How do people find you?  What kind of networks have you created that will bring people to your venue? Who do you know that  has a large enough list that even if only a handful of those people came to your event you'd feel it was successful?  These are important questions because it can be the make or break point in your business.  This will mainly be geared toward businesses/art galleries/etc because you have to have a place of your own and the willingness to spend the money to advertise, if you're not part of a business association.

Enough of the vague tease act...I'll tell you what I mean.  I get an e-mail from the RiNo (River North) District.  It's on the outer edge of town and it is quickly becoming a key art district in the city.  The RiNo district lists many venues in their newsletter and although I haven't been to many of them I often think about trying to broaden my horizons, something always gets in the way. 

My most recent trip landed me at Weilworks and when I was leaving  the tickle file in my head said, "You know there's another gallery a couple of blocks away, why don't you check it out".  If I hadn't received the RiNo District e-mail it wouldn't have occurred to me that Plinth Gallery was geographically desirable to my primary intended destination.  Being part of a district, marketing group or consortium serves as a general invite to those who may not be familiar with your venue.

I'm thrilled to have found Plinth Gallery.  I am very interested in ceramic art and that's the focus of Plinth Gallery.  The current exhibit by Darrin Ekern is the junction between people and machines.  The fact that there are little red buttons to push and things happen makes the pieces all that more interesting.  The work speaks volumes with iconography related to war. 

I found the owner, Jonathan Kaplan, a noted ceramic artist, to be helpful, knowledgeable and very funny.  His stories about the history of the building are terrific.  His dedication to exhibit notable ceramic art is commendable.  It is a gallery that is now on my radar and will become a destination on its own.  After all, isn't that the hope?  Create enough name recognition so people will visit and hopefully buy?

Kudos to clay...
Greg

helping artists create successful and sustainable art businesses