Elsinore Co-op Proposal

Preliminary Proposal from Brent Allen – Elsinore Gallery

Artists In Action CO-OP Gallery Proposal

The Elsinore Gallery and Artists in Action (AiA) are currently involved together for three major shows each year. In addition, many of the artists being featured in the showcase here are AiA members or have been in past years. Despite this, direct participation and interaction in these exhibits has been somewhat irregular, especially since the Covid period.  We are all struggling to re-gain the audience for visual art that was previously evident.

1. Both Attendance at our shows and membership growth in AiA have suffered as a result of the Covid crisis and current economic/social issues. Community and artist support have gotten more sporadic each year, since about 2017.
2. One of the comments that we have received about our gallery and AiA that is held in common is that public awareness is not where it should be given the scale and longevity of our respective organizations.

In order for growth and recovery to happen, we have been considering a number of options for our business and we believe that a closer partnership with AIA could be mutually beneficial. One of the things we can identify about AIA that has been true since the closure of their downtown gallery, is that the organization lacks a consistent presence in the Salem market. Most other art groups and art associations in the area have a parent gallery from which to work. Having an identifiable art space could greatly enhance the reach of the organization as well as get more artists actively involved.

Considering this, beginning in 2024, we are proposing that AiA would become the resident art group in the main gallery section of the Elsinore Framing & Art Gallery. The main section of the store would be renamed the AiA Gallery and would be set up as a co-op model between the organization and gallery with a rotating art group administered by AiA.

The space would encompass the center section of the gallery display area, front window, and secondary partition walls, three vertical partition walls and floor space as needed for 3-d artwork. The Elsinore Gallery would retain the Gallery 444 space, Frame It Fast room, Hallway and Annex gallery as part of their featured artist display and monthly show areas, but these could be also utilized by AIA by special arrangement for smaller venue showings.

  In the event that the main gallery would be needed for a larger exhibit such as the W.S.O. show, AIA would then have full access to the alternate gallery spaces for members during the term of those exhibits. Our goal would be to remain flexible with the space so that all participating artists have a chance to be seen and gain exposure.

Advantages for AiA include:

1. Establishment of a “home-base” gallery for their members and guest artists.
2. A consistent organizational and recruiting space during non-show months.
3. Potential space for more frequent shows, small classes, meetings, or other hosted events.
4. A closer interaction with the clientele and supporting staff of the Elsinore Gallery.
5. Employee discount pricing on framing for participating artists.

Advantages for the Elsinore Gallery include:

1. The gallery would be able to rely on a more consistent flow of artists and artwork in the main gallery with a group that already has close ties with the store.
2. The gallery would be able to open the facility on a more frequent basis for classes, meetings and events, better utilizing the space.
3. The gallery could take advantage of extra hands in the gallery for greeting customers, check-ins and set ups for events and sales as members would commit to the co-op idea of being present in the gallery(hours-TBA).
4. Reinforcement of the gallery’s mission to bring Northwest Art to the forefront in combination with an established group of artists.

The Co-op model could include:

1. A regular, changing display in the gallery for even more of the AIA artists, new and emerging artists in the group and/or smaller themed shows within the displays.
2. AIA juried participation in the month to month displays in the main gallery selected by AIA committee or in conjunction with the gallery.
3. A Gallery/AIA split of any and all artist fees incurred as a participant in the AIA gallery.
4. A split of the profit from AIA gallery sales (from consignments) could be shared with the Elsinore Gallery to help with fund-raising for the group while supplementing the gallery’s art sale income. Transactions and disbursements would be centralized through Elsinore’s payment system.
5. Potential joint show openings and cross-promotion of both the Elsinore’s monthly shows and AIA artists as they rotate into the schedule.
6. AIA advertising and membership information would be prominently displayed and represented year-round.

 Co-op models being considered by the gallery include:

1. Standard Co-op model:  Artists from AIA would opt-in at $40 per month and AIA would be charged for the number of artists involved (space used) during a particular month.  $40 per month/40% consignment to be divided between AIA and the Elsinore Gallery.  Participating artists would invest 8 hours per month each in the gallery assisting with the display, consignment program and operation of the gallery space.
2. Rental agreement model: AIA would simply rent the main gallery space for a fee of no less than $880 per month or $40 per month/22 artists. 

Some Initial Ideas from AiA:

• Keep our core shows in the 444 Gallery – Outside the Co-op
  • Springtime Exhibition
  • Paint & Write the Town
  • Something Red
• Outside the Box is not included in the Co-op
• Will need to create a Co-op Committee to organize/run the Co-op (4-5 people)
• Would need to hang the shows – with a hanging sub-committee
• Establish the shows/focus, including shows such as:
  • Featured artists – May have more space for a featured artist
  • Working with retirement homes for education/show
  • Veteran Show
  • Theme or Group shows rotated with Consignment shows
• Rotate the artwork so artists have balanced access
• May want to write a grant to initially help support