In the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic galleries changed their tune. All of a sudden they were no longer competitors but “collaborators”, as collective initiatives sprang up. Some are staying the course—the Gallery Climate Coalition, helping art businesses tackle environmental issues, continues to incorporate new cities. Others, like South South Veza, for Global South dealers, have seemingly stopped operation. But underpinning each of these was an espoused desire for a better future that could only be achieved by working together.
More recently, a newer form of collaboration is emerging, but with an impetus that is easier to believe: money—or lack thereof. Two years into a cost-of-living-crisis, the crunch is on for many galleries, as spaces both established and emerging close every week. At June’s Liste art fair in Basel, six galleries shared stands, including Ginny on Frederick and Tara Downs. Ten will share booths at the next Art Basel Paris—a record number for any Art Basel fair.
“It’s a savvy way to mutualise efforts that show galleries’ creativity, collegiality, and resourcefulness,” says Clément Delépine, the fair’s director.
Overhead costs and the physical toll of doing fairs have promoted a new collaboration between two exciting young galleries, Silke Lindner in New York and Rose Easton in London, which this month are hosting group shows in each other’s locations. “It’s a nice, low-risk way to introduce our programmes to a different city without having to do a fair,” says Lindner. “It’s not just small galleries; everyone is more selective about fairs,” Easton says.
In a move that evokes the gallery swap initiative Condo, both dealers are staging their shows at the same time. Each gallerist is effectively overseeing a show hosted by their counterpart and costs of the exhibition and proceeds of sales will be split equally. It seems it’s not just collaboration but transparency that they seem to be vying for. “We all know the horror stories of galleries going under and owing money to their artists. There are now a lot of artists who are wary of galleries,” Easton says. “Our generation of galleries want to do things differently and not repeat past mistakes.”
