Balancing the equation in the art world

For the past several years, our city has been involved in a large project where people at the grass roots level discuss ways to make the city even better, then work to implement those ideas. Several days ago, they held their first meeting aimed specifically at the arts community, with the goal of making Wichita an arts destination. Some of the brainstorming ideas from the attendees included setting up a more formal arts district, making a building available for studio space and providing networking opportunities for artists. Unfortunately, everyone missed the main point. We already have plenty of talented artists living and working here, but what we really need is more people who buy art.

Once a month, the galleries stay open on Friday evening and thousands of people have the opportunity to view some wonderful work. However, you rarely see red dots on the gallery signs, indicating that an artwork has been sold. If the price is over $75, you can practically guarantee that no one will buy it. Even if there are high end collectors in town, they travel to other cities to look for their purchases, while the general public treats opening receptions at local galleries as free parties, not places where they spend money. They look at the art, eat the food, drink the wine and then move on to the next gallery.

Until the public is educated about the value of buying original art, this situation will not change. Artists will continue to spend a lot of time and money to get their work seen, but receive nothing in return. How long do you think a CPA, clothing store, manufacturer or restaurant would stay in business if they were expected to operate under these conditions? Artists would like to be paid for their work too. It would even be nicer if we could make a living from selling our art, but I don't know of any artists who do. We are holding up our end of the art world, now it's time to cultivate the other side, the art buyers. Without them, our city will never have a thriving arts community.