New York's Fellowship Program grants up-and-coming arts organizations with an opportunity to showcase their community’s work to a wider audience of collectors and enthusiasts. Hear from Established Gallery, the Program's first ever Fellow, to discover the impact our support has had.
A new initiative pioneered by New York Fair Director Erin Schuppert, our Fellowship Program invites Greater New York arts organizations to submit a curatorial proposal to participate as an exhibitor in a dedicated booth at Affordable Art Fair New York. In Fall 2022, the program’s inaugural year, we were excited to welcome Brooklyn-based Established Gallery to become our first ever Fellow.
The Fellowship Program serves as a business incubator for emerging creatives, providing the underwriting, coaching, and direction in support of their long-term success. Since Established Gallery’s pioneering participation, we wanted to check-in with how the resources, platform and community-building provided by the program has altered their business’ approach to art fairs.
So, get to know Johnny Thornton, Established Gallery’s joint Owner/Director, and hear all about their experience of New York’s Fellowship Program.
Me and my wife Hally took over as co-owners of Established Gallery in 2022, but before that I had been Head Curator/Gallery Director for a previous two years. We only show Brooklyn-based artists, which is cemented further in my work with Arts Gowanus, a non-profit arts organization I run that aims to support, promote, and advocate for my local arts community. We’re all about the neighbourhood factor, with community building at the heart. This focus has meant we’ve been able to build a community around us at Established Gallery, with lots of visitors becoming both friends and avid art collectors. It makes the area around our gallery feel like a separate, small town where everyone knows everyone. This fits really well with our ethos to show only joyful art that acts as a catalyst to building a stronger community.
After taking over the gallery, we renovated the space and refined our artist list to exclusively Brooklyn artists. We’re in a really nice corner of the neighbourhood – it’s a great location with plenty of walk-by traffic. In confliction with most gallery businesses, we don’t represent artists in the traditional way. This sense of ownership would be at odds with my work in the non-profit sector. The way we do it, by giving the artists we show freedom, is more productive for making meaningful relationships.
Starting to present at art fairs has broadened our audience as a gallery in a very positive way. Each artist we’ve shown has built up their own specific audience who are now motivated, from both NYC and the rest of the world, to support their career. That might be in person, or via our mailing list. They ask questions about the artists, and exhibiting at art fairs has been an amazing way to keep building that audience base and community.
We’ve found that, now, when we have an exhibition with one artist, people will come from all over the city after originally discovering their work at Affordable Art Fair.
When Erin approached us with the opportunity to pilot the fellowship we were beyond thrilled and honoured that she chose us! As soon as our initial meeting was over, there was a lot of jumping up and down with excitement. We had so much drive to get behind this program, and now we’ve done four fairs!
Me and my wife had talked about exhibiting at a fair before we were selected as Fellows, but with a brick-and-mortar gallery, we were worried about the overhead. Still, it was on our radar for the future. So, the Fellowship Program was a huge opportunity for us, as well as the artists we work with.
The first fair, Affordable Art Fair Fall 2022, had such a great roster. Erin and the team guided us through the process and we learned so much, particularly the importance of meticulous notetaking, how best to talk to visitors, and essential curation tips. Every fair, we become more streamlined. We’ve been blown away by the response to our artists, and now we’re in a position to have a lot of fun with it.
The Fellowship Program includes post-fair debriefs with Erin. I remember we told her two standout things which had taken us aback during our first presentation. Firstly, how quickly you have to take down visitor’s information. Secondly, how to sell best for the style of our individual gallery.
“When I approached people as a salesman, it didn’t work as well as when I approached people as a fanboy of our artists.”
I’m not a salesman by nature, so by letting instinct win and engaging in meaningful conversation, we were able to showcase our authentic style. Really, the art sells itself.
Just like the Affordable Art Fair team, we do things that make us happy. We veer away from the negative and see art not just as a commodity, but much, much more. Focusing on the meaningful aspect of art is something that we share.
“Not only are Erin and the Affordable Art Fair team the most open and generous, but they’re also so knowledgeable. They’re just cool to work with.”
What the Fellowship did for our gallery has just been huge. It has helped speed up the progress of our business. Where it might’ve taken us years to get to the stage where we’d feel comfortable biting the overhead bullet, the profit we’ve been able to make has helped keep our brick-and-mortar doors open.
“We plan to keep exhibiting now that we’ve graduated.”
The fair has allowed our artists to make money and allows us to stay open. Our brick-and-mortar space is essential to the core values of Established Galley; I love places where people can gather and see art. It’s all about community and building a collector base. Our audience broadens significantly each fair.
We’ve also found our art buyers through the Fellowship Program, mainly a demographic of young collectors often looking for their first piece. We’ve loved fostering this because it builds a connection to our gallery and our artists, and that’s been a really a positive thing. We’ve also learnt to curate with our buyers, and attracting new buyers, in mind.
My top tip for exhibiting in NYC is to remember why you’re there. Interrogate why you’re so passionate about this art, or artist. That feeling is contagious. If you love it, other people will love it.
Then, for anyone embarking on the Fellowship Program, make sure to seize the opportunity to expand your collector base. Value these relationships and make sure you follow up. You’re going to meet thousands and thousands of people. Get their emails and expand your audience. Of course, people impulse buy and that’s great, but don’t neglect the long game.
“It’s so meaningful to work with such wonderful people and to get to grow my gallery in the way that has such a positive vibe.”
Johnny and all the team at Established Gallery bring such spirit and energy to the fair. As well as having been our first Fellow, they’ve independently stepped up in such a proactive way to become mentors to our incoming Fellows. This is exactly what I’d hoped for and is an ideal demonstration of what this program can offer: its own community within the fair. I have immense gratitude towards them for this, and it’s my aim to continue to foster and nurture this approach as the Fellowship Program grows.