Preparing for your first exhibition is exciting, but it can also get messy fast. You may be choosing which pieces to show, answering questions from organizers, planning transport, and trying to remember which artwork is finished, framed, priced, or already promised to someone. An artwork inventory gives you one clear place to track all of this. Think of it as a simple record of your work, not as a complicated art-world system.
Start by listing every artwork you might include in the exhibition. For each piece, write down the title, year, medium, size, price or not for sale, current location, and whether it is finished, framed, wired, packed, or still needs work. Also add a good photo of each piece. Some artists eventually track more, like documents, sales, and exhibition history, but you do not need to build everything at once. Begin with the details you will actually need for this exhibition.
Give each artwork a simple inventory number. This can be as easy as your initials, the year, and a number, such as AL-2026-001. The exact format matters less than being consistent. Put this number in your spreadsheet, file names, price list, labels, and delivery notes. This helps you avoid confusion when two works have similar titles, or when someone asks about “the small blue painting” and you have three of them.
Next, create a small exhibition checklist inside your inventory. Add columns for selected, delivered, installed, sold, returned, and follow-up needed. You can also include notes about hanging hardware, framing, special handling, or whether the work needs a certificate of authenticity. This kind of record is useful for day-to-day organization, but it also helps if you ever need information for insurance, damage claims, or recovering missing work.
Finally, keep your inventory easy to update. A spreadsheet is perfectly fine when you are starting out, though dedicated tools can help later if you want reports, online portfolios, sales tracking, or exhibition records. The goal is not to build a perfect archive overnight. The goal is to arrive at your first exhibition knowing what you have, where it is, what it costs, and what still needs to be done. That kind of organization makes you look professional, reduces stress, and gives you more space to focus on sharing your work.
How to do this in Artlope
In Artlope, you can start by creating an artwork record for each piece and adding the basic information as you go. The guides for Adding Artworks, Artwork Details, and Images And Attachments cover the core setup. That gives you one place to keep the title, date, inventory number, dimensions, status, storage location, pricing, and photos together instead of spreading them across notes and folders.
When you are ready to plan the show itself, create an exhibition and connect the works you are considering. Creating And Browsing Exhibitions shows how to set up the exhibition, and Managing Exhibition Artworks explains how to track which works are included and what price you are using for that specific show. If you prefer to work from the artwork side, Adding Artworks To Exhibitions is useful too.