Vanity gallery
Encyclopedia
A vanity gallery is an art gallery
that charges artists fees to exhibit their work and makes most of its money from artists rather than from sales to the public. Some vanity galleries charge a lump sum to arrange an exhibition, while others ask artists to pay regular membership fees and then promise to organise an exhibition with a certain period. There is debate as to whether galleries that ask artists to contribute to expenses, e.g. by arranging for announcements of the exhibition themselves, fall into the same category.
(also called artist-run initiatives), galleries which are operated by artists who pool their resources to pay for exhibits and publicity. Unlike cooperative galleries, which carefully jury their members, vanity galleries will exhibit anyone who pays. In 1981 Village Voice reporter Lisa Gubernick posed as an artist and "within 20 minutes" of contacting the Keane Mason Woman Art Gallery was handed a contract for "$720 for 16 feet of wall". Occasionally a vanity gallery will appear to have a selection process. This is because "if every participant is promised a one- or two-person show every two years, the number of artists on the membership roster cannot exceed the available time slots for shows."
Commercial art galleries derive their profit from sales of artwork, and thus take great care to select art and artists that they believe will sell, and will enhance their gallery's reputation. They spend time and money cultivating collectors. If the artwork sells, the gallery makes a profit and the artist is then paid.
Vanity galleries have no incentive to sell art, as they have already been paid by the artist. Vanity galleries are not selective because they don't have to be. Many professional artists recommend new artists avoid exhibiting work in them, primarily because professional critics and reviewers tend to avoid them.
Contemporary art gallery
A contemporary art gallery is a place where contemporary art is shown for exhibition and/or for sale. The term "art gallery" is commonly used to mean art museum , the rooms displaying art in any museum, or in the original sense, of any large or long room.-Identity, function and locality:A...
that charges artists fees to exhibit their work and makes most of its money from artists rather than from sales to the public. Some vanity galleries charge a lump sum to arrange an exhibition, while others ask artists to pay regular membership fees and then promise to organise an exhibition with a certain period. There is debate as to whether galleries that ask artists to contribute to expenses, e.g. by arranging for announcements of the exhibition themselves, fall into the same category.
Derivation
Vanity galleries are an offshoot of cooperative galleriesArtist-run initiative
An artist-run initiative is any project run by visual artists to present their and others' projects. They might approximate a traditional art gallery space in appearance or function, or they may take a markedly different approach, limited only by the artist's understanding of the term...
(also called artist-run initiatives), galleries which are operated by artists who pool their resources to pay for exhibits and publicity. Unlike cooperative galleries, which carefully jury their members, vanity galleries will exhibit anyone who pays. In 1981 Village Voice reporter Lisa Gubernick posed as an artist and "within 20 minutes" of contacting the Keane Mason Woman Art Gallery was handed a contract for "$720 for 16 feet of wall". Occasionally a vanity gallery will appear to have a selection process. This is because "if every participant is promised a one- or two-person show every two years, the number of artists on the membership roster cannot exceed the available time slots for shows."
Commercial art galleries derive their profit from sales of artwork, and thus take great care to select art and artists that they believe will sell, and will enhance their gallery's reputation. They spend time and money cultivating collectors. If the artwork sells, the gallery makes a profit and the artist is then paid.
Vanity galleries have no incentive to sell art, as they have already been paid by the artist. Vanity galleries are not selective because they don't have to be. Many professional artists recommend new artists avoid exhibiting work in them, primarily because professional critics and reviewers tend to avoid them.