By Sana Rose, Contributor 
Marcia Sipaul discusses the work of artist Elpedio at her office.
BEYOND THE artist's own self-expression, art is also a business and many artists have had to face this actuality without having acquired the tools for marketing networking, presenting portfolios to new and old clients, pricing, book-keeping while at the same time trying to maintain visual impact and depth in their work. Needless to say, this is not an easy task, which is just as time-consuming as producing the art itself.
In Jamaica, especially with the current economic realities, the art market has contracted in size considerably because fewer persons have disposable income, which is used to buy art. But we have more artists practising art on the island than ever trying to capture the attention of this small market. It often helps artists to have someone else to do the marketing, and this is where galleries and the even smaller group of art dealers come in.
Private art dealers have been operating somewhat below the art radar for some time. These low-keyed players on the art scene are often marketing art 'on the side' as they also have a job that accounts for their substantial income. These dealers who are often not full-time purveyors, have diversified their own business interests, expanding beyond their primary occupation to the world of selling art.
SMALLER
The local art market may be smaller than it used to be when compared with, say, the 1980s and early 1990s when there was a great surge in sales, but current marketers are finding ways to stay afloat.
Marcia Sipaul, a communications consultant with her own firm, 'Corporate Services', specialises in product development and management, a skill that has given her an edge in finding the art to suit particular markets. An art lover herself, she has tapped into the marketing aspect of art part-time, which developed out of a personal interest. She admits that marketing art is not her full-time job because "I also like the other things I do."
So, in order to devote some time to art she has, in three of the five years she has been an art agent, staged once-per-year short-run group exhibitions of particular artists' works close to the Christmas season. While exhibitions are common marketing practices, she reports that support for the show has been growing over the years. Prospective and repeat buyers receive invitations as they would to any other show, and when they get there, they are treated to a short opening and the rest of the night to browse. Of course, the show's timing on the calendar helps in teasing out the buying instincts of art lovers.
YOUNG AND
MID-CAREER ARTISTS
This year's show, titled The Spice of Life, is set for November 18 beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Knutsford Court Hotel and features young and mid-career artists Kristina Newman-Scott, Nashon, Orville Brown, Elpedio, Robert Armstrong, Courtney Morgan, Leopold Barnes, Michael Layne and Phillip Supersad, as well as the veteran artist George Rodney.
Offering a $6,000 to $70,000 price range as well as works varying from conceptual lighthearted social commentary to stylistic representations of local sceneries, Sipaul is confident that her shows have a wide appeal where buyers are concerned. She caters to different tastes with the kinds of works she markets, referring to her shows as eclectic.
She generally approaches her primary business with what she terms, "the three imperatives the product, the interest of the public and sponsors."
With respect to art, sponsors could perhaps be interchanged with collectors. Further strategies include the use of an ever-expanding mailing list to widen her client base, the story behind the works and developing a keen observational skills in knowing who "in the business buys art." While she cites the variables of selling art as the art and the price, selling the works is not the sole objective of the exhibitions there is the motive to inspire art appreciation.
She first tries to strike a personal chord with the artists themselves. She likes to meet with artists and discuss their works and find out from their perspective, their intent and the story behind the pieces. These stories she is often able to recount to viewers and invite their interpretations to the discussion. She remarks that it is also very satisfying to work with artists and observe their development.
"Part of the show is about exposing the market to different things. It's not just about the buying. It's also the pleasure and the appreciation of art. You have to appreciate what your market can buy but still show other kinds of work in order to introduce viewers to new ideas," she emphasises. This inter-personal approach to marketing art without the aggressive swift selling line of attack on prospective buyers is gradually paying off for Sipaul.
