Attaining representation is a goal for many visual artists. While it’s seen by many as a marker of success and support, it’s often unclear how to get representation.
This free event will focus on how to attain representation with a gallery, and provide an overview of industry standards. In this panel discussion, you’ll hear directly from artists on their paths towards reaching this milestone. You’ll also hear from gallerists to get their perspective on what factors they consider when deciding whether to represent an artist.
This panel discussion will feature the expertise of Asya Geisberg, Gallerist, Asya Geisberg Gallery; Dana James, Artist (represented by Hollis Taggart); and Stephanie H. Shih, Artist (represented by Berggruen Gallery); and will be moderated by Kelly Olshan, Program Officer NYFA Learning, Career Advice and Training.
Time for Q&A will be provided.
NYFA is pleased to present this free online workshop in partnership with the Northern Virginia Local Arts Agencies (NVLAA), a collaboration of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts, Arlington Cultural Affairs, and ArtsFairfax.

Speakers
With a resume that includes artist, writer and curator, Asya Geisberg got on the dealer track in 2010 when she opened her namesake space. Her gallery represents young emerging artists as well as international artists otherwise unrepresented in the US, many of whom work across multiple media such as ceramics, textiles, painting, photography, and sculpture, with an interest in world history, archaeology, and cultural politics from a non-US perspective. The gallery's artists have been reviewed in The New York Times, Artforum, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and international publications. The gallery has shown at art fairs including The Armory Show, NADA NY, UNTITLED Miami, UNTITLED San Francisco, ExpoChicago, ZONAMACO, Photofairs, Future Fair, and Art Los Angeles Contemporary (ALAC). After 10+ years, the gallery has relocated to 45 White Street in the heart of Tribeca and joined its vibrant arts community.
Asya Geisberg Gallery is a proud member of the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) and ArtTable.
Photo Credit: Grace Roselli, Pandora's BoxX Project
Dana James is a painter and New York native who is based in Ridgewood, NY. Since graduating from the School of Visual Arts in 2008, her work has been exhibited extensively and can be found in private and public collections around the world. James is represented by Hollis Taggart Contemporary in New York City, as well as Bode Projects in Berlin, Germany. Recent solo exhibitions include Pearls & Potions to (2023, NY) and Hushed Neon (2024, Berlin). James was featured as a “Top Artists to Watch” by Artnet, most “sought after” by Artsy, and as one of the "Top 20 Artists Shaping the New Decade" by Daily Collector in 2020, in which her work was described as “simultaneously dark and feminine, creating worlds marked by Duality.”
She has been featured in publications such as Art Forum, Two Coats of Paint, ArtSpace, LE MILE, and Hyperallergic. Upcoming exhibitions include the Armory Show (NY, 2024) and a solo exhibition with Koenig Gallery (Berlin, 2025).
Stephanie H. Shih’s painted ceramic sculptures explore the way cultural identities transform as they migrate with a diaspora. Her work has been exhibited at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive; Santa Barbara Museum of Art; American Museum of Ceramic Arts; Cantor Arts Center; Syracuse University Art Museum; Middlebury College Museum of Art; Bowdoin College Museum of Art; and Bradbury Art Museum; and is held in institutional collections across the United States.
She has been awarded grants from New York Foundation for the Arts and the American Museum of Ceramic Arts, and residencies from the Corporation of Yaddo, John Michael Kohler Art Center, Silver Arts Project, and Lighthouse Works. In 2023, she was a finalist for Brooklyn Museum’s UOVO Prize. Community work is central to Shih’s practice, and she's used her art and platform to raise $550,000 for victims of state violence since 2017. She is based in Brooklyn, NY.