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ARTHAÜS.
ARTHAÜS .
1.D I S C O V E R Y
The
Challenge
The artist community in its present state is very dispersed. There is a community but there is very little contact between artists, and between the artists and galleries. This distance has been increased by e-commerce and social media. The artist as an individual has more outlets to sell their work on the internet, but become another typed name next to their product. Art Haüs’ goal is to make this community more friendly, social, and productive by means of workshops and collaborative efforts.
Emerging artists are finding themselves financially in-secure with few art sales and a smaller following. Buyers are more inclined to continue to purchase pieces when there is a sense of familiarity with the artist. Meeting artists face to face is the greatest promotional asset an artist has but the reality is much of today art is shared online. Artists therefore must introduce themselves and tell their stories effectively on the internet to be able to sell art. The internet is a relative-ly cheap space though so it is very important for the individ-ual artist to make their mark.
Toronto is a large city with enormous amounts of cul-ture. The culture paired with competitive art universities and colleges such as OCAD University and Sheridan College at-tracts many talented artists. At the moment there are few opportunities available for artists who are not students as well. The Magenta Foundation is great a opportunity for ris-ing studio artists to get some exposure, but there are not many similar structures for graduated artists. The drop of artist opportunities, especially in a society with many artists, has been hindering the modern day artist and can be fixed with our new Art Haüs Structure.
Networking
DeckE R I N P O L L E T TDirector of Operations and [email protected]
Experience and reputation are key when starting up a new space. Erin will be bringing in her expertise and contacts with artists and designers to help start up Art Haüs. She will act as the organization’s manager, keeping all employees and volunteers working towards the same goal.CONTACTED
R Y A N B E L I V E A UMarketing, Advertising and [email protected]
Experience and reputation are key when starting up a new space. An inte-gral role in the Art Haüs team is marketing ourselves but even more impor-tantly the artist. Ryan’s skills will translate well onto our team, working with artists on their gallery campaigns and social media presence.CONTACTED
S U S A N E D E L S T E I NGallery Director and [email protected]
Susan has over 10 years working in galleries and assisting in installation. Having Susan on our team will help ease the work around curating the gal-lery. Susan has also been taking on interns for the past several year, so this will provide prospective artists with an opportunity to volunteer at Art Haüs.CONTACTED
S H I E R A R O V I L L A R DUser-Interface and Experience Designer - web and mobile [email protected]
Shira will be able to create out silent auctioning app and website as well as instruct workshops for artists on how they can create their online profiles. She has the expertise and understanding of the web and interface field required to assist artists to effectively display and present their artwork in a digital format.CONTACTED
M A R K K A S U M O V I CProfessional Photographer, Editor and [email protected]
The documentation aspect we provide for our artists requires Mark’s pho-tography skill to effectively capture the art process. Mark has also been a photography instructor at several universities and would be able to teach some of the workshops we will be providing on a general photography level as well as documentation photography.CONTACTED
M A R K A L L I S O NVideographer and [email protected]
Video is necessary for the artist’s documentation of the art process, but also to tell their own stories. Mark Allison will be responsible for recording and interviewing the artist and preparing the footage for marketing and advertising. Mark is also an emerging artist in the film field and will be able to relate closely with the artists that will come in.CONTACTED
2.I N T E R P R E T A T I O N
Research
MethodsOur method of research was to approach people who are in the art fi eld. We interviewed students, emerging artists, professionals, and people who were interested in art for our research. With such a broad range of people interviewed we all asked ‘what the greatest struggle you think artists face is?’ Majority of the people gave similar answers, as it was something a lot of people we interviewed had faced or are facing at this point in time. We sat down and talked with the interviewees about their work, what they want to art world to look like and how it was shaped for them. Talking one on one with the artists opened up our minds to the struggles artists’ face that went below the surface of just being able to fi nancially sustain yourself. We then took this informa-tion and looked for commonalities between the responses to justify a solution to the problem at hand.
The
StoriesWe met with students, professors, and art professionals and asked what they felt their biggest challenges have been as artists.
S A M A N T H A M I R A B I L E Artist, Architecture Student, Ryerson University
“ I’ve been doing art since I was 10 years old maybe. I’ve found it hard to create a name for myself when people don’t know your name. It’s hard when you’re in university, you’re busy with schoolwork and life and you don’t always have the time to go to galas and events to network and meet people to grow your art business. If there was a way to connect with established artists and learn things from them that would be great. But beyond that I think there needs to be a space for artists to collaborate and learn how to market themselves. When you’re painting its hard to fi lm yourself and as a student you don’t have the time or bud-get to do these things. If someone could teach me how or help me to create a name and story for myself in the fi eld I think that would be really helpful.”
S U S A N E D E L S T E I NCurator and Gallery Manager
“ For an emerging artist networking is one of the most important things. Going to as many lectures, galleries and networking parties is so important because you need to get your name out there. Its hard to create an artist brand when no one knows your name but maybe only knows one or two pieces of your work because they have seen it on etsy or some other artist website. This could end up being worse for an artist because their work can be copied and re-appropriated into diff erent forms of art and commercialism. Without proper networking and representation an artists work can get lost in the world of the internet and can be found on tumblr or some other website with a fi lter and some new text placed on top.”
T R I C I A J O H N S O N Artist, Professor, Western University
“ People just need to go for it and not doubt themselves or their abilities. When I was a young artist I had no idea what I was doing, I always questioned myself if my art was good enough, I wasn’t confi dent in myself when I was starting. It would have been very helpful to be able to have a mentor who was already in the art fi eld to give me direction on how to improve and build a brand for my art and myself. I had no idea on how to market myself or my art. It was hard to make connections and get the confi dence to put my work out there.”
M A R K K A S U M O V I CPhotographer and Professor, Western University
“ Meeting people is key when you’re a young artist. I think the main goal for a lot of young artists is to get into an aff ordable gallery space that can also get them exposure for themselves and their art brand. Its important for an artist to be able to sell their work and also sell themselves, in a good way, so that people know who they are and know their other works. It can be intimidating for an artist to enter the fi eld without a good network which is why many artist start off with more aesthetically pleasing piec-es rather than intellectual ones, so they can create a brand and name for themselves fi rst.”
A L Y S S A C E L E B R E Student, OCAD University
“ There’s a sort of rapidly emerging disconnect between the rate at which art and creative design can be shared and created dig-itally vs. the copyright laws and creative commons that should be there to protect them. There’s a kind of fruitless struggle that happens to an artist who puts their work on their blog, hoping to share it with friends, and it gets ripped off and reposted and sort of lost in the weird fucking internet. Suddenly you got this image which sort of blows up in it’s own way and gets shared a million times on facebook. So the artist is left sort of thinking “What the hell happened?” as there art is eff ectively stolen and they have gained basically nothing from its sudden rise to viral fame. The secondary issue (which gets more into copyrights and legal territories) are when companies get a hold of reposted art-work. Artists struggle to get their work recognized in a culture the sees next to no value in crediting an artist for their work, and by extension, the artist will lose business or never gain traction even as their images take off or get stolen and used by for-profi t businesses. So now it’s a generation of technically savvy artists, designers, and architects, who have virtually NO support legally due to archaic copyright laws and lagging cultural understanding towards them and their work. There needs to be a space that will help artists get their work out safely and a way for people to recognize its their work and not someone else’s.”
“ I had no idea on how to market myself or my art. It was hard to make connections and get the confi dence to put my work out there.
H A L E Y E D W A R D S Student and Art Enthusiast , Western University
“ I really like collecting art when I know the artist who creates it. I fi nd that when I go into a gallery I see a lot of pretty paintings or pieces but I cant connect it to an artist or a face. That leaves something lacking for me, I want to know more about their work and inspiration. ”
J E S S I C A D E S P A R O I SArtist
“ Promotion is a big challenge for a lot of artists. Whether you are in school or working its hard to get out there and get your name known because you’re constantly busy whether you are making art of dealing with life. If your name is known and you have con-nections in the fi eld, even if your art is crappy you have an advan-tage because people know who you are. Getting there is hard so you need a promoter to make a story for yourself so people can feel a connection to you and your art.”
“ I had no idea on how to market myself or my art. It was hard to make connections and get the confi dence to put my work out there. ”
The
Patterns In our interview panel we chose people that range from established and emerging artists to people who are not in art but have an interest in it. One commonality all the people had was networking. A lot of the artists saw it to be beneficial for a young artist to be able to connect and collab-orate both with people in the field and people who wanted to buy art. People were concerned with having the time to properly network themselves. They found they were often too busy with school, jobs, kids and their lives to put in the time to go to networking events of even document their cre-ative process properly to put online. Artists feel without this there is a void in the market between them and their work. Once it enters the online market they loose part of the con-nection they have with their pieces as people recognize the piece but not the person who created it. Another commonality between the interviewers was the need for a presence for the artist to be built. People want to know the artists’ story and the artist want people to know their name. Many artists agree that as an emerging artist it is more comforting being able to put your work out into the market if people know who you are or at least know your name.
ResearchDevelopment Our method of development is to create a physical space in which artists, curators, and buyers converge on both educational and business-related platforms. The space will be multi-faceted, operating as an auction house, a gal-lery, a classroom, a media marketing office, and a place for networking, all in one. While our main service will function on a primarily face-to-face level, we intend to integrate social media and other promotional methods in order to attract a clientele of artists and art-lovers. Our app and website will offer virtual galleries and expand artists’ audience beyond Toronto. Since this is a space for learning, we will recruit ex-perienced artists to not only teach their branch of art, but to explore other forms of art to expand their skillsets. Mar-keting specialists will be hired to successfully market up and coming artists’ works while at the same time teaching them valuable business skills like self-promotion and personal story-telling. To develop this, we will need to rent space in a geographically strategic area of Toronto to best accommo-date the commuting needs of the growing art movement. The purchasing of quality art supplies and apparatuses that encourage ‘outside-of-the-box’ thinking and offering endless possibilities for artistic direction is also needed.
I D E A T I O N3.
Six
Solutions1
Creating an environment tar-geted to helping artists promote their work. Basically a program created by artists for artists. This program would allow art-ists to rely less on galleries and auction houses to promote their work. The self-promotion value of this idea allows all art-ists to gather and present their artwork to others in one central hub which in turn, allows for recognition for their hard work. While there are costs that will have to be looked into, it will be a small fee as opposed to an endless routine fueled by the galleries and auction houses.
Coming up with an immersive app for all users worldwide, not directed just towards artists, to browse and purchase artwork through genre and preferenc-es. This will create a commu-nity larger than ever before, allowing artists to stay put in ‘creativity central’ while spread-ing their name, which would be much harder to accomplish if they relied solely on galleries, which would potentially mean browsers overlooking the art-work.
A virtual gallery offered online, presented like an art gallery, but virtually toured. Similar to an open house, there is always an interactive showing of all the rooms present/offered in the house. This will be highly cost-efficient for art users as well as gallery owners as they do not have to spend a large amount of money. The money will be spent towards creating an online circle for users to explore. Costs of presenting artwork in a community as op-posed to a virtual network is much higher than expected.
2 3
Helping artists distribute their artwork to large franchises such as Starbucks. This will aid the artists in spreading name recognition without their need to distribute their own work. As a company that helps with distribution, there will be a nec-essary fee for helping them dis-tribute their work. A nominal fee will be charged, as this is a company geared towards help-ing artists.
Artists create workshops for other artists which in turn, gives them benefits such as being able to attend other art-ists workshops for free if a set amount of referrals are gained from their own hosted work-shop. This will allow for a large amount of recognition that art-ists would not be able to gain from simply presenting their artwork at galleries. This idea is simple and idealistic as it is cost-efficient as well as immer-sive among the art industry.
Creating a central hub in which every artists work is stream-lined and recorded, without having them to network and create their own connections. We also have workshops that allow us to promote collabora-tions with other artists. A spa-cious environment is offered to artists that are willing to pay for a gallery space ($75/3 wks). The idea presented is skewed towards a non-profit organi-zation which requires a set amount of money to become self-sustained.
4 5 6
Selected
Solution
We want to create a central hub for emerging stu-dents and professionals who wish to put their name out there and stand-out as art-ists. This physical space aims to address the main challeng-es we found after speaking to various students, professors and artists: networking and marketing. In order for cre-ative professionals to strive in today’s world, they need to network and form meaning-ful connections with those in their field. This allows for op-portunities of collaboration and future work for the art-ists. Marketing is also an im-portant aspect for artists, as many wish to involve them-selves in freelance work as this allows for more artistic freedom. To find appropriate clientele, they must present themselves in an engaging way. Many artists also wish to sell their original pieces or prints online; in these situa-tions, it is vital to use social media to tell a personal story to draw in and captivate an audience. Arthaus will address these main issues in two main ways: through a stu-dio space for collaboration
and education, and a gallery space to allow artists to put their work and name into the community. The studio space will provide workshops where artists can learn from each other and network. Some workshops will also be geared toward effective mar-keting strategies and per-sonal branding. In our studio space, we will also provide a promotional service in which we record the individuals as they work in-studio. From this footage we will create a video that tells a story about the artist. Our promotional service will also help artists find their personal brand, and teach them effective marketing strategies with a focus on the web and social media. Our gallery space will allow emerging artists to display and sell their works. Our gallery is a little different from most as it aims to pro-mote the makers of the art-ists. Very often people visit a gallery, find artworks they en-joy, but have no way of learn-ing more about the artist. We plan to move past this hurdle with an easy solution. Beside each artwork, where the art-
ists’ names are displayed, there will also be a code. Vis-itors will be able to scan this code on their phone using our simple iPhone applica-tion. This will then take them to a page about the artist, as well as an option to place bid on the artwork from the con-venience of their phone. For visitors that do not have an iPhone, there will be an iPad available in the middle of the gallery where they can view the same information. Arthaus will operate as a non-profit organiza-tion, as we wish to wish to help emerging artists with-out them having to spend a fortune on gallery fees and marketing.
4.E X P E R I M E N T A T I O N
Lean Canvas
Model
K E Y P A R T N E R S- Art Toronto- Toronto Centre for the Arts- University of Toronto
K E Y M E T R I C S- invite collaborators, artists, and potential buyers- purchase a space along with required materials and tools- design and publish app - design and publish virtual gallery
K E Y R E S O U R C E S- we will require designers to ensure the app platform is not only visually appealing but also simple to use with seamless navigational tools- server space for all web and application data to be saved to- both established and amateur artists in the Toronto area- quality art supplies that will attract clientele C O S T S T R U C T U R E- Apple iOS developer charge ($8000)- Website integration ($5000)- Employee pay (negotiable)- Server subscription fees ($5000)- Office space rent ($2000/month plus utilities)- Initial cost of art supplies ($3000)- Meet and Greet gatherings (least expensive)- Marketing/film equipment ($5000)
C U S T O M E R S E G M E N T S- Auction and gallery hosts (bookable space)- Artists (both new and established)- Art buyers/general public
U N F A I R A D V A N T A G E- Project members with professional experience in both art and marketing
C H A N N E L S- Social media- Word of mouth, networking- Website, contacting artists online- Print ads - Collaboration with key partners
Revenue
Model As part of our revenue model we will be collecting a percentage of the profit on pieces sold in our gallery space. To be competitive with the ex-isting art spaces in Toronto we will lower the percentage of cuts we take from each artists work. This is especially useful for emerging artists who need all the money they can get to grow their art brand. Instead of the typical 50-55% cut we will take from the sale of an artists work, Art Haus will only take 40% ensuring we receive enough money from each work to continue to run our busi-ness while ensuring the artist is treated fairly. The second part of our revenue model is profit from renting out gallery space. In our 882 square foot gallery, art-ists can buy space for a three-week time period where they can show and sell their work. Typically to rent out a small gal-
lery for 3 weeks it is $400. To stay competitive we offer art-ists 1 wall, roughly 8 feet wide, for $75. If the artist wishes to rent out the whole box in the middle of the gallery space the price increases to $95 because they are getting a much larger area. If the artist requires more space additional charges can be implemented accordingly. The third revenue stream is profit by artist work-shops. The cost for a full day art workshop will be $100 which is competitive in the art market in Toronto where establishments such as OCAD charge this amount or more. In order for a workshop to run we need 5-10 people to sign up. Our promotional ser-vices account for the last part of our revenue model. This accounts for video, editing and marketing services. The price point for our video and marketing services is $500 per
video. We have estimated we could create twenty videos per 6 months. These three streams of revenue, with our estimations outlined below, cover almost all of the costs of rent for the center. To cover additional expenses and peoples pay Art Haus will apply to various gov-ernment funds such as the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund. The CCSF seeks to improve physical conditions for artistic creativity and innovation. It is also designed to increase ac-cess for Canadians to perform-ing arts, visual arts, media arts, and to museum collections and heritage displays. The Fund supports the improvement, renovation and construction of arts and heritage facilities, and the acquisition of specialized equipment as well as conduct-ing feasibility studies.
C O S T O F R E N TCost: $16 PSF Per annum. (SQR FEET = 2192*$16 = $35,072).
C O S T F O R T H E A R T I S TCost to rent wall in gallery: $75 for 3 weeks 1 wall = 8ft by 12 feet (if you need more you pay extra)
P R O F I T B Y G A L L E R YWe take 40% of the price an artwork sells for (this is competitive as typical galleries take a 50-55% cut). The Average price of painting sold is $700. ($700 * 0.40 = $280).
The average number of artworks a gallery can hold (3 weeks) is 35 works. The average of sales dollars from artworks in 1 month is $9,000. ($9,000 * 0.40 = $3,600).
Our space is 20 by 45 feet. For a 20 ft wall, we can get $150. For a 45 ft wall, we can get $375. Dollars from the outside wall is $525.
Box in middle of room = $95 (Box = L 8ft x w 5ft) .
$75 for a sculpture. R E V E N U E F R O M C L A S S E SEstimated (upon market research) 2 classes of 10 people per week
R E V E N U E F R O M V I D E O SWe estimate that we will produce 20 videos over a 6 month time span = $10,000. (6 Months of revenue from wall = $1,200)/
T O T A LBox = $760Artwork = $28,800Promotion = $10,000 Total Revenue = $56,760
F U N DCanada Cultural Spaces Fund. The CCSF seeks to improve physical conditions for artistic creativity and innovation. It is also designed to increase access for Canadians to performing arts, visual arts, media arts, and to museum collec-tions and heritage displays. The Fund supports the improvement, renovation and construction of arts and heritage facilities, and the acquisition of special-ized equipment as well as conducting feasibility studies.
Identified
CapabilitiesIn terms of the capabilities needed to successfully get Art Haüs off the ground, we have identified multiple teams that will operate in conjunc-tion to ensure all of the facets of our business are not only achievable, but sustainable too.
F U N D T H E A R T T E A M ( T H E A - T E A M )
This team will be responsible for the recruitment of local (and hope-fully global) leaders in the art industry in order to foster a stronger commu-nity of artists in Toronto. They will utilize their Roladexes to network with potential art buyers and connect them to artists in more intimate settings. The A-Team will also assist in curating galleries and facilitating auctions that take place at Art Haüs. As artists themselves, they will take part in classes and teach within their areas of expertise. In general, The A-Team is the cen-terpiece that facilitates the connections and relationships that will acceler-ate the sense of art culture in Toronto.
M A R K E T I N G T E A M I
This team will work individually with up-and-coming artists to pro-duce promotional materials that best suit an artist’s story, inspiration, pas-sion, and goals. Through various forms of print, video, and digital media, this team is responsible for introducing an artist to the community. They will also serve a pedagogical function as they teach clients the art of self-promo-tion in the hopes they can become self-sufficient artists/business people. Media production skills are required.
M A R K E T I N G T E A M I I
This team is responsible for marketing Art Haüs itself, and assisting The A-Team in reaching out to the community to attract up-and-coming artists to attend classes, produce art, and display/sell their works. They will operate our social media accounts as well as the website that will feature our virtual gallery, class schedules, and more. This group will also maintain the Art Haüs app.
S A L E S / A C C O U N T I N G T E A M
Our sales team will facilitate transactions between artists and buyers. They will manage our finances and ensure our revenue streams are func-tioning properly.
Self-explanatory roles such as facilities management and administrative support teams will be required as well.
S E C U R E F U N D S(3 months)Apply for government grants
G A T H E R “ T H E P R O F E S S I O N A L S ”(1-2 months)Hire a full-time director, videographer/photographer(s), market-er, gallery curator
B E G I N M A R K E T I N G(2 months, ongoing)Reach out to the art community to generate interest for Arthaüs by marketing to art professionals and post-secondary art school students.
B E G I N W O R K S H O P S A N D P R O M O T I O N A L S E R V I C E S(1 month, ongoing)
D E V E L O P S I M P L E A P P(25 days)This app will allow gallery visitors to bid on artworks and learn more about the artists of works on display.
S E C U R E S P O N S O R S F O R O P E N I N G N I G H T(1 month)Sponsors will cover the costs of food, entertainment, and other miscellaneous costs for the Arthaus opening night.
F I R S T G A L L E R Y O P E N I N G(1 week)
Timeline
Daniel Mously, Ellie Keller, Lorena Mackey, Ernest Li, Scott Buttenham
ARTHAÜS .
