Gallery Collaboration

Cautions and Issues in Gallery Collaboration Efforts

The main concept we kept coming back to in writing the Williamsburg Gallery Association mission statement--that we were joining forces first and foremost to bring more people into our individual galleries- seems to be the essence of what makes a successful collaboration event as well (the unspoken part of that concept being: why else would business competitors help each other?). When collaboration efforts fall apart, it is quite often because the organizers lose sight of that cen-tral, overriding goal. Any number of participants may have any number of reasons for attaching their personal agendas to an event, often quite sincere about how it will "help" all involved, but if there is a guiding principle for evaluating any gallery collaboration, it should probably be: does it help drive traffic into my space or help me increase sales? If not, it is a charity event, and of course may still be something you are interested in, but the sales pitch that it will "help your gallery" is unlikely to prove true. I say any idea that does not drive traffic or increase sales is a "charity event" because most collaboration efforts cost dealers money (with a few exceptions in some locations, which we will discuss below). Many of them actually cost quite a bit of money, which can put struggling dealers in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" position at times. A "Gallery Weekend" event, for example, can cost thousands of dollars, but not being part of it can cost a gallery prestige.