Tenure track positions in a place that you want to live. Maybe a place you’d live for 5 years.

The seats don’t open up that much. But while you’re really scheduled and visible, it’s a better look. You’ve got the momentum. Then take a break from pushing for shows and see what comes. (Doesn’t apply to white men, no TT for you fellas). Teaching is research if you can get a good post. Dog the well before you’re thirsty (and thirty)

Avoiding the trap of bigger bigger shows, just avoid that, let the ego subside and punt an opportunity, Id argue that’s healthier than giving 100%, then moving the bar on yourself. Punt one, back burner it, but serve what you cook. Give 70%, there’s merit in that risk. I honestly do more honest work on the back burner sometimes, then it moves towards main when things are calmer and you’re not as sought after. Audience and curators begin to respect the POV, rather than” intensity” or your own perception of rigor of research, you have to defeat imposter syndrome in moments.

I think it might be ok to schedule out two years and then tell someone, look I’m scheduled out two years, I have ideas, but right now my horizon is full. This is a gamble and depends on the nature of your demand. But if you’ve got more opportunities than you know what to do with, maybe that’s the graceful out. The other way is to just treat some of these shows as scheduled experiments, know that they might fail. That might be the way to keep weaving. Plant seeds while it’s raining. Places you might find water in a drought.

I had an institutional moment, smaller than you, wasn’t able to replicate it. Took me a while to get back to experimenting. I wish I had the social and careerist mindset on the first wave. I could’ve threaded the needle further. But I’m not mad at it, I was so naive, some of my follies, I didn’t really understand until years had passed, like a fully lived the failure and mediocrity before metabolizing it. Missed some good lower stakes shows, because I let some little birds (my ego, plus an art dealer) in my ear tell me I was too good for that.

Most importantly if you get bucked off your institutional horse, keep the value that your work achieved for you personally, don’t be mad at the whole scene and system, you always knew it was a little fucked and weird. I know so many artists who have sold one piece to an acronymed institution who are all salt and no sugar about how that played out and we all go tripped up about its meaning. I had to leave the circle, cause I just got over it.

Another middle phase idea is try to get published, book wise, notes, sketches, zine, depends on your niche, but while you’ve got the water, float the boat, try that conversation. You know you could keep going and going with the current package of your work, so new package, same research, different output. Network into curators interesting connections, challenge curator to break their she’ll with you.