I try not to give way to histrionics very often, at least not through my written words. I pride myself on being positive, ever optimistic, pragmatic and accepting. What I actually say out loud, particularly when I am frustrated or angry or disappointed, has the capacity to make even me blush.
I have spent this week revitalising the East End Gallery and Giftshop once more. We have welcomed another new artist and accepted new works from existing artists. The East End Gallery resembles the TARDIS. With one hundred and fifty square metres of art space, we always are able to squeeze in just one more piece, just one most talented individual looking for any recognition. We don't have to seek artists out; they come to us. We pride ourselves on being the most welcoming and inclusive art space we can be.
Unfortunately, our joy and our passion aren't enough anymore. We have been playing this game for over nine years. We have always run at a loss. We have begged and borrowed and scratched for funds to pay for the building insurance and the rates and the utilities. Forget maintenance and paid advertising. They don't even enter the equation. We just don't have the money.
We are constantly being praised for having an eclectic Gallery, a beautiful Gallery, an exciting Gallery. We have striven to provide a fantastic experience for our guests. We offer a chance to see Michael in his Studio. We offer welding tuition for creating art. We have tried Artists' Play Days. We have set up artisan demonstrations. We hold Sundowners. We have tried and failed with a website, because the web designer deserted us. I am on social media - Facebook and Instagram on a daily basis. I write this blog. Our monthly newsletter has over four hundred and seventy contacts on the mailing list. What else can I do to promote our Gallery and Giftshop and attempt to give us some sort of income?
Beverley is not Fremantle or Yallingup or Margaret River or Albany. But the East End Gallery and Giftshop also does not have the Fremantle or Yallingup or Margaret River or Albany prices for our displayed artworks. We have affordable prices. We believe that everybody, regardless of their financial circumstances, should be able to own a piece of original art.
Our latest endeavour is a "Celebration", which hopefully will be held on Friday 3 May from 6 - 8pm in the East End Gallery. We plan to have this event catered, provide decent beverages and encourage our supporters to attend and purchase art from our artists. The RSVP date is currently 3 April, so we can give our caterers (local of course) the numbers. To date, we are looking at no more than fifteen responses.
We can't run the "Celebration" with under thirty attendees. We can't keep operating the East End Gallery and Giftshop without adequate numeration. If we close our doors, over one hundred artists and artisans will lose a home. We can't keep afloat on the sniff of an oily rag.
Please give us a chance to impress and RSVP for our "Celebration" by 3 April.
An artist we know reasonably well has two Galleries in successful tourism spots in Perth. He is a lovely chap. He also had a sizable (to us) profit last year. We would give our back teeth to have a fraction of his profit. We are so tired of this financial hand-to-mouth existence.
Our local non-for-profit Gallery has had a recent plug through the print media. I contacted ABC 720 after listening to a rundown of a suburban open studios in Perth. They didn't even respond to my e-mail...
We survive on pensions and the consistent rent of one shop. We currently provide lodging in an en-suite room in our house to an elderly gentlemen, but we are parting company in two weeks. We have absolutely no guarantee of securing another suitable tenant. We both have health conditions that dislike the cold, hence we try and head north for at least part of each winter in our battered 1997 A-liner. Which of course needs repairs.
The solution? We need our supporters to do just that - support us. We needs those who can to buy the art from our artists to do so. We want to believe our networking will be successful - that those with an eye for interesting or the different or the tantilising or the engaging will turn their vehicles to the East for ninety minutes rather than three or four hours hours to the South or South West.
Please keep our dream alive for us and our artists at the East End Gallery. Come and buy art.
And because this is what I do, week in, week out, here are the latest photographs from our beloved Gallery and Giftshop, taken this evening...
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