St. Thomas University News
Surviving Recession and Succeeding in the Art Business
MIAMI, June 30 PRNewswire-USNewswire — In times of economic trouble, an art gallery may seem to be a very distant place for art lovers and quite a challenge for gallery owners needing to survive the recession. St. Thomas University's Institute for Communication, Entertainment and Media has been ahead of the game in higher education by creating a MA degree with a specialization in Art Management that can be finalized in approximately 18 months. In partnership with the University of Venice, Italy, this program gives a comprehensive understanding of business and cultural aspects in managing art galleries, museums and artistic events.
The University has partnered with Cremata Fine Art gallery in Little Havana's Calle Ocho, creating a gathering place that launched a series of seminars on the business of art. Under the leadership of Dean Gloria Ruiz and professor and art critic Justo J. Sanchez, the series culminated on Friday June 27, coinciding with Little Havana's Cultural Friday, with a talk by veteran New York art dealer, Gail Casale, who spoke from the general to very specific practices of selling fine art and the troubles the economic recession brings to the art business.
Casale, sister of St. Thomas University's president Monsignor Frank Casale, encouraged those in the art business to stay around enriching people's lives. She had her own life story as a long established NYC art gallery owner who successfully endured difficult times in the US art arena. "If you are planning on opening a gallery, the first thing you have to do is find a place where there are other galleries, because clusters attract people, just like here Little Havana's Calle Ocho," said Casale, who is also the curator and director of St. Thomas University's Sardinas Gallery. "Once you find the location, you have to sell what your heart is in, either sculpture, prints or oil painting... To be successful you have to sell what you really love. Art does not sell itself, you sell it because you love it."
"Art for Profit," which was the name of Casale's seminar, was a short introduction of her 20 plus years of experience in the business. Casale started by opening a gallery in Soho, New York at the hype of the market. "You never sat waiting for people to come in, there was people buying art the whole day," Casale said.
But times have changed and smaller galleries such as those in Little Havana are the most affected ones. "Big collectors who spend millions of dollars on a piece are not affected by the recession, because they do not worry about gas prices or buying food," she said. "But the accessible art that we sell is very affected because people hold back in commodities."
To overcome the recession, Casale recommended gallery owners to continue with an uplift spirit, keep on doing openings, special exhibits, and sales. For artist Raul Cremata and wife Lourdes, it has still not been rough. They keep in touch with collectors and have a social gathering location that is becoming the talk of the town. The Crematas even go to collectors' homes and offices to reorganize their artwork so that they can have more space for another piece.
SOURCE St. Thomas University
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