Right Property choice for your Art business

Spacious gallery

The art gallery

You need to make a list of all the functions for the gallery. Galleries need an office, storage room and gallery space. Depending on what type of gallery you are going for, each will have its own size requirements, specific needs, certain number of people working there, space for inventory to have on hand etc, for which the perfectly apt property available for sale need to be found.

You want a nice and open black area to work with. The amount of space needed, the type of work that the gallery is used for will change from each different gallery. Different galleries portray or display different forms of art. Some maybe in the form of paintings and drawings while some might be filled with sculptures and modern craft art which requires an even larger space as compared to the former. If the gallery shows plenty of work being displayed on the interior walls like paintings and artistic finishes, then you need to have plenty of wall space and open areas around them for visitors to take a moment and enjoy the wall art you have taken the time, effort and money to get done. Art galleries that show more sculptures as such will need more room for the displays as mentioned earlier. Hence the gallery for sculptures require more time and decision to be invested as over and above the display, factors such as space for spectating, maintenance, movement of sculptures around the gallery, etc need to be factored in.  There are buildings that have moveable walls which give you more space when transitioning from one show to the next. These can be installed but if you are only renting the property, you will need permission and relevant permits to install these. Mostly owners renting out to gallery purchasers would allow any form of installation within. However, due to the advancement in technologies in art, owners need to be informed about any new connection in the place as it is up to the owner to consider the risk and safety aspect of the community or the people within and around the property.

You will need a property that has plenty of room so you can set-up an office. The office only needs to be small, but you still need one with a different layout or an alternative flooring than that of the rest of the gallery. The office space should be situated towards the entrance so you can welcome guests and ask if they have any questions, they need answers for. How big the office needs to be is determined on how much staff you wish to hire, and the specific point of the gallery. Offices can be for just the gallery manager or for different departments altogether depending on how you wish to go about it. Marketing, sales, accounts, finance, etc, these are few of the many departments an art gallery could have in case it decides to go big with sales, auctions and frequent showcases. If it is purely for show, then you won’t need much of an office but if you are selling artwork as well you will need a decent sized office where transactions can be made privately.
The space needs to be private like a room with a door buyers want privacy when talking about pricing and signing paperwork so it needs to be set away from the gallery.

Art enthusiasts

You need to ensure that the property has the proper lighting for a gallery. If the place is tucked away and is dark inside, then that won’t do. Art galleries specifically throw light on the importance of the choice of lighting within due to the impact it has on art display and ultimately sales. A thorough inspection needs to be conducted before purchasing the property on whether the gallery can support the choice of lighting you aspire to set up.  You need a brightly lit place that lets in plenty of natural light. You can also try flexible lighting and appropriate tiling work that reflects the lights and the art sufficiently such as terrazzo tiles or marble, whichever is best suited, depending on the type of art that is to be exhibited, which works well for gallery spaces.

Photos on the wall

Galleries that have flat work on view do not need large spaces for storage like pedestals for display purposes. You can discuss the needs of your storage and also the insurance criteria if you are going to be storing artwork. Again, this space needs to be set away from the gallery and won’t work being pokey. Storage spaces tend to be much less extravagant as compared to the area of actual showcase. Hence you wouldn’t want to mix the two causing unimpressed visitors. You want a good amount of space so you can organise the items stored for easy access and to avoid then getting stood upon or something spilt on them.

Working with the costs

It can be extremely expensive to either buy or rent a building being used for an art gallery. You may find lesser prices for small size galleries but if you are wanting a large building you will be up for prices. This is especially seen in scenarios where most interior work in the property is already set and laid out before the property is provided for sale by the owner. Most art gallery properties have an already laid out or designed concrete look tiles to complement the art work. This may cost you much more than the case where the flooring is up to you to be worked upon. Compare the prices and weigh your opportunity cost in the case of it already designed for you, as against you having to design the interiors or floor work by yourself after the purchase of the property. You need to know different costs like the heating and cooling cost, the rent, council rates, water, advertising, furniture to start up etc. These prices can start jumping up high when individual things get added into it. There are so many fees and payments that we tend to forget about.