An Independent Art Gallery?

Can you imagine that sometimes I have no idea what I am going to write until I actually write it? Today is the day and it is the hour.

Words Works still on for another two weeks.

I have the pleasure of leading many different lives at the gallery. I am gallery owner, curator, artist, teacher and probably a few more things I don't need to mention.

The variety of my days is what keeps it interesting and me interested.

This year it has been about trying to do as many charitable acts via the gallery as possible and I am pleased to say that has been very rewarding.

It has also been a time to reflect on successes and failures at the gallery. I have spent 3 years focussing my energies on getting the gallery up and running. It is doing just that and I am grateful for it. 

The thing that has been neglected has been my own work. I have decided to address this and create my own gallery at the gallery. To this end my studio will be a permanent exhibition of my work and there will be a permanent display of my work in the gallery itself.

The reasons for this are due to the fact that it is crucial for the turnover at the gallery to improve. I do not want to become an art shop that sells art. ( I will not be selling cards, books etc other than artists books and their postcards). I want to keep the gallery true to my original ethos but I have to move with the times and do everything possible to get more people through the doors and stay afloat.

Solo exhibitions have such great visual impact in the gallery but they don't have such a big impact on my bank balance. I think people need more choice, and that's what I intend to give them. I plan to do this in a stylish and subtle way. 

I hope that it will bring new visitors to the gallery and broaden its appeal to a wider audience.

I wish that I had the funding of the big named galleries but I don't and whilst they can have exhibitions of work that are made up from private collections and are not for sale. I cannot. 

If it is in my gallery, with a very few exceptions then it has to be for sale and priced to sell I hasten to add.

I take curation very seriously and when hiring the gallery I will be making sure that people realise that they are paying me to curate their exhibition. Whilst I think it's right that artists should have some say about what they want included. I know my space, I know how to fill it, I know when enough is enough. I am objective and detached from the work. That is why I can hang a good exhibition. My only goal is to hang a cohesive exhibition that shows the artists work to its best advantage. This in turn makes the gallery look good.

I feel like this is some kind of mission statement and maybe it is. But it helps to get it out in the world so that people know where I am coming from and can decide whether they want to exhibit with me in the future.

I am grateful for everyones support over the last three years and I hope that you will continue to visit the gallery in the future. Do not underestimate the role that you play in helping the gallery survive. It's not all about money. Every time you tell someone about the gallery you are playing a part in the future of the gallery. So spread the word L'Artishe Gallery is here to stay.