The Evolution of Our Fine Art Gallery During Quaratine

In early March, right before the shelter in place order, we had just hung a fantastic exhibition, The Mechanical Bride,  featuring fiber work by Sasha Baskin and Christina Humphreys. The show was set to open at the end of the month during the FATVillage Artwalk, an event where all of the artists and galleries in the area open their doors to thousands of interested visitors. Artwalk was, understandably, cancelled by the middle of the month. With a year of gallery programming planned ahead of us and no clear idea as to when we’d be able to safely engage with the public again, we knew we would need to pivot - and fast. We spoke with the artists in the show and leaped into action to create a virtual gallery experience that could convey both the intricate details of the work and the curatorial story being told by the show.

Our first priority as a gallery is to get eyes on the artwork. With zero foot traffic, we knew that pictures alone could not do justice to the gallery-goers experience, so we teamed up with professional videographer Johnny Zhang to transform the exhibition into a Virtual Gallery Tour. It took two full weeks of documenting the gallery space with a 360 degree camera, translating those images into usable files, uploading them into a virtual tour program and adding all of the navigational and informational elements to the virtual tour. Since its launch, our virtual gallery has received hundreds of views and has allowed visitors from all over the country and other parts of the world to enjoy the exhibition. 

The Mechanical Bride, installation shot, March - June 2020

To supplement the virtual exhibition, we had each piece in the show professionally photographed in order to offer a new Gallery Shop on our website. The new Gallery Shop breaks down barriers for interested patrons to collect work on view from the comfort of their own homes. 

Additionally, we’ve started a Gallery Insider newsletter which provides a deep dive into two to three of the works on view. While our general press release is great for letting people know what’s to come, our Gallery Insider newsletter is tailored towards collectors, friends of the gallery and anyone looking to uncover more detailed and thoughtful excerpts on work from artists directly. If interested, you can sign up for the Gallery Insider here. 

In terms of programming, our Crafting Visions: Artist Lecture Series has been a staple of our gallery since 2018. The series features an artist talk with our exhibiting artists during their opening or closing receptions and is funded in part by the Broward County Cultural Division, which helps to support our artists with an honorarium for their time. Previously, the Lecture series has relied solely on the participation of artists who are either local to our area or have the means to travel to our openings.

Mike Dillow presenting during his exhibition opening in September 2019

With The Mechanical Bride, we had planned for one of the artists, Christina Humphreys to travel to the opening from San Francisco, CA and give an in-person artist talk. With cross country travel out of the question, we quickly realized the potential in transitioning this series onto Instagram’s live platform. With only the challenge of competing time zones, we were able to have an artist talk, now with both artists, on Instagram, thus allowing anyone interested in tuning in the opportunity to watch and ask questions in real time. As Humphreys and Baskin shared their insights into individual works, I panned around the room and facilitated conversation with our world-wide viewership. While we will continue the lecture series in person once it’s safe for the general public, we find the new format hugely successful and are excited by the opportunity to connect our artists and audience more than ever before.

Previously, our non-local exhibiting artists weren’t always able to attend their exhibition openings or participate in additional programming opportunities, such as talks or guest workshops, due to travel expenses and busy work schedules. As we continue to fill out our 2021 gallery schedule, we find ourselves working with more and more non-local artists. Just this year alone, we plan to work with artists from North Carolina, Maryland, California, Texas, New York, Indiana and North Florida. While in the past this has limited the direct engagement between our audience and our artists, the virtual push has found us questioning - Why didn’t we start this sooner?

For our beloved local audience, we’re now keeping the gallery lights on 24/7 until we reopen to the public. This way, everyone can safely view the exhibition in person while practicing social distancing. I write this on the heels of our latest install for Rachel Livedalen’s solo show, Copy of the Original. We plan to launch our next virtual gallery tour for the ‘opening reception’ on what would have been the FATVillage Artwalk this Saturday, June 27th at 6pm.

IS Projects gallery at night

As artists ourselves, we understand the instability that this pandemic holds for our community right now and with that in mind, we are doing everything that we can to make sure that our artists feel supported. If you are interested in exhibiting with us, you can find more details on submitting an exhibition proposal on our website. If anything, this experience has shown us just how much potential there is to reinvent the gallery experience while broadening our connection with the world-wide arts community. 

Stay safe and stay tuned!
Sammi