How To Frame Artwork For An Exhibition On A Budget

Framing can cost more than the exhibition. A bespoke frame from a professional framer runs from around £80 to several hundred pounds per piece, and for an artist bringing two works to a group show that can double the cost of exhibiting. This guide covers how to present work at gallery standard for a fraction of that, medium by medium.

The rule throughout: the presentation should be clean, secure and invisible. Nobody should notice the frame. They should notice the work.

Do you need a frame at all?

Often, no. A stretched canvas with painted or neatly finished edges hangs beautifully unframed and is the standard presentation for contemporary painting. A gallery wrapped canvas, where the image continues around the sides, needs nothing. Check the back has a hanging fixing and you are done, for £0.

Works on paper, photographs, prints and anything that needs protection from handling are the pieces that genuinely benefit from framing or mounting.

The budget hierarchy

Free: unframed canvas. Paint or neatly finish the edges, add a fixing on the back, done.

Under £10: float mounting on board. Adhere a work on paper to a slightly larger backing board with archival tape or hinges so it appears to float. Clean, contemporary, and shows the deckle edge of good paper.

£15 to £40: ready made frames. High street and flatpack retailers sell simple wooden or metal frames in standard sizes for less than a takeaway. Choose plain black, white or natural wood, a flat profile, and glazing you can replace. Make your work to standard sizes and framing becomes cheap forever.

£20 to £60: ready made frame plus a cut mount. A mount (the card border inside the frame) is what makes a cheap frame look expensive. Cut your own with a mount cutter and a ruler, or have one cut at a framer for a few pounds. White or off white, generous border, work centred with slightly more space below than above.

£30 to £80: tray or float frame for canvas. If a canvas needs a frame, a tray frame that leaves a shadow gap around the edges looks gallery finished and is available ready made or as flat kits.

Glazing: glass, acrylic or nothing

Avoid glass if the work is being shipped. It breaks, it is heavy and it can destroy the work in transit. Acrylic glazing is lighter and shatter resistant, and for exhibitions it is the sensible default. Check whether the ready made frame's glazing can be swapped.

For an exhibition where you deliver in person, glass is fine, but note the reflections on an opening night under gallery lighting. Non reflective acrylic solves both problems if the budget stretches.

Hanging fixings that galleries actually want

D rings on both sides of the back with picture wire between them, or a single strong sawtooth hanger for small light pieces. Fix them at roughly a third of the way down from the top edge. Test by hanging the work on a nail at home. If the piece tilts, sits proud of the wall or swings, fix it before the show, because installers will hang exactly what you deliver.

Streeters accepts work up to 80cm on the longest side. Keep the framed dimension inside that, not just the artwork.

Photography and prints

Print on good paper, mount cleanly, frame in a plain ready made with a wide mount. The mount and the paper quality do more for a photograph than any frame ever will. Sign and edition number lightly in pencil below the image if selling as an edition.

Textile, mixed media and objects

Stretch textiles over a frame or board so they hang flat and square. Mixed media with relief can use a box frame (deeper ready made frames exist cheaply) with acrylic glazing. Small objects and sculpture need no frame but do need a stable base and a clear note of dimensions and weight.

What to avoid

Ornate or coloured frames that compete with the work. Clip frames with exposed edges for anything you are selling. Cracked, scuffed or mismatched frames. Frames larger than the show's size limit. Anything without a fixing on the back. Wet paint or varnish on delivery day.

The £25 test

Can a stranger tell your framing cost £25 rather than £250? If the frame is plain, the mount is clean and generous, the glazing is clear and the fixing is solid, no. That is the whole goal.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to frame my painting for an exhibition? No. A stretched canvas with finished edges and a hanging fixing is the standard contemporary presentation.

What is the cheapest way to frame a print for a gallery? A plain ready made frame in a standard size with a wide white mount, from around £20 to £40 in total.

Should I use glass or acrylic in the frame? Acrylic for anything shipped or travelling; either for work delivered in person, though acrylic reduces reflections under gallery lighting.

What hanging fixings do galleries require? D rings and wire, or a strong sawtooth hanger for small works, fixed about a third of the way down the back.

What size can I exhibit at Streeters Gallery? Up to 80cm on the longest side including the frame.

Frame it, then show it

Streeters Gallery: London November 6 to 8, New York Tribeca November 20 to 23, Berlin December 5 to 7. Physical from £120, digital from £45, no framing needed for digital at all.

The Holy Art: nine cities, rolling open call.

Spend on the work. Save on the frame.