Starting an art gallery

From the off let me say I have no direct experience of starting an art gallery, but I do know people who have. Secondhand information, short on experience can be cheap, but occasionally an idea, or gem of common sense can shine through, and that is my hope with this article.

The first thing I know is that starting an art gallery and the actual day to day running of a gallery are two different things, and require a contrasting set of skills. Starting an art gallery requires all the facets of thinking that are normal present in the entrepreneurial mindset. With your entrepreneur’s hat on you look for possible locations for your potential gallery, you consider and actively investigate niches in the market that have not being filled by your more mainstream established competitors, because you will need an angle or niche to give your new venture that leg up in the marketing stakes, something to interest the media, who you will have to actively court.

Then there are the day to day routine duties that require another totally different set of skills. Perceived as pedestrian but skills no less necessary. These are the daily chores of running any business, which may not have being part of the glamorous ideas you first had when starting an art gallery was first conceived. Rent, Insurance, storage overheads, and client contracts all go into this category. The person who first initiated the start up and the person doing the day to day running could be the same individual, but normally a second set of eyes and fresh perspective on how to run the operation effectively could be the difference between success and failure.

The drawing up and daily upkeep of your most prized possession , be it as an artist or as a gallery owner, and that is your client list, is one job that cannot be overlooked. These are the people who are interested in art, who buy and invest and are ready and waiting to be directed in their next purchase. This list is your most valuable possession, much more than the bricks and mortar surroundings which can change and be changed. It’s your interaction with like minded individuals who ensure that you continue in your chosen direction. They daily give and take, which gives life to your enterprise.

Another thought, is that understandably, many artists have a natural curiosity in opening a gallery themselves, especially if they have the necessary resources such as access to a possibly well located shop front or some other building. They’ve probably had experience of dealing with galleries before and maybe came out on the wrong end of the deal, or feel short changed in the interchange. Maybe feeling that their work was not given the pride of place they felt it deserved or that the gallery owner’s commission was just too high and unjustified.

A lot of these feeling are generally understandable, but a lot of them are born out of a misplace sense of importance and general ignorance. Starting an art gallery is like running any business and conforms to the same rules of profit and loss which dictate success and failure. It’s not an easy job and must be entered into with the right mindset of service and value giving and not out of a hurt sense of self, or a means of ‘showing others’ the error of their ways.