Business of all sorts are finding that art displays are a terrific way to build their brand and community connections, with luxury apartment buildings in and around Washington, DC, providing some of the latest examples.
A recent Washington Post article featured several residential buildings that showcase professionally curated exhibitions in areas open to the public, “inviting anyone to come in and linger as they would in any gallery, and even to buy art.” You can see what this looks like at one building, The Silva, here.
Lobby spaces can provide an excellent venue for art display, and use of a picture hanging system helps create a crisp professional look and facilitate easy changeovers.
In addition to providing an amenity for people living in the buildings, notes Post reviewer Kriston Capps, the exhibitions provide “an alternative to the private gallery spaces whose numbers have steadily dwindled as prices for real estate have risen.”
We’ve seen this trend in action within the Gallery System community, too. Other successful enterprise-oriented art display spaces include ones at Fox Fine Jewelry in Ventura, Calif., the Hollywood, Florida, Law Offices of Khani & Auerbach, and municipal facilities in cities across the country.
The common thread is that art programs provide a cost- and time-effective way of creating a distinctive and creative atmosphere, attracting new and repeat visitors and customers, and making a business or organization stand out in peoples’ minds. They can also generate word-of-mouth buzz and significant press coverage (like the Washington Post article).
As Capps's writeup concludes, “for a city strapped for galleries, these informal spaces add up to cultural infrastructure…. No one’s going to mistake an apartment space for a white-cube gallery, but it offers a lot more to residents than a lot of concepts for amenities that go idle and gives something to the city to boot. Developers, take note.”
You can learn more about starting and operating an art show program for your business or organization in our free e-book, Art Shows for Everyone: A New Tool for Boosting Your Business or Organization. It includes practical, hands-on advice from experienced art show sponsors and simple steps for building your own program in a sustainable, professional way.