How to… open a non-elitist gallery

Like many fresh art graduates, I left university determined to launch my career in the arts. I sent off lots of applications, got a few responses, and travelled up to London to knock the gallery network dead. I was in for a big surprise.

When I got there, I found the galleries I interviewed for to be intimidating, silent and unwelcoming. It was enough to nearly put me off working in the industry. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to work in an environment where people were made to feel awkward, or that art wasn’t for them. It felt as though you weren’t important enough to talk to unless you had a certain amount of cash in your bank account.

After the initial feeling of disappointment had worn off, I became convinced that it shouldn’t be like this. So, I became determined to open my own gallery, where anybody could come in and feel welcome.

Realise the art world is what you make it

What I’ve learned is that the art world can be whatever you make it.

That is the beauty of it. You can create a cosy, intimate gallery environment, or curate the space to be vibrant and buzzing. The choice is yours – stuffy, elitist and outdated attitudes shouldn’t dictate who can and can’t like, make or buy art.

The art world is changing. The internet is making being creative and discovering what you like easier and easier. I can only see this trend getting stronger as time goes on.

Take Pinterest for example: now anyone can try their hand at interior design, picking things they like in an accessible and unintimidating format. The power of that can’t be underestimated. It’s reshaping attitudes and breaking down boundaries. It lets people be more confident in asserting what they do and don’t like when it comes to art.

Create a space where everyone feels welcome

People still tell me how intimidated they sometimes feel walking into galleries. We have so much work to do to dispel the elitism that has developed around art.

Professionalism is of paramount importance to any gallery, but so is comfort, friendliness and a lack of pretention.

To make a gallery more accessible, create a relaxed, friendly space where people can come and spend time browsing the work. Listen to your favourite music, and share a coffee or a tea with your clients while discussing the artwork. Be open to questions and let visitors know they can ask anything about the artist – or even just chat about something completely unrelated.

Give your visitors an enjoyable experience and they will want to come back, and maybe next time they will purchase some artwork by an artist they now love.

Keep overheads low and stay inspired

Running a gallery can be hard. Exhilarating, lots of fun… but hard. One of the main things I struggled with when starting up was budgets and accounting. I’m driven by my passion for the arts, and dealing with finances was a bit of a struggle for me.

Without masses of investment, the cold hard realisation of the need for funding will become a reality very quickly, so do keep your overheads as low as possible at the beginning.

If you’re truly passionate about art, then there’s no reason a career in the arts shouldn’t be for you. So, if I was to give any advice: have a thick skin, be strong, and when the going gets tough stay inspired.

Eleni Duke is Founder of Curious Duke Gallery.
curiousdukegallery.com