I’ve written before about my great admiration for anyone who has the courage to create their own business. And, I’ve done several blogs about the value of collaboration.
I just did a story for Whidbey Local about the Whidbey Art Gallery in Langley and it is a great illustration of these two themes. Becoming a professional artist is challenging enough. Simply figuring how and where to sell artwork can take a lot of time and energy. Becoming part of a cooperative gallery provides space for displaying the work, ideas and support from others who are sharing the space, and a much smaller investment in marketing.
There are currently 32 artists who are members of the gallery, and each has a responsibility for being on the sales floor a few hours a week and doing whatever else is needed to maintain Whidbey Art Gallery as a place people want to visit. The gallery is an inviting space, with each artist’s work attractively displayed, and there is a broad range of artistic mediums and prices to appeal to a broad audience. The gallery has a website and a Facebook page.
Check out the story and see the value of collaboration at work: