My Gallery's Opening Show last year, 2023
Last year, about mid-January, 2023, my gallery opened. I've changed my life around it drastically. We'd planned to open sooner. The owner bought the unit just before covid, and we started to talk about it just before lockdown hit. That was a setback. Regardless, the room needed a lot of work before it would be ready to hang artwork in anyway.
I spun in my own way, and wouldn't have had the mental health to get started for a while. Then, when things seemed to be calmed in 2022, I finally caught it. I don't think I had it too badly. I was able to breathe, I wasn't in the worst pain I'd ever felt - but after I'd 'recovered', I was left in a fog for months and months, and wasn't ready to start organizing people until towards the end of the year. Finally, I misunderstood something the owner had told me about getting the space ready, and ended up putting off the last planning until New Year.
Then there we were. I wrangled my artists, the first of the artist wrangling. The group show opened somewhat minimalistic, but the turnout was great. The owner got to introduce his fancy oyster kitchen to a big group of people who had never heard of Depuration before.
Here's a shot of my partner Mikey prepping some light refreshments before he got crowded.
We treated it like a soft opening, but I'd already decided by the time we'd finished the reception that I wouldn't be organizing any more group shows. If artists want to work together to do a combined show, that's fine, but that's up to them to coordinate. Not that any of my first artists were annoying or bad to work with, it's just too complicated for me to group-wrangle on artist schedules. If you're not familiar, they're a slippery bunch at the best of times, and I lack that special management touch.
I've started hardening a little over the past year. You have to when you're the one in charge, I think. For instance, I have to put my foot down in regards to something the next artist in my roster plans to bring to my walls, but that's a matter for a different blog.
To this date, we've still only had one show without sales, which is not bad for a gallery in its first year... in the sub-level of a dead mall... in this economy.
Vashty, whose solo show came first in my list, sold this piece:
Hers is a bright, sunny pop art style inspired by Andy Warhol and Norval Morrisseau among others. I'll do a deep dive into her work later, but for now I'll tell you that her piece made it to someone's collection on opening night.
We only had one each up on the walls, so there weren't any budget options for our less comfortable supporters, but that's OK. I should have thought to open a ko-fi account way earlier. Probably could have helped my artists (and me) a little more. I have one open NOW. Not that I can time-travel with it.
Here's what I had up for myself in the show:
I did have a show for myself later. I'll also give myself a highlight post or two. Because why not? But there are two more days of the show I've currently got up, so I will try to keep focusing on that. And maybe on the markets just starting on weekends here.
Here's that Ko-Fi, if any of you readers want to support me and my artists more directly. No pressure!
https://ko-fi.com/rachelsvparry
~Rachel
rachelsvparry.ca