How to Start an Art Gallery

If you have a passion for the arts and some good business sense, you could start up your own art gallery. It takes hard work and dedication to make your dream a reality. You have to make a serious commitment to the project of opening an art gallery from the very beginning. If you are willing to make that commitment, there are a few steps you should follow.

Instructions

1

Talk to some art gallery owners. They don't have to be competing art galleries (the galleries in your area of town). An art gallery owner in another town may be very open to giving you advice on how to get started. They could have valuable tips about what to watch out for, and they may have some great contacts they are willing to share with you. Request a lunch meeting, and pay for the lunch as a way to thank them for their time.

2

Create a timeline based on the information you have gathered. Determine how long you think it will take to complete each task that needs to be done before the store can open. The timeline should be realistic. Don't give yourself only 2 days to find a location for your gallery. Choose a date at the end of your timeline to be your potential store opening day. Then tape that date on your refrigerator to act as a motivator.

3

Get financing. To do this, you need to use your timeline to create a budget and a business plan. Include everything you can think of in your budget, and make your business plan as detailed as possible. Investors are not even going to consider your proposal if it doesn't look like you have given this project much thought. The first place to start for a loan is your local bank. If you have good credit standing with your bank, then you will have a much easier time getting a loan there than a bank that doesn't have any record of you. Your other options would be to seek out investors and apply for grants. There aren't really any grants for small businesses, but there are a ton for the arts.

4

Find a location. Scour the town or contact a real estate agent. Know what your price range is before you go. Be sure that the area you plan on opening a gallery in is known for embracing the arts. There is a possibility you could open up in a town that does not have any art reputation, but if the people there aren't interested in art, your business will go down the tubes really fast. So when shopping for the perfect spot for a gallery, keep your eye open for the perfect town.

5

Get contacts, legitimate sources you can go to to buy art to sell in your gallery. You are also going to need contacts to get famous artists and up-and-coming artists to come to your gallery to sell their paintings and draw in customers.

6

Buy paintings from artists to include in your gallery. You can either buy the paintings outright, or you can place them on consignment. Paintings are big business. You should mark the prices up 50 percent. If your artist wants to receive $800 for their painting of a beach sunset, then you should advertise the price as $1,200. You can pay the artist the $800 up front and hope you sell the painting, or have them sign a contract that they will get $800 when the painting sells. Most artists will be willing to work on consignment.

7

Decide how many artists you want to take on. Take the size of your gallery into consideration. You should have no less than 10 artists contracted to begin. If you are selling on consignment, you can take as many artists on as you want. Choose only the paintings or pieces you feel will sell in your gallery. You don't have to accept every piece the artist gives you. If your gallery is large, you may have over 20 artists showcased at one time. Start off small and grow as your gallery gains popularity.

8

Create contracts. These contracts should include how much money the artist will be paid for each specific painting and how long you are willing to hold onto the painting if it doesn't sell. The gallery owner should have the right to review each piece at the end of the year and return it if it does not look like it is going to sell. Give the artist a chance to replace that piece with a fresh new piece. You could also make a deal with the artist to auction the nonselling piece on an auction site and take some kind of profit for it instead of letting it sit in storage.

9

Follow through on your timeline and have a big grand opening. Spend some advertising dollars for your grand opening, or nobody will be aware that your gallery exists. You should have some kind of advertising going all year, but you need to start off with a big bang. Try to get featured in a couple of local newspapers and get an ad on the radio. These are very effective tools in spreading the word about your new gallery.

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If you have a passion for the arts and some good business sense, you could start up your own art gallery. It takes hard work and dedication to make your dream a reality. You have to make a serious commitment to the project of opening an art gallery from the very beginning. If you are willing to make that commitment, there are a few steps you should follow.

Instructions

1

Talk to some art gallery owners. They don't have to be competing art galleries (the galleries in your area of town). An art gallery owner in another town may be very open to giving you advice on how to get started. They could have valuable tips about what to watch out for, and they may have some great contacts they are willing to share with you. Request a lunch meeting, and pay for the lunch as a way to thank them for their time.

2

Create a timeline based on the information you have gathered. Determine how long you think it will take to complete each task that needs to be done before the store can open. The timeline should be realistic. Don't give yourself only 2 days to find a location for your gallery. Choose a date at the end of your timeline to be your potential store opening day. Then tape that date on your refrigerator to act as a motivator.

3

Get financing. To do this, you need to use your timeline to create a budget and a business plan. Include everything you can think of in your budget, and make your business plan as detailed as possible. Investors are not even going to consider your proposal if it doesn't look like you have given this project much thought. The first place to start for a loan is your local bank. If you have good credit standing with your bank, then you will have a much easier time getting a loan there than a bank that doesn't have any record of you. Your other options would be to seek out investors and apply for grants. There aren't really any grants for small businesses, but there are a ton for the arts.

4

Find a location. Scour the town or contact a real estate agent. Know what your price range is before you go. Be sure that the area you plan on opening a gallery in is known for embracing the arts. There is a possibility you could open up in a town that does not have any art reputation, but if the people there aren't interested in art, your business will go down the tubes really fast. So when shopping for the perfect spot for a gallery, keep your eye open for the perfect town.

5

Get contacts, legitimate sources you can go to to buy art to sell in your gallery. You are also going to need contacts to get famous artists and up-and-coming artists to come to your gallery to sell their paintings and draw in customers.

6

Buy paintings from artists to include in your gallery. You can either buy the paintings outright, or you can place them on consignment. Paintings are big business. You should mark the prices up 50 percent. If your artist wants to receive $800 for their painting of a beach sunset, then you should advertise the price as $1,200. You can pay the artist the $800 up front and hope you sell the painting, or have them sign a contract that they will get $800 when the painting sells. Most artists will be willing to work on consignment.

7

Decide how many artists you want to take on. Take the size of your gallery into consideration. You should have no less than 10 artists contracted to begin. If you are selling on consignment, you can take as many artists on as you want. Choose only the paintings or pieces you feel will sell in your gallery. You don't have to accept every piece the artist gives you. If your gallery is large, you may have over 20 artists showcased at one time. Start off small and grow as your gallery gains popularity.

8

Create contracts. These contracts should include how much money the artist will be paid for each specific painting and how long you are willing to hold onto the painting if it doesn't sell. The gallery owner should have the right to review each piece at the end of the year and return it if it does not look like it is going to sell. Give the artist a chance to replace that piece with a fresh new piece. You could also make a deal with the artist to auction the nonselling piece on an auction site and take some kind of profit for it instead of letting it sit in storage.

9

Follow through on your timeline and have a big grand opening. Spend some advertising dollars for your grand opening, or nobody will be aware that your gallery exists. You should have some kind of advertising going all year, but you need to start off with a big bang. Try to get featured in a couple of local newspapers and get an ad on the radio. These are very effective tools in spreading the word about your new gallery.