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Private View

Private View Invitation Template and Example

Inviting press and collectors to a preview. This is an invitation, not an announcement, and it is short. If you find yourself explaining the whole exhibition, you are writing the wrong document.

The example

Press Preview: Luminous Threads, Maria Alvarez

Thursday 13 March, 10am to 12pm, ahead of the public opening on 15 March

Galería Méndez invites press to a preview of "Luminous Threads," the first solo exhibition with the gallery by Maria Alvarez, on Thursday 13 March from 10am to 12pm.

The artist will be present for interviews between 10am and 11am. Elena Méndez, founder of the gallery, is available throughout.

The exhibition presents nine large-scale weavings in hand-dyed cotton and salvaged industrial thread, alongside a parallel series of graphite drawings. Photography is permitted throughout the preview.

A press pack with high-resolution images, the full release and the artist's CV is available on request and will be provided on the day.

Press preview: Thursday 13 March, 10am to 12pm

Private view: Friday 14 March, 6 to 8pm, by invitation

Public opening: Saturday 15 March

Galería Méndez, 14 Calle Mayor, Madrid

RSVP and press pack: press@galeriamendez.example

Every artist, gallery and institution in this example is invented.

Why it works

Interview windows, not vague availability

A named hour when the artist is available is bookable. "The artist will be present" is not, and a features editor will not chase you to find out when.

Say whether photography is allowed

Picture desks decide whether to send someone on this line alone. Its absence is read as no.

Keep the three dates distinct

Press preview, private view and public opening are three different events for three different audiences. Collapsing them is the most common error in this format and it produces guests at the wrong one.

Conventions
  • Lead with the date and time, not the exhibition.
  • Give a specific interview window.
  • State the photography policy.
  • Separate press preview, private view and public opening.
  • Give a named RSVP contact.
  • Keep it under 200 words.
What gets it deleted
  • Writing the full exhibition release again.
  • Failing to distinguish the press preview from the private view.
  • Offering the artist without saying when.
  • Sending less than a week ahead, when diaries are already set.
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