As I sit here listening to Iceberg Radio and reading the daily newsletter from FineArtNews.com, I am continually reminded of our ever changing electronic world. I read more and more about galleries closing down, SEO marketing, email newsletters, Flicker, Esty and more online marketing strategies. So what is happening with the galleries?
As I work on attempting to become a professional artist, I developed a blog and website, which I maintain myself, but now it feels like the world is also asking me to sell it all too. With our economic downfall of 2007/2008, and our growing electronic age, many esteemed galleries are closing their doors and more and more artists are using online stores for marketing and selling their work. Our first impressions and knowledge base are coming from online research. But SO WHAT?! Galleries can do that too - I need time to paint!
Gallery owners are the people artists need to help sell our art and allow us to concentrate on progression in our work. Galleries are a place to have shows, socialize, and connect in real time. Galleries know the value of your work and know where and who to market it to specifically. Galleries are a place to gain the true ambiance of a piece of work that you could never get from a website. There's size, texture, and color variances that you would not be able to capture online. I have gone to gallery websites and viewed the art on display there, and then made a trip to see those pieces in person. Some that I initially loved, I loved more or else ended up disliking. Some that I disliked online initially I gained an appreciation for when visiting the gallery. If we don't support galleries, then we have to do it all.
So please, let's not forget the galleries.
Here's two of my favorite galleries in my hometown.
The Stall Gallery
Rouge Gallery
1 comment:
Hi Crystal,
I find your observations very akin to my own. We DO need the galleries, but I also feel that there should be more training for Gallerists. It takes more than owning a picture shop to make a successful gallery. We artists have to study and practice for the rest of our lives so why not gallery owners too? I find many of them have less than a basic knowledge of art and marketing.
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