The Changing Landscape of Art and Running an Art Gallery

Recently, we celebrated the 1st anniversary of the Red Dragonfly Gallery.

Calling it an anniversary is a little bit ambiguous, as my wife and I basically took over an existing Artist's Coop and continued working with many of the same artists that had already been part of the coop for several years.

That said, there was definitely a "benchmark" set; a milestone in the life of the Gallery.

That was THEN, and this is NOW

Last time I was in the art gallery business was 1985-1999, in a different part of the US, in a larger city, in a different economy.

Whereas the underlying "bones" of what it means to have an art gallery remain pretty much intact, it has been interesting to observe what has changed, since then.

These days, most artists have web sites

which was pretty much unheard of... even by 1999. Whereas it is definitely a plus in terms of giving art and artists more exposure, it also makes it harder to sell art, face to face.

Art buyers have been "trained" to look online-- either because they can find pieces not in the gallery on the artists' web site, or because they believe they can get a better price when buying directly from the artist.

This, in turn, has made it necessary for us to only work with artists who use "gallery pricing" on their own web sites. Maybe that sounds mercenary and not very philanthropic, but there's very little point in us giving space to a piece of art that hangs on our walls for $200 when you can go to the artist's web site and buy it for $120. 

Smart Phones and Cell Phone Cameras

Perhaps the single biggest change I see is the advent of smartphones and cell phone cameras. 

In a typical week, visitors to the gallery probably take about 100 smartphone pictures of the art for every ONE piece that is actually sold. This, in spite of the fact that we have "no photography please" signs posted, along with a small explanation of copyright and intellectual property laws. 

Now, I'm sure the majority of the images are nothing more than part of the mindless "let-me-record-every-step-of-my-life" habit many people seem to be in... however, I am sure more than a few are later printed out on home printers and framed as art. Which-- technically speaking-- is theft.

Online Sales

Whereas we did have an online gallery at my old place, it was the early days of e-commerce. 

Now, personally? I like to see art in person before buying it. But many people seem far more comfortable buying art directly from a web site... and there are many months where sales from our Online Gallery Store are higher than in-store sales. 

The Size of Things

The last noteworthy change concerns the physical size of art. 

Whether or not the world at large is-- or is not-- downsizing, it seems like many art buyers are living in-- or moving to-- smaller spaces. As a result, they are also looking for smaller art.

Whereas there are certainly exceptions, it is quite rare that we sell art much larger than 12"x16" (30x40cm), and that was very different, just 20 years ago. 

Life changes! And so does the art business.

The Red Dragonfly is an independent alternative art gallery located in Port Townsend, WA; showcasing edgy and unique contemporary art & handmade crafts by local and worldwide artists. All images are our own, unless otherwise credited. Where applicable, artist images used with permission.