I belong to the Artists Gallery in Racine Wisconsin, a membership gallery--we call it a cooperative. Although I live in Chicago and the gallery is in Racine (over an hour dive away), I have been a member for about eight years. The gallery has been around for 16 years.
Our biggest problem is finding members and keeping them. To keep paying our bills, we need 40 members who each pay $350 a year. The gallery also keeps 25 percent of all sales. Each member must put in a minimum of six hours a month gallery sitting.
We have a website, we're on Facebook. We send press releases to local papers, radio station, web sites, etc. We look for members in these same venues and Craig's List.
I would like to get any information anyone might have on how best to run a membership gallery. Any websites, organizations, etc that we should be utilizing? Where do we recruit members?
Thanks
New paintings, hot off the easel, and some thoughts on art and life ...
I'm So Lucky To Be In A Membership Gallery
I don't know why I haven't written about this before. I show my work at a membership gallery in Los Gatos. I've been a member artist there since the gallery's beginning, in 2008. For the past two years, I've been a part-time manager as well. That's my painting "The Midnight Garden" at the top of this post, hanging in the front window of the gallery.
The Los Gatos Museums Gallery is located in Los Gatos, between Carmel and San Francisco, and close to the many towns that make up Silicon Valley. We're affiliated with the local art and history museums, hence the "Museums" in our name. Those two museums are undergoing some exciting changes, including changing their name to NuMu (for New Museum of Los Gatos) and moving in together in a new, larger location. But our gallery is staying right where we are, in downtown Los Gatos.
Having a membership gallery has been a godsend for many of us local artists. Not only do we have a place to show our art, but we also have a lively community. We can meet there to see what's new, be inspired by each others work, and share our problems and our successes.
If you are an artist struggling to find good gallery representation, consider forming a membership gallery. There are many variations on the idea, with large and small groups, and different business models. In our case, the link to NuMu benefits both sides of the partnership. We have an independent steering committee to make decisions about the gallery, but NuMu takes care of our sales. They take a commission, but it's smaller than it would be at a commercial gallery. And the buyers at the gallery know that they're supporting the programs at the local art and history museum. Win-win-win for artist, museum and art buyers.
