something that comes with time, and by visiting as many as you can.

No wall texts. No visible list of works. No context. That was how one first-time gallerygoer summed up their visit to me.

While not every gallery is expected to provide museum-level details for their presentations, some participants struggled to learn the basics of the shows they visited. Some spaces lacked handouts or information sheets; others offered only minimal wall labels.

Without context, visitors were left unsure how to engage—or whether it was even appropriate to ask questions.

“The receptionist greeted us, but didn’t offer to answer any questions or anything like that,” said one gallerygoer.

Traore suggested that visitors come prepared with some questions of their own that can help to break the ice.“There are three questions that you can ask,” she advised. “You can ask about the content of the work. You can ask about the materiality of the work, and then you can ask about the artist.” Example questions might be:

• What materials did the artist use for this work?
• What inspired the artist to make this work?
• When did the artist start making art?

Starting with just one of those often opens the door to a more meaningful exchange. “When you, the gallerist, are excited about the artist you’re showing, you meet someone excited about an artist you’re showing, the conversation is natural.” Asking a simple question can ignite a longer conversation and even a new friendship.

Even when they considered asking a simple question, several participants noted a hesitation about feeling underqualified or lacking the requisite knowledge to be taken seriously.

“I hope I don’t ask about this artist and then [the artist] is the most well-known person here,” one gallerygoer expressed, echoing a common fear of seeming out of place or uninformed.

When I told Traore about this fear, she immediately told me to “remember that no one knows everything.” She recalled one time that she hadn’t heard of the pioneering New York–based artist Joan Jonas and felt embarrassed as a result. But instead of feigning knowledge about the artist, she learned to ask questions first.

Gallerists, on the whole, she noted, are more than happy to answer your questions, no matter how basic. You don’t need a degree in art history or a Rolodex of dealers to start engaging with galleries, Traore notes. “You could just be an art lover and be in the art world,” she said. “It’s okay to be honest and say ‘I’m new to collecting and I’m super interested.’”

Trying to fake it, she warns, typically backfires. “It’s when you pretend to know something and then you’re found out, that’s when it’s embarrassing,” she said.

Traore also recommends building confidence by learning about the art that moves you. That way, you will have enough knowledge walking into a gallery that you can feel confident in the gallery and making a purchase.

Many participants didn’t realize that commercial galleries are designed to sell art. This is because many galleries mimic the white wall aesthetic of museums, where nothing is for sale. Price tags are seldom displayed.

One participant who visited a blue-chip gallery told me “that nothing indicates that this is art for sale, so how would I feel if I were evaluating a first-time purchase?”

While it can be far from obvious, a useful rule of thumb is to assume that “everything is for sale,” Traore said (though sometimes this is not the case).

That being said, buying work from a gallery is different from simply walking into a shop. Perhaps the starkest difference is that, if you purchase something, you aren’t going to walk out with it. A lot of acquisitions happen after extended conversations with the gallerists, which can be followed by logistical planning with art handlers and shippers.