Learn about the features and challenges of an artist-run gallery
Artist-led galleries provide space for exhibitions by member artists and others.
Often run by artists who prefer co-operation between artists
to representation by more conventional and commercial art galleries - although some do both
Artist-led galleries provide space for exhibitions by member artists and others.
Often run by artists who prefer co-operation between artists
to representation by more conventional and commercial art galleries - although some do both
Artist-run galleries have long been key players in the contemporary art ecosystem. They offer an essential counterpoint to the commercial sector, where experimentation sometimes takes a backseat to producing sellable work. A feature of every city with a significant community of artists, they come in every shape and size.
The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Starting and Sustaining an Artist-Run Gallery
Below are some references to articles about artist-run galleries for those looking for information about them.
I'll be writing this section up properly in due course.
I'll be writing this section up properly in due course.
What is an artist-run gallery?
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Artist-run galleries are for those artists who want to co-operate to exhibit and sell art - without the involvement of a commercial or public art gallery.
While some are very successful, it's sadly the case that for others, whatever talents the artists may have as artists are not always matched by the very necessary knowledge and skills they need to run an art business. |
REFERENCE:
An artist-run space is a gallery facility operated by creators such as painters or sculptors, thus circumventing the structures of public (government-run) and private galleries. Artist-run spaces have become as an important factor in urban regeneration, for example in Glasgow, Scotland. |
CASE STUDY - SUCCESSFUL ARTIST-LED GALLERY #1 - Mall Galleries, The Mall, London
Some artist-led galleries become very successful because they
An example in London is the Mall Galleries which is run by the Federation of British Artists a major visual arts charity established in 1961 which comprises eight of the UK’s leading art societies, specialising in oil, portrait, marine, wildlife, watercolour, pastel, printmaking and sculpture.
Some artist-led galleries become very successful because they
- create the organisational structures they need and
- attract the expertise and technical and business-minded support they require
An example in London is the Mall Galleries which is run by the Federation of British Artists a major visual arts charity established in 1961 which comprises eight of the UK’s leading art societies, specialising in oil, portrait, marine, wildlife, watercolour, pastel, printmaking and sculpture.
- This has been a successful business model of an artist-led gallery in a prime location in the centre of London which goes from strength to strength - with help of full-time staff and business-minded trustees.
- It also hires out space and hosts some of the major/leading UK art competitions and art events by other artists and art societies/groups.
- The critical issue is getting the balance right between
- those running the galleries as a business which cannot make a loss; and
- those running art societies to exhibit and sell art.
- This can change as those involved - and personalities - change the power dynamic.
- those running the galleries as a business which cannot make a loss; and
The Mall Galleries in London is run by the Federation of British Artists - an organisation of leading national art societies in the UK.
Starting an artist-run gallery
First, I learned very quickly that everything we did was going to cost more than we thought and that sales were going to occur more slowly and at a lower level than we hoped. It takes time to get established and build relationships and awareness with buyers.
Jason Horej Ask a Gallery Owner: What Advice Would You Give to Someone About to Open a Gallery?
Probably the best advice is to walk before you run!
You also MUST also be very wary of "what you don't know you don't know" (and the fact that your peers may be in the same place as you). Just because you want to do something doesn't mean to say you know everything you need to know to be able to sustain it over time.
You need to;
You also MUST also be very wary of "what you don't know you don't know" (and the fact that your peers may be in the same place as you). Just because you want to do something doesn't mean to say you know everything you need to know to be able to sustain it over time.
You need to;
- DO YOUR RESEARCH! (see below) become aware of how many art galleries shut up shop within the first year - and why. (see next point!)
- Understand where and how you are going to get buyers (qualified visitors from overall footfall) i.e. are you locating in the right place?
- get experience of running an exhibition by hiring a space before you get into grander schemes of running a space for exhibitions over a longer period
- BE BUSINESSLIKE: Develop and define your goals and objectives - and be clear about necessary budgets and realistic timelines for their achievement.
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PROS OF AN ARTIST-RUN GALLERY
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CONS OF AN ARTIST-RUN GALLERY
CONS OF AN ARTIST-RUN GALLERY - for those not runnig the gallery
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The Tanager was part of a cluster of artist-run spaces, cooperatively managed, that sprung up in the East Village in the 1950s and early ’60s. After a woman came in and bought a painting, Sandler says, he asked her name and where she would like the painting to be delivered. “She said, ‘I’m Mrs. Mellon,’” he recalls, “and so help me God, I said, ‘How do you spell that?’” Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, of the famous industrialist family, asked him to send the painting to the Museum of Modern Art. After that, Sandler tells Martin, “I knew that I would never be a dealer.” |
REFERENCE:
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Lessons from artist-run galleries
Some are resolutely anti-commercial and only last a season; others move, adapt, and transform into viable commercial galleries over the course of years. Some are wife-and-husband passion projects; others engage dozens of members living thousands of miles apart. There’s no dominant model or sure formula for a successful artist-run gallery—or even an agreed-upon measure of what success looks like—but they do tend to follow a few structures and patterns, from how they’re organized to how they pay the bills and handle sales.
The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Starting and Sustaining an Artist-Run Gallery | Artsy
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ARTIST-RUN GALLERIES
Read the lessons of those who have tried and those who survive to find out:
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Artsy identified the following business models in their survey
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REFERENCE:
Artsy regular runs articles within its art market section on artist-led exhibition spaces
Artsy regular runs articles within its art market section on artist-led exhibition spaces
- The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Starting and Sustaining an Artist-Run Gallery | Artsy -
- 8 Artist-Run Galleries Breaking New Ground in London | Artsy - talk to the people behind artist-led initiatives for showing art
- The New York Artist-Run Galleries You Need to Know, Part I
- The New York Artist-Run Galleries You Need to Know, Part II
- How Artist-Run Galleries Shaped New York’s Downtown Art Scene
- 5 Worthy Artist-Run Spaces That Have Learned to Thrive Outside of Art-Market Capitals | artnet - about projects happening outside of the big art cities, run by younger artists in places where overhead is lower.
- Artist-run Galleries - Differentiating Three Models in Current Contemporary Art Markets | Journal for Art Market Studies - "focuses on a particular local establishment of artist-run galleries in New York at the intersection of art production and commercial/institutional recognition. Artists founded art-run galleries that show strategies to exhibit and sell works of art in a peer-to-peer scenario, breaking with some established safeguarding protocols of emerging and established White Cube galleries. "