*Photos by Gary Feng (@garyfengphotography on Instagram)*

I'm a private person. I can be an open book in conversation simply because I like to be honest and direct with people, but I don't like to call attention to myself. I prefer my work to serve as my agent, handling all my interactions without me needing to say anything explicitly. With that said, I had my first solo art exhibition last month, and it was one of the best career decisions I've made.

I've been asked and have even talked about doing this for the past two years, and various artists who also have studios where I rent mine had asked my why I never did an open studio or exhibit. So when the opportunity came to do one to start 2025, despite all my hesitations, I knew it was time.

I always wondered about needing a theme for the exhibit and feeling like my work was too sporadic. I shot individual concepts I liked and wanted to explore alongside photography techniques, but had never really done a months-long project of connected shoots, which for some reason I felt was the requirement for a gallery exhibit. But now, I finally found a framework to place it under: Starky Production. I knew right at the start that I wanted to use the exhibit opening night also as the launching point for my new production company, Starky Productions, and so that became the unifying concept: I would highlight the work I did with team members I hoped to bring along with the production company, and also focus on work and presentation that highlighted my interest in the behind-the-scenes elements of my shoots.

Opening night couldn't have gone any better. We had over 100 people show up on a cold Thursday night in Jersey, and I could not have felt both so proud and humbled by the turnout and support. Many familiar faces showed up, but also faces I'd photographed years ago whom I hadn't seen since, some former co-workers from my past life as a public school teacher, and even some social media followers who wanted to meet me in person. And so I want to share with you how the night really highlighted why we should always be brave enough to "go public" with our work. Here are some main reasons I now have to do this again and go even further!

1. Connect your network!

When planning for the opening night, I was just thinking of how anxious I'd be to give a speech or host so many people (they made me give two speeches), but I didn't think enough of how encouraging it would be to see so many people show up to support my work. It was like a physical manifestation of all the support I've had over the years as a full-time photographer. But the best thing of all was seeing people engage with each other!

While past friends reunited because it is a smaller industry than we realize, many new connections were also made, and it was encouraging to see how well and collaboratively everyone was with each other. I've already seen several of these meetings lead to projects since the event, which makes me feel like I'm doing my part in bringing my network together with each other. There are business people that say often how you want your name being brought up and the benefits of you being the link between two others, and as much as positive connections can be a great reflection on you, one of my guiding principles in life is that I always want to pave a path for other people to pursue their own creative dreams. I find society tends to push that side of our lives down from our early school days, and to be in a position where I can help different artists connect and make their work really makes this feel worth it.

2. Getting over your fears

Like many creatives, it doesn't matter how confident I am about my work, I'm always going to think of the ways to improve it more than what I should celebrate about it. And with something like a public exhibit, it's easy to keep yourself from ever showcasing your work because you think it's not ready yet. One hang-up for me was how rigidly I was categorizing my work. I mostly work in the commercial space, providing a service for brands and individuals who have products to market, portfolios they need updated, or headshots to bring to castings. And so I thought to myself, "why would I do an exhibit?--I'm not a fine art photographer; I'm not selling prints." And it was such a limiting thought. Not only did this undermine the creative value of my work already, but there are no rules to showcasing what you do. I've felt such love and validation as an artist by doing this and (though, trust me, I have a big enough ego) I feel like I've gone from hiding to actualizing a version of myself that was always there under a thin veil of doubt.

3. Establishing yourself

We still don't take social media all that seriously, as much as we're on it. It’s one thing to be present on there and build a following, but there's nothing like establishing yourself as an artist in the real world, taking up real space. This is not to say that there's no clout attached to internet fame, obviously, but rather that being visible and accessible in a physical space, along with all the associations of an art exhibit or whatever public version your work would call for--it all makes you seem more real and established. Whether you've performed a concert, organized an event, or held a gallery opening, people see how you are more than just talk and "wouldn't it be nice?". And several of the opening night guests told me as much. Several photographers told me what a big deal it was and how they would love to do something similar themselves in the future, and honestly I hadn't even thought about that myself. I remember simply thinking how any publicity is good, and how I wanted to launch my production company. But I didn't expect (as obvious as it may sound) to be treated any more seriously as an artist and creator than I had before. My work didn't change, right? But perception is everything, optics are everything, and sometimes we need to use that in our favor.

So if you're a musician, a photographer, an actor, just a business owner, please get in front of a real public audience! Host a networking event, get a few musician friends together to perform somewhere, audition for a play. The more public we get with our work, the more we believe in ourselves and our dreams, and the more goodwill we bring towards fthe uture.

Thank you again to anyone who came to the opening or checked out the exhibit during the month of February, and here's to a big 2025 for us!