Southam Gallery . . . from page 1
Such is no longer the case; Kimberly has become just as expert at greeting customers and selling art as her business-savvy mother Linda. “Being a single parent, I had to start making money right from the start”, recalls Linda. “I had to learn how to be resourceful real fast.”
Linda studied art at the University of Utah, Brigham Young University and Weber State University. During this time, she began to gain the expertise to function as a fine art dealer, as well as a very good painter in her own right. “Owning and operating a gallery is one of the hardest, but also one of the most challenging and rewarding things a person can possibly do,” Linda reveals. “We are building maintenance, janitorial staff, publicity agents, caterers, exhibit installers, inside and outside sales, mentors, and accountants.” Linda plans to pass the reins of gallery owner and director to Kimberly soon, and resume painting full time. “I guess I’ve earned a break, after surviving a flood, freeway construction, a burglary, and a tornado”, quips Linda.|1|
There have been many excellent artists represented by Southam Gallery over the years. “We have done well a number of artists throughout our history, A.D. Shaw, Richard Murray,|2| Kathryn Stats, Diane Turner, Steve McGinty, Larry and Sharlene Christensen, Donald Allan, Karl Thomas, Dottie Miles, Linda Curley, Alexander Dzigurski II, Graydon Foulger, John Jarvis, John Myrup, Ken Baxter, and many others, the list is long and we don’t mean to leave anyone out. In the last couple of years Richard Boyer, Aaron Stills,|3| Carole Evans, Jerry Hancock, Michael Bingham, and Robert Call, have been new to the gallery and doing very well. To call an artist and tell them you just sold a painting is absolutely the greatest feeling.”
The two Southam women have a wealth of experience and knowledge to offer the artists they represent as well as young emerging artists.
ARTIST – GALLERY RELATIONSHIP
“Regarding advice for young artists”, offers Kimberly, “If there is one point I would really want to stress for new artists, it's the following: a gallery/artist relationship should be a win/win for both parties. Young artists should first find a reputable dealer who believes in their talent and then the artist should give them a chance to do their job. It takes time to build a new career. As long as you can see your dealer is working, paying their artists and selling work, have some patience.”
“Throughout our gallery’s history,” Kimberly continues, “we have always been excited to take on new and emerging artists. However, given the post 9/11 business atmosphere, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep the doors open. Galleries are driven to focus on their established artists for sales they can count on. We cannot afford to represent as many emerging artists at this point; it is not due to not wanting to sell new artists. The bottom line for me as an art dealer, is to make my time count. If I work for an artist and line up potential interested parties to buy their work, and spend time with those customers getting them excited about the new artist, I need to make my energy count by selling the art. However, if the customer is able to find a painting or sculpture they like just a little better five minutes or ten minutes away at another gallery/ event, the dealer has worked for nothing. Therefore, I am looking to sell the work of artists who understand this dynamic.”
This is an important point for young artists to understand. It would seem from visiting local galleries that many of our local artists have the idea that they will sell more work if it is in multiple galleries. However, such is not necessarily the case.
“We advise artists all the time to take their work to Park City, or Jackson, or Scottsdale”, explains Linda. “We understand artists have to have multiple galleries to survive, but being in every other gallery in town is counter-productive.”
PRICING
Regarding pricing your art work, Kimberly says, ”Keep your prices lower to start and as your sales increase, gently raise them a little each year. Be patient and allow time for your career to grow. Remember that you are in competition with established artists who have earned their prices. Watch out for unscrupulous dealers who are out to make a buck and use you up. They can raise your prices quickly, to maximize their profits, and then when the market is saturated, they will dump you.”
“Talk to your art dealer”, Linda advises. “Ask for their advice regarding your direction and marketability. The dealers who have been in business for a while know what they are doing. If they don’t, they don’t survive. Strive for consistently good work; don’t bring in ten paintings of which only two or three are good.”
ART AUCTIONS
When asked about the trials and tribulations of the gallery business, both Southam’s replied in unison, “Art Auctions and Benefits.” “It’s all the art auctions and benefits that keep us from being able to afford DSL, rather than this old dial-up Internet connection,” offers Linda, pointing to the computer. “There are a number of very deserving causes that need support, but why do they always have to have an art auction? Why can’t they auction off something else? A lot of people will wait for the auctions to come up and then go buy three or four paintings at a discounted rate. It often devalues the artwork. The only way to control auctions is for the artists to refuse to participate.”
The Southams bring up an issue which many artists and galleries have noted around town. Suppose a local non-art related business was to sponsor a benefit or big art sale right before Christmas and sold 160 paintings from the area’s top artists, wouldn’t that pretty much kill the whole season for galleries? How do they expect galleries to survive when they take away their Christmas sales? There is a lot of talk about support for the arts and creating a vibrant cultural atmosphere, and then they kill gallery sales with auctions and benefits. That seems to be counterproductive, to this reporter.
What does the future hold for Southam Gallery? “I’ll have to work harder and be smarter to compete against all the Internet stuff and web sites,” reveals Kimberly. “Repeat business and customer relations is the key.” You definitely have to have a good sense of humor to stay in this business,” says Linda.
If you have not been to Southam Gallery, make it a point to do so. It has been aptly termed, “an artistic goldmine”. Happy art making!
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To learn more about the Southam Gallery and its artists visit www.southamgallery.com.
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AoU Feature: Venue Vybe
2nd Annual Zion Canyon Art and Flute Festival
by Lisa B. Huber
Artists of Utah has been developing so quickly over that past two years that there may be many features to our website that some readers/surfers are still unaware of. One of these is the Venue Vybe, located in our forums section, which invites artists to post their comments about various exhibition and sales venues in an effort to inform other artists and increase dialogue about what venues should be. The following is a submission to the Venue Vybe by Lisa Huber, our correspondent in St. George. The opinions expressed in this article and in posts of Venue Vybe are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Artists of Utah or 15 Bytes.
If you thrive on great flute music, wish to purchase an incredible sounding and/or beautiful flute (made from ”burled” maple), can’t wait to test drive every flute you can possibly get your lips around, would love to take a flute-making workshop, or learn how to play your new flute---and do all of this in one of the most breathtaking settings in the world, then the Zion Canyon Art and Flute Festival in Springdale, Utah, just outside of Zion’s Park, is for you. Two and a half days each fall are devoted solely to mingling with other “flutees,” exchanging tips, stories, songs, and spit.
On the other hand, if you are looking to visit or participate in an arts festival in Southern Utah, don’t be fooled by the title of this festival. With the name “Zion Canyon Art and Flute Festival” one might think that art has top billing, or at least that art might be part of the festival. On the contrary, art has little or no billing at this event. It is not clear why the organizers use the term in their title or invite anyone other than flute vendors to participate. Artists and crafters are invited to this festival with the promise of large crowds and the organizers’ interest in promoting the artists; but the festival is all about flutes. Which is great, but the festival should be named “Zion Canyon Flute Festival.” It is a disservice to those vendors who have spent their time and money on booth spaces, gasoline, expensive lodging and restaurants, only to have the event organized such that for the most part all potential “customers” are attending flute concert “tapings” and workshops in a building 300 yards from the booth area. As a result, most vendors I spoke to did not sell enough to pay for their booth space.
Further, of a boasted 50-plus booths there was one food vendor, one photographer, 2 painters, a potter, 2 jewelers, a wood-maker and a tie-dyer—the rest of the booths were selling flutes and flute paraphernalia or drums. In a town where art galleries are everywhere you turn, it seems odd that artists must be coerced to attend this event and then treated as if they didn’t show up. I was told by one local gallery manager that they represent over 80 artists. Why aren’t those artists participating in the festival? Why aren’t local gallery owners participating? Because they already know it is a flute festival?
Artist vendors at the festival, including myself, were frustrated with multiple facets of the festival, including poor organization. Statements made in the rules for vendors were never carried out. Festival times were different than appeared on their website and changed daily and with every official. Booth spaces were “first come first serve” rather than assigned. There was no vendor parking and loading/unloading was a “pack it in/pack it out” ordeal as no vehicles were allowed on the field (contrary to online vendor information). The “vendor packet” never materialized. Tax information arrived for most people on the afternoon of the last day, so there was confusion about the tax rate. Advertising consisted of a couple of banners on telephone poles and a sign at the end of town. The festival was hidden half a mile off the main road on a ball field behind the parking lot of two new city buildings and indicated by one small sign and an arrow which read only “Festival.” The fact that it rained for most of the day on Saturday of the festival only made things worse, but even with the sunshine, no customers materialized. Since this was the second year of the event, hopefully the organizers will work through some of the problems for future festivals.
If you receive an invitation to participate next October in the 2007 “Zion Art and Flute Festival,” remember that it is really a flute festival. And it is a great flute festival, highlighting Native American flute styles. If you would like to visit the area to take advantage of the park and the plentiful art galleries, especially at this time of year when tourist levels are low, you won’t be sorry, as it is a great trip at about 4 hours from Salt Lake, 3 from Las Vegas and 1 from St. George. If you are an artist and specialize in Southwestern art, you might bring some samples of your work along to show to the local galleries.
To comment on this article or on another venue, go to the Venue Vybe in our Forums section.
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