Another Cross To Bear

   ~ by Beverly Koski

What do you think of galleries charging the artist for submitting images for the possibility of being shown in a gallery? Leighdon Gallery at 190 W.3rd Ave. in Vancouver, B.C. asks for $85 as part of their submission guideline. Pretty high? Worse than that, is the charge in connection with the review of one's work by the R E Welch Gallery in Palm Desert, California. Vacationing there, I picked up a card entitled: ARTIST? and I quote: "If you would like to submit your artwork for consideration it must be submitted by mail. A $150.00 submission fee is required to review your work. Please make your check payable to…" At the time, I had thought that this was an isolated instance. Not so. This month's Artist's Journal lists Leighdon Gallery amongst its calls for entry. Opening its website and then "submissions", one reads guidelines including that gallery's request for fees. So it is happening here in B.C. too.

I confess though, to having some sympathy for art galleries. Recently the Avenue Gallery in Oak Bay told me that there are a great many artists asking them for a review of their work. It is hard to imagine how an owner could control the sheer volume of those wanting to be represented. My enquiry generated a very flexible answer. This gallery suggested that I just send along some email jpeg attachments, representative of my work. How many? They left it up to me. When do they look at it? Presumably when it is convenient, during spare time.

Certainly charging a submission fee should eliminate all but the most serious. Another argument, in these less than ideal economic times, is that submission fees would help with the rent/overhead. It does not take much skill at arithmetic to calculate that 20 hopeful artists paying $ 85 each during one month, would result in the helpful sum of $ 1,700 revenue for a gallery. If private enterprise operates on the basis of supply and demand, the situation faced by artists is this: few galleries, many artists. Putting it bluntly, commercial galleries are in the enviable position of choosing whatever selection process pleases them. Will fees soon be common practice? Yes, maybe, given hard times and few sales. I hope not!


  ~ by Beverly Koski, April 2009