There can hardly be a more gratifying way to earn a living on this planet than maintaining art gallery. Sitting all day in a quiet room full of beautiful things, greeting visitors with a smile, giving them your attention and receiving attention in return.
What could be more beautiful than being surrounded by objects of art, which are perhaps the highest form of human expression, collecting these objects, preserving them, opening their way to the big world, and even making a living from it? So, if you decide to become an art dealer and open your own gallery, let’s consider several important points for this profession.
The first and most important thing is that you must have imaginative thinking. And everything you display or offer for sale should be the result of this vision. Imagine that every piece and every artist that you exhibit in the gallery is a kind of brushstroke in painting, and the picture you create fully represents your unique view of art.
This should be your goal: to present and show the world a cohesive, understandable, coherent collection of works that reflect your worldview and allow visitors to form an individual impression of your gallery.
Random, not consistent exposure, lack of direction, lack of identity indicate that, most likely, your business will not last.
When I say identity, I mean that you must create it yourself, and not trust someone else. As soon as you start copying other galleries, you will immediately improve their image and ruin your own. From the very beginning, you need to establish your individuality, and if you are not yet ready for this, then you should simply postpone the opening of your gallery until better times.
Even if you choose to display art, you cannot do it facelessly or with embarrassment. Therefore, get ready for the fact that you will have to defend your identity and answer to unfriendly competitors' comments. Knowing how to successfully defend what you sell is at the heart of reputation building and is an important part of the game. You understand that people who want to buy works from you, and not from a neighboring gallery, must have good reasons for this.
Collectors value knowledgeable, educated dealers, those who not only understand art, but know how and can clearly argue their position on a particular direction, give expert assessment events taking place on the market, characterize the work in terms of its relevance, historical value, etc.
Your next task (if you still decide to stay in this business) is to create a core client base consisting of regular customers. Regardless of what type of painting you offer for sale, this base consists of people who understand that a quality collection is built over a long period of time.
Their tastes and understanding develop gradually, and the more their demands increase, the more they gravitate toward respected, reputable dealers and galleries with whom they do business. Examine the list of any major collection and you will see that only a few dealers play important role in its construction. Become one of them.
However, knowing the advantages of your direction, don't stop on what has been achieved. By being the most knowledgeable in the art you represent, attract the best artists in the field. Continuously study the market, understand its trends and stay two steps ahead of your competitors. And in exceptional In some cases, form this market yourself.
That's what the most successful dealers do: they set the course for everyone else to follow. Rumors about your clairvoyance and foresight will certainly spread among participants in this market, writers and critics will take your words into account, more and more collectors will begin to take a closer look at the new direction, figures in art communities will not fail to stir up a heap of discussions around you, and the rest is history, as they say.
But wait, that's not all. Successful dealers are always artist-first. If you get recognition from artists, you will get recognition from collectors. Readiness good artist trust your gallery with your works and your creative career is the key to your success. If you can't get interesting artist, You will not be able to offer interesting art products to the market. But here I am getting ahead of myself a little.
To achieve this highest recognition - and it will take years, believe me - be firm, focused and confident in the message you send to society.
Get known in the art community as a gallery that deals with specific types of art in a certain price range, works with serious artists whose goals and worldview correspond to a given direction. Your level of trust must be in good standing and your reputation impeccable.
People want to know where they are coming, they want to feel stability, and not jump with you from one direction to another, not understanding what else you will come up with next time. Remember that most buyers are confused by frivolous experiments around art, so stay the course as firmly and steadily as possible.
Once again, success does not come instantly. It will take a long time to build a reputation. Show after show, show after show, convince people that you are not only committed to your vision, but that you have the necessary resources (talent, vision, intelligence, finances) to hold that helm.
This means that you better have enough funds and an interesting, vibrant exhibition calendar for at least six months, or better yet a year, to stay in this business. Profit may not come as quickly as you expected. If you do not have such a cushion, think seriously before starting such a business; perhaps you should postpone it. From the very first day you will be under close attention, but interest in your activities may fade very quickly. Therefore, you must have confidence that what you are doing is capable of starting a fire and maintaining it.
As I said earlier, for the success of the gallery it is very important to carefully and accurately create a base of regular customers, your true partners, those who remain committed to your choice for a long time. A gallery is not a club of interests, not a get-together for friends, acquaintances, artists and classmates, those who come to drink, talk about life and have no intention of buying anything.
Marvelous large number From the very beginning, galleries seem to be specially created due to the desire of the owners to surround themselves with sycophants and satisfy some unrealized ambitions. This will almost inevitably lead to a sad end. In order to prevent such an outcome. You must take care of the outside world, take into account its interests and convince the world that you have something to show and something to say about this, that you are protecting your gallery from turning into a local cheap club and what you are ready to do its a place for the elite.
You must be ready at some stage to outline a clear circle of your clients and weed out all those who talk a lot and beautifully about their love for art, but have no intention of supporting you financially or in any other way. This is the only one way to survive. In the end, you can transfer communication with some footcloth friends who are especially close to you from the gallery to your personal space.
Your next task is to attract the right people. But this does not mean loading. One of the best ways is to speak to everyone in a language they understand. Understand that not everyone wants and is able to understand the subtleties of the secrets of painting and delve into your creative plans. You should be easy and unobtrusive with such buyers.
It is quite possible that over time, when you establish a strong connection, you will be able to deepen your intellectual communication. Of course, it would be nice for you to show off your erudition and flaunt your knowledge, and even at first it may seem that you are making an impression; in the end, all this intricate terminology will scare off a not very educated guy. Rarely does anyone want to pay for something they know nothing about.
As an art dealer, constantly expand your audience. Offer items for purchase again and again, sooner or later your customers will start calling themselves and making repeat purchases. At the same time, it also happens that at some point your old clients fill out their collections or switch to new directions, be prepared to replace them with those who have just entered the business.
As for the content of conversations, it is undoubtedly better not to use banal empty remarks such as: “Look how beautiful this picture is, how much expression there is in it, isn’t it?”
Talk about your gallery, about your goals, about why this particular direction and not another is worth attention. Discuss the creative credo of your artists, what their art represents, the concepts, and ideals that it embodies. Why you should invest in them, dwell on the history of successful exhibitions and sales. You must understand for yourself and convince anyone that you are selling much more than just beautiful things.
You'll never sell anything if you just say, "I love this, you should love it too."
Always be extremely attentive to those with whom you communicate, try to show maximum care throughout your acquaintance. Instead of trying to peddle what you want to sell over and over again, try to get to know your buyer's needs and tastes as closely as possible, give them the information they want to hear, and then leave them to their own thoughts.
There is nothing more annoying than annoying gallery staff who are released to process a client, and they try to hook the client with all sorts of tricks, as if the client is a fool and does not understand what exactly they are doing to him. Of course, you may be interested in playing a maze, but first make sure that your interests are shared.
In addition, place all descriptive materials in an accessible place: all articles, essays by art historians and critics, press releases, announcements.
Write down the description of the gallery itself and the artists’ statments in simple, accessible language that everyone can understand. This gives people a level of trust, they feel like they are in control of the situation, and most importantly, they decide for themselves whether they want to know more. Putting pressure on the buyer at the very beginning will cause you to lose loyal customers and prevent you from generating cash flow to stay in business.
While we're already on the topic of finances, let's look at another important aspect of your gallery's survival: reasonable art prices. You must be able to explain your prices in a language that the average person can understand. Present the facts and provide consistent explanations.
If you decide to keep your prices high, justify them like a professional: for example, all the works from the last exhibition were sold, or there were acquisitions for the collection, or there was a sale at auction. In the end, the price can be argued by the fact that this is a painstaking and costly technique, expensive equipment and materials, etc. Those. There must be some specific rational reason for the high cost of work.
To simply say that this is a fashionable trend, and the artist is a newly-minted genius, is not to say anything to sell a painting at a good price. You can't deal with value like a souvenir dealer or a salesman of expensive entertainment. The buyer of serious art is in most cases a collector and investor, so he will not be satisfied with weak explanations.
Only offer thoughtful, agreed-upon prices. Don't do exhibitions where first you sell everything at a price of $8,000 - $12,000, and next time $500 - $1,000. The reaction of regular buyers will not be in favor of the authority of your gallery. Even if the prices were reasonable and you can explain the fine line between different artists and works art, this line is not obvious to most buyers.
Moreover, we have already talked to you that you are obliged to maintain one direction in your gallery, one level of artists and attract regular customers, so take seriously the temptation to change something in your pricing policy. People already have certain expectations and you need to be careful with this. We are not talking about small fluctuations in price, which are easy to explain, but about large discrepancies that can only harm you.
And finally, a few little things to note:
Continuously build your mailing list, but don't send announcements too often: one or two announcements per month will be enough to maintain your status as a reputable gallery.
Show up at local museums, cultural organizations, dealer associations and galleries, draw their attention to the events you are hosting, ask for financial and other support when necessary, not all the time, of course, but when appropriate.
Also invite organizers of various charity events to your gallery, and hold charity auctions yourself. And the most important thing is to get to know each other and get to know each other again. You want to become recognized in the art community, you want to know the main players and, ultimately, gain the favor of authority figures. You don't have to appear at any and all events, but with some level of regularity. People will notice you again and again and gradually a conversation will begin.
Avoid pressure tactics. Don't constantly try to sell someone something.
If someone is ready to buy, they usually make it clear. Answer people's questions, be attentive to their needs, and let them take things one step at a time. At the very least, make sure the client is mature before you grab him by the throat.
If a critic or reviewer expresses thoughts that don't excite you, let them. Never remove them from your mailing list, respond to criticism with back-criticism, or close your gallery doors to them. This is just stupid. You can’t try to change people or take away their right to their opinion.
And in any case, the press always has the last word, no matter how much you puff yourself up. If you bring something to public court, be prepared to receive different reviews. If it consoles you, outside readers rarely remember which gallery was discussed in the last review, and your customers, on the contrary, will receive an additional incentive to look at you again and make sure that you are in good shape and in a great mood.
And remember - the worst thing they can write about you is not to write anything.
And in conclusion. Be an honest dealer. Never distort and don't embellish excessive information about artists and works, which you are selling. The last thing a buyer would want is to find out, especially one who has just started his business, trusting your professionalism, listening to your opinion, bought from you something completely different from what you described. This will have a bad impact not only on your reputation, but also on the business of all the galleries in the world, because now they have lost at least one collector, and even a couple of his friends.
Therefore, do your beautiful work honestly, have fun, enjoying all the benefits of being a gallery owner, and this alone is enough to say - my business is quite successful.
Article from Artbusiness.com http://www.artbusiness.com/osoqcreatran.html
Translation of the article by Oksana Kozinskaya
Open yours own business in most cases, it means using one of the traditional proposals that have already been tried three thousand times, the scheme of their action has been worked out, and examples are found on every corner. Clothing stores, food stores, production, resale, fast food. As for the less popular species, they are viewed with caution and distrust.
Meanwhile, among them there are also worthy specimens. And compared to those described above, they have one clear advantage. In them No so frantic all-consuming competition. But it is competition that can crush any well-thought-out business plan from the very first steps, and a business that is profitable can turn into a long game of survival.
Against this background, the uniqueness of your project can be an excellent help in organizing a business that will have excellent indicators of achieving net profit and earnings. One of these projects is the opening of a gallery.
Opening a gallery as a business is a fairly new trend among businessmen in the CIS countries. However, it is already considered a promising type of business activity and promises owners good level income from the organization. However, like any other type of business, it has its own difficulties that will determine the entire process of organization.
General characteristics of the gallery project
The gallery as such is being formed to hold subsequent exhibition events of completely different formats. This includes a demonstration of works of art, photographs, paintings, sculptures and regional exhibitions, which may include product themes of factories and manufacturing companies.
The point of opening a gallery exists provided that there are people living in the city where the business begins. at least three hundred fifty thousand people. If the format of the settlement satisfies this condition, but still the number of residents is very small compared to megacities, then there will be ideal condition and the fact that there are no other operating venues in the city designed for such events.
The work of the gallery is based solely on mutually beneficial cooperation between exhibition organizers, participants and you, as the gallery owner. Although in other cases you yourself can be the organizer of events in your premises.
Moreover, in lately in Russia, as for a long time in Europe, they began to pay incomparably more attention to art and design. This also applies to ordinary residents, who, in fact, will be the clients of the exhibitions that will be held in your gallery. This means that their interest will directly influence your business.
Hence it follows relevance such a business. To bring ideas of enlightenment and knowledge to the masses, to give people the opportunity to see something that they are unlikely to see anywhere else, to fight for the right of exclusivity and at the same time earn income - this is what attracts a novice entrepreneur to the idea of opening a gallery.
At the same time, it is worth thinking about your taste. Without any beating around the bush. Objectively evaluate yourself, since in the future this quality will work for you and your business. And if it doesn’t make sense for you to collaborate with young artists, designers, craftsmen, simply because you won’t be able to appreciate their work, which means you won’t be able to understand whether such an exhibition in your gallery will be popular, but you still want to do business in this direction , then you will need to hire an additional person. This is another line of expenses, but it is the one that can result in the success of the entire enterprise.
Therefore, before starting your own business, you need to formulate the focus of the project and, if necessary, use consultation with specialists. The role you will play in your project cannot be underestimated, but overestimation can also play a role cruel joke. So, who you will be for your gallery - an investor, organizer, artist, manager, businessman, or all of this combined - is up to you. But you need to decide right away.
Legal component
For an aspiring entrepreneur, in order to start developing a business at the opening of a gallery not required some specialized permits from government agencies, because there is no special control body for such places for holding exhibitions yet. Therefore, as in any other business, you will only need standard papers.
Permission to engage in business activities. Do not forget that you will need to choose the form of organizational and legal activity - an individual entrepreneur, or limited liability company. The choice will also take place in the form of taxation of your business. Afterwards there is registration with the tax service and the pension fund, where deductions will also go.
The entire process of registering official activities is labor-intensive and time-consuming because it involves paperwork and constant visits. government agencies. Especially if this is your first experience. However, there is a way to avoid all the red tape yourself by paying a certain amount of money to a specialized company. Such organizations undertake to do everything for you. This will speed up the process and free up your time to create your own project. Tariffs must be determined individually.
Room
Since the exhibitions that you will hold in your gallery are designed for large numbers of people from all over the locality, as well as visitors from other cities, you need to carefully consider the issue of locating the enterprise. The city center is perfect. However, with such a choice, you need to be prepared for the fact that rent will cost more and difficulties may arise in organizing access for guests and exhibition visitors. And convenience plays a big role in the issue of attendance and popularity. In addition, exhibitors will request convenience for bringing exhibits and props into the venue.
Considerable attention when renting or constructing a gallery building, it is paid lighting and indoor climate. Therefore, it is important that high-quality ventilation and air conditioning systems and systems for maintaining a certain temperature are in working order. Exhibits vary, and for some, optimal temperature conditions are important.
The gallery space must have several zones. And the total area will vary based on the predetermined focus of the events. The greater the variety of exhibitions you plan to hold in your premises, the more likely you will need a rather large area. However, a room with an area of 250 square meters is considered as standard.
Gallery areas:
- Work storage room. At least 50 squares.
Storage room equipment and props. At least 50 squares.
- Office administration. 15 - 25 squares is enough.
Actually hall for exhibition works . About 80 square meters.
Renting such a large premises is always difficult. Especially considering the location mentioned above.
Therefore, a novice entrepreneur should think about possible options that will help save money. So, for example, if you rent a ready-made premises, which was originally intended for such purposes, you can eliminate the costs of organizing technological networks, ventilation and sewerage. Another option is a joint opening with state municipal authorities who will be interested in the development of this area from the point of view of improving the cultural life of the city. Undoubtedly, this approach will provide its advantages not only in the “rent” column, but will also simplify, for example, a marketing campaign.
Staff
The staff of an existing gallery can be either permanent or, in some positions, temporary. In addition to technical specialists, you need to pay attention to several personnel positions:
- Project Manager. An important position, since such indicators as the prestige of the enterprise, its popularity, and, accordingly, income will depend on his activities. He will make decisions regarding the formats and topics of exhibition events. And, as mentioned earlier, it does not have to be the entrepreneur himself.
- Programmer. Not an obvious position. However, if you plan to achieve a certain level solidity of the company, you will have to engage in promotion on all fronts, including on the World Wide Web. Moreover, every serious organization is simply obliged to have its own website so that people can get necessary information as soon as possible, and also keep track of the schedule of upcoming exhibition events and buy tickets without queuing at the box office. So the position of a programmer, in fact, in the organization of an operating gallery cannot be ignored.
In addition, today, you do not have to hire a permanent IT specialist. There are many companies that will take your tasks on outsourcing.
- Consultants. Important people, as they will have to introduce visitors to exhibits, works of art and provide advice in every possible way. At the same time, exhibitions can be of completely different types, and not all of them bring with them people who are ready to competently and beautifully tell people about the exhibition samples. Therefore, you need to hire erudite people as consultants. The popularity of your project, sales of exhibited masterpieces and overall prestige will depend on the quality of work of specialists in this position.
- Press Service Secretary. Everything is simple here. This is the person working to publicize the planned exhibition in the media.
- Gallery curator. In principle, this position and the position of project manager can be combined. In general, the curator is the person who determines the trend, establishes connections with responsible people, resolves issues with the placement of works in the exhibition hall and the design of the exhibition.
Expenses
Costs will be determined based on many factors. So, for example, rent will completely depend on what city you decide to implement the project in, and moreover, in what area of this city you will rent the premises. For a small locality, let’s take the approximate cost of 70,000 rubles.
The second expense item is repair. This is an important part of the whole thing, since you are creating a visual project first and foremost. People entering your gallery will evaluate not only the exhibits themselves, but also their combination with the internal style of the building, which, whatever one may say, will affect the perception of the particular and the whole. Good repair with hiring professional designer will cost 1.5 - 2 million rubles.
However, if you managed to find a room that was originally intended for similar purposes, then cost items can be significantly reduced.
Third point - wages. You will have both permanent and piecework staff. But the calculation should be based on the figure of 15,000 - 20,000 thousand per employee monthly.
Fourth point - marketing company. An important part, as already described above, for the entire gallery project. Therefore, the expense column will have figures of 70 - 100 thousand rubles per month.
These are the main expenses in the project. In addition to them, there are also periodic, risk and others. All of them must be indicated in the business plan in order to correctly calculate the periods for achieving net profit.
Profit
Profit in the gallery project - floating value. For example, it is impossible to even approximately determine the average price of works of art that will be exhibited and sold in your gallery. It could be 5 thousand rubles, or it could be several million.
The commission principle will also affect income. That is percentage that the organizer will receive from the sale of the exhibition, as well as the percentage that the artist receives also vary and are determined before the event on a contractual basis.
With positive trends and bold calculations, if at least once a month we organize an exhibition of twenty to forty paintings. And if you sell a third of the exhibits there, you can make a profit of 400 thousand rubles.
Although, precisely because no one will give guarantees of achieving exactly these figures, and the income will not be stable in relation to the amount of profit, the project of organizing a gallery is not so popular yet. But at the same time, it is extremely promising if you practice a pedantic and professional approach to each stage of the organization.
You can find another 1000 best business models in the sections: or
Instructions
Research the demand in your city for artistic products, particularly paintings. Calculate the approximate cost based on their artistic value, but from the possibility of selling them later. In addition, find out which paintings are most often ordered from famous and not so famous city residents.
Register an individual entrepreneur (this is quite enough to open an art salon), receive an extract from the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs and Roskomstat codes. Register the cash register.
Come up with a name for your salon. If you are going to devote your time and money to local authors, the name should be associated with your city. If you are going to do custom work, come up with a catchy, but not devoid of sophistication, name.
Find a room for your future salon. It must be located in the city center on the ground floor historical building. As a last resort, rent a space in a shopping center, but also on the ground floor and with an outdoor showcase to display your work. The main thing is that it has compartments for an exhibition hall, an office and, perhaps, for a souvenir that will help you survive during the difficult times of your formation. Design the room accordingly. Obtain all necessary conclusions from the sanitary and fire services.
If you're going to do low-cost work with a wide-format printer, buy or rent one. Don't forget to have a sufficient supply of consumables. However, if the artists’ works are of interest to buyers, you can start accepting orders for original works.
Enter into agreements with private entrepreneurs and handicraft factories for the supply of souvenirs. Usually, the owners of art salons are well acquainted with private traders who do not want to advertise their activities to the tax office. Document their work, as well as the work of local artists, taking your legal percentage for the services of an intermediary.
Hire salespeople who not only have a good understanding of painting, but also really know how to sell. Be sure to sign an agreement with security. After all, who knows, maybe you have works by a second Picasso in your gallery.
If you have a passion for art and are good at business, you can start your own art gallery. It requires hard work and dedication, only then will your business start generating good income.
Instructions
Chat with art gallery owners. It is better if they are located in another city and do not compete with you. They can give you tips on how to get started. They will also tell you what to watch out for and what problems to avoid. Arrange to meet for lunch at your own expense as a thank you for your time.
Get the financing you need. To do this, you will need to create a detailed business plan. Investors won't even consider your proposal if the document is not prepared properly. If you have a good line of credit at your local bank, you will have a much easier time getting a loan there. You can apply for a special
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How to open a gallery or art salon
Opening art gallery or art salon- this is a very successful and quite profitable idea for your own business.
What you should know and consider when opening your own gallery or art salon? There are several very simple and logical rules for creating such a business.
1. For an organization, it is necessary to have a sufficiently spacious premises, which must meet the requirements for such establishments. Both technical and certain artistic and aesthetic requirements should be taken into account. You should definitely make repairs, carefully consider additional lighting and other similar details.
Of course, it is good if the gallery is located in the city center, where an influx of visitors is guaranteed, but placing an art gallery or salon in a residential area is always a risk.
2. The total area of the premises for organizing an art salon or gallery is usually at least 200 square meters. meters. Of these, approximately 20 sq. meters will occupy the office, exhibition hall – from 80 sq. meters, the storage room for work (storage room) is about another 50 sq. meters, and the remaining 50 sq. meters will be consumed by utility rooms and other technical rooms. In principle, there are smaller galleries that do without storage rooms and an office; when planning such mini-salons, it is very important to correctly distribute the small space available.
3. The next step is the selection of personnel and employees. The main thing here is that they have a good understanding of art, are sociable, sociable, and active.
Usually in a state of more or less serious art salon or gallery gallerist, curator, manager, consultant, exhibitor work. Gallery owner creates appearance gallery, is responsible for its image, chooses the direction of work, collaborates with artists. The curator organizes and conducts exhibitions; he is the initiator of all these processes. Naturally, this specialist must have an artistic education.
The exhibitor is engaged in selecting the most suitable place for each work, competently and correctly designing exposition. The consultant's task is to communicate with potential clients.
The staff may be reduced or, conversely, increased, depending on the conditions and specifics of the activities of a particular salon or gallery.
4. In order to open an art salon or gallery no special permits are required, only generally accepted papers are needed.
5. As in any other business, when starting an art gallery, you should think about start-up capital. If you already have premises for the future art salon, then at first you can get by with an amount of about 5 - 7 thousand dollars. This money will be used to pay employees for the first month of work, to equip and open the gallery, and to print booklets about upcoming exhibitions.
If, as is usually the case, there is no premises, you will need to rent suitable space. But renting in the city center is a very expensive pleasure. However, if you find a sponsor or open gallery together with local authorities, then it will cost much less.
You can connect the gallery to your existing business. For example, you can organize exhibitions in a working store on weekends. By the way, this will be very good advertising.
6. A very important point - choice of artists and their works. You should decide on the direction, technologies (painting, sculpture, graphics, photography, video, media art, installation) and the preferred range of authors.
Here you should rely on several factors: your own preferences, popularity in society, demand. It helps to study business reviews and the opinions of qualified experts who evaluate the work of a particular artist and give them a description.
An artist can be judged by the events in which he took part, where he exhibited, in which museum contemporary art His works are already available. It is very important to choose good work For galleries, because it is assessed not by the level of the strongest, but by the weakest of the authors. This is the specificity of this business.
7. When opening a gallery, you should take care of insurance, as well as the general organization of safety and security. These cost items can add significant cost to the initial estimate.
8. Profit can be made not only from painting sales and other items displayed in the salon or gallery. A small entrance fee to the gallery is unlikely to scare away art connoisseurs, but it will cut off the extra “non-target” contingent. You can also charge a nominal fee to artists who want to exhibit their work.
So, let's summarize.
Opening an art salon or gallery is a good business idea that allows you to make a profit by putting your own (if you are an author or collector) and other people's works for sale.
You may have to face some difficulties. They can arise if the business is not thought out to the smallest detail, if there is no start-up capital and the necessary premises. However, it is impossible to predict everything and some flaws, as often happens, will have to be eliminated during the work process. And yet, it is very important to resolve all organizational issues in advance in order to gallery opening went with a bang.
In my youth no one famous son Armenian emigrants Larry Gagosian didn’t even think about the world of art and worked part-time wherever he could - parking cars, etc., until one day he started selling posters. Later he switched to painting and began promoting paintings contemporary artists, and one day it was thanks to him that the world recognized Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons. After which Larry Gagosian became fabulously rich and for a long time topped the ratings of the most influential figures in the field fine arts. Story American dream, isn't it?
Myths and reality.
In fact, in the art world, everything is somewhat different, especially if we talk about the Russian art market. Modern conditions, in which painting exists in our country, require from the gallery owner remarkable patience, serious material investments and painstaking work to build your audience. Now, even in Moscow, gallery sales cannot be called a good way to earn capital: this is still very far away. In most cases, our gallery is more of an image character; it is an opportunity to express oneself by creating currently fashionable curatorial projects and providing support to talented artists.
IN modern Russia There are many gallery owners whose professionalism and dedication to art inspire genuine respect. These are, for example, Elena Selina (XL gallery), Alexander Sharov (11.12 gallery), Marat Gelman. However, no one has yet earned multimillion-dollar capital from sales of Russian art. For a long time we were isolated from the world art processes, and representatives of the middle class in our country had not yet formed the habit of investing money in art. Therefore, we can say that our art market is just emerging.
Three steps to success.
What questions do you need to decide on first if you have firmly decided to connect your future with objects of art and become a gallery owner? Of course, the main thing you can’t do without is a passionate attitude towards art and confidence in your own artistic taste and intuition. The second is special knowledge that can be obtained both independently and with the support of art market professionals. You can also enroll in a specialized university in our country or abroad. For example, in Moscow the RMA business school offers educational program"Art management and gallery business." Classes are held on the territory of the Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art, the course consists of lectures and master classes, and the most influential people in the art world teach here: Olga Sviblova, Vasily Tsereteli, Marina Loshak, Joseph Backstein and others.
Retraining programs for gallery owners are offered by universities such as Moscow State University, Russian State University for the Humanities, Higher School of Economics, and St. Petersburg State University. Curators are trained at the Free Workshops at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, as well as at the Baza Institute of Anatoly Osmolovsky. From foreign specialized educational institutions We can recommend the London Sotheby’s Institute of Art, which trains art professionals in programs of varying lengths, from summer courses to master’s degrees.
In addition to this, of course, you must attend exhibitions, communicate with artists, gallerists and collectors. This is the only way to understand what is happening on the art scene and determine the directions that will be closest to you. But if you are no longer new to the art community, it’s time to start taking concrete action.
Step one.
Determine the range of artists you will represent on the market. All galleries can be divided into two types: current and traditional. The first reflect the latest trends in art, discover the current and new, the second represent a long time ago known species art. And if the former tend to shock the public with new original ideas and expensive projects, the latter, on the contrary, are conservative and, as a rule, organize exhibitions and sales.
The projects of the former are interesting because they are dynamic and acutely reflect social processes, taking place in society, such galleries have their fans. However, there is another part of the audience, those who will go to a traditional gallery to buy a painting for their collection, because they are close to art that has been tested by time and is not subject to market fluctuations.
So, for example, the works of the well-known duo Vinogradov - Dubossarsky (see photo below), on the verge of social and pop art, with provocative subjects, on large canvases, are represented by galleries of the first type, relevant. And let's say, the works of the also well-known Natalya Nesterova, State Prize laureate, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, with images of biblical scenes, everyday scenes, and still lifes - galleries of the second type.
Current galleries address their projects to a politicized public, as well as to those who are interested in the protest movement or ideas that open new horizons in consciousness. There are also those among the audience who simply want to surprise their wealthy friends.
If you have decided on the direction and found your niche, try to enlist the support of at least five to ten artists who will work with your gallery. At the opening stage, you should attract two or three famous authors– in this way you can arouse initial interest in the gallery. To make your entry into the market effective, try to make your first project interesting and extraordinary.
Step two.
Choose a location for the gallery. In Western countries, there are certain areas where it is customary to open them: in New York, London and Paris there are entire neighborhoods in which art institutions have developed their activities. Our gallery areas are still just being formed, but we already have the Winzavod center for contemporary art, so it would be preferable to exhibit contemporary art there. Other galleries can be located outside the clusters, but preferably in the city center, because traffic conditions must be taken into account and the time of visitors must be respected.
An apartment-house format is also possible, and there are many such galleries. Its advantage is that you do not need to spend money on renting premises, which becomes the most burdensome expense item. Therefore, some galleries do not have a permanent address, but use new spaces each time. This format is interesting because it expands the curator’s ability to present another exhibition project in a new environment that is suitable for him. This way you can offer the concept of art going beyond the usual walls of galleries and museums, as many new galleries are doing today.
Step three.
Project launch and subsequent marketing activities. The preparatory work before the opening will take a lot of time, but it cannot be avoided. Developing a corporate identity and launching a website is simply necessary: otherwise how will a potential buyer identify you? Naming, creating a logo, preparing and printing catalogs, booklets and invitation cards, writing announcements and releases - these are just a small part of advertising activities. Be prepared for the fact that you will have to decorate the gallery space and carry out hanging.
It is also necessary to come up with some kind of branded “trick” that distinguishes you from your competitors. For example, for the “73rd Street” gallery, a special lamppost was made with a sign “Gallery here” and a logo, which is installed every time during the opening day. This is done so that guests can easily find the entrance to the exhibition, since the gallery always carries out its projects at different venues in Moscow. Next, determine the circle of invitees to the opening of your gallery, whether it will be closed or accessible to everyone.
Notify guests about the opening date and time, think about the food and program, write a press release. By the way, get ready for the fact that you will have to constantly monitor everything that is happening on the art market, attend many events and communicate a lot with people, participate in the Biennale of Young Art and international art fairs, that is, be in constant search and movement.
So, you opened and a certain number of people became aware of your gallery. Among them, perhaps, are your future customers. Now it is important to maintain their interest in new projects, to expose them to the names of young and promising artists, that is, to turn visitors into buyers, and perhaps into real collectors. Whether your gallery will become an attractive place for investors and art connoisseurs, for journalists and artists now depends only on your professionalism, ability to communicate with people and, to a large extent, on luck. I wish you good luck!
About the author: Elena Komarenko is a collector, art dealer, founder and manager of the 73rd Street gallery. Provides assistance in the formation of contemporary art collections. Gallery "73rd Street" was founded in 2011 and represents famous names contemporary Russian art (since the 1960s), as well as talented emerging authors, including foreign ones.
