The Pop Up Gallery In The Unfinished Gallery

I was doing some work in the studio one day and looking out on the large empty space that will be a bright beautiful gallery when I get all the work done on it and I thought, “What a waste of space.” I have all this space and so many passers by and nothing at the moment IN the space to show them except a sign saying, “Watch this space” and a piece of mine on an easel. And I mean, that’s fine for now, but I am impatient to SHOW things and bring together my community and give opportunities to artists.

Then I had the thought, “Why can’t I just get some easels and show some works??? Surely I know some artists who would want to be involved in that, especially if I keep the costs low so that there is no risk to anyone involved. I knew where I could get some easels and I have the big beautiful beast of a display cabinet as well. I know 2D and 3D artists, so if I ask, perhaps some of them might want to even if the space isn’t finished yet.

I spent the next couple of weeks getting in touch with artists I knew and working out basic things. I had questions. So...many...questions...Like...how do you keep a track of artworks coming in and going out? What if someone wants to buy an artwork? How do I set up my square to take payments for the gallery rather than my personal artist account? Do I need another square? Should I get one of those docks to put the square on? Or one of those big Square POS devices? What do I want this exhibition to look like? What happens to the artworks if I have tradespeople in doing work? How do I stop them from getting dirty or damaged? How do I want the title plates to look like? What is the actual purpose of this? What is my life? Why? What information do I need from artists and how do I keep good records? How many artists can I have in this space? How do I display the works I have? How do I explain to people what we are doing here? Is this a good idea really?

The questions never seemed to end. The answers were a lot harder. I still don't have answers to some of the questions but I am working on it. Easels were picked up and delivered. I found out I could fit five easels in my car. Handy to know. Artwork started being dropped off the week of opening. Bit by bit it came together. I had help from everyone that came in. There was a lot of encouragement and support and excitement from everyone I came into contact with. It was a joy to walk into the gallery and time seemed to go so fast when I was in there, even when I was pulling 12 hour days.

I worked out inventory systems and how to track things and keep coherent records that didn't look like a weird corner of my mind splattered onto a page. I learned how to use Canva to build a logo and make brochures.

Labels were printed. I didn't like them. I was going to make up traditional white title plates on foamcore, but the more I looked at them and thought about them, the less convinced I was that they belonged in the space as it is now. So I redesigned them so they could be seen at a distance. I used cardboard and brown string to give them a rough handmade quality. I liked that much better. It made the pop up more cohesive and fit the surroundings better. The night before open, my friend, Cath, made them up while I input stock into square so I would be able to actually take payments if anything sold.

I had never planned for this to be a big thing. It's not the actual opening of the whole gallery. That won't happen until July provided I can get everything to fall into place at the right time. This was just me being able to open the doors and show some of the talent of local creators. It gave me a chance to work out and practice systems so I could make things move smoothly for exhibitions coming up. It also gave me a chance to see what people were interested in, who would come in and what they might buy and also to give a chance to learn a way of interacting with people in a different capacity. So even though it wasn't a big opening, it was just me literally opening the doors and putting a sign out, I was excited anyway.

The day I opened the doors and removed the barriers FELT very big. It was a busy day. It still makes me smile to think of it now at the end of that first week. Lots of people visited, artists and passers by and people who actually crossed the street to walk in because they had seen we were open. The lovely shop owners from other spaces in the block came and introduced themselves or said hi and looked around. I met people I had only previously known from instagram. I sold my first piece. I talked and listened to people's stories. I dreamed with people.

There were things I learned like, the 2.2% fee Square charges per transaction turns out to be a lot more than I had actually thought and that I need to factor that in when I work out pricing. I learned to gauge the flow of traffic and the timing of it and work out when it was best to plan the official opening hours around and when it would be best to plan events and workshops. I learned that as the sole worker in this business, I will need to lock up everything and close the gallery if I want to go to the toilet or buy some lunch. I learned that most days, I will forgo lunch and wait until I am absolutely busting before I go to the toilet. I learned that some days are 14 hours long and I will run on coffee and sheer force of will.

The Pop Up was an incredible experience. 15 artists joined me for 3 fantastic weeks. It showed there was interest from the community in a place like this. It showed there was a lot of interest from artists in a place like this. The world felt like I had stepped into the place I was meant to be in. I feel like I walked a very long way around to get here but now I am here, it was worth all the things that came before and I want to stay for awhile and find out what comes next.

The day the Pop Up came down was the beginning of something new. A builder came in to put the sets into the wall so the hanging system that was delivered could clip on after the painting is complete. Artists came and went. I was here late that night, wrapping pieces to take home with me and waiting for artists to pick up the last of the works. I looked out into the empty gallery space and it was bittersweet. I hadn't realised how much the Pop Up had filled the space with life and how grounded I felt while it was there. It was quiet like the space was taking a breath and waiting for the next moment. As much as I had enjoyed the moment that had just passed with it's crazy busy-ness and its learning and joy and community, I knew that I needed to tell its story, let it go and move the space into the next moment.

So, for me and all the others, I will do just that and together, we will TRANSFORM.