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Dot-Art have recently launched an all new, bespoke virtual gallery to showcase the work done by their artist members online in a whole new way.
We had a little chat with dot-art managing director Lucy Byrne about this new gallery, how it came to be and whether to not it’ll stay once the pandemic is behind us.
Check out our chat below.
PR: How did the idea come about?
Lucy: Throughout this year, with galleries closed and artists livelihoods in danger, we have been looking at ways in which we could increase their visibility and potential sales. As a social enterprise, our stated mission is to support visual artists and make art an integral part of everyday life.
We have also been developing new technology for our dot-art Schools (http://schools.dot-art.com/) programme, to ensure that the young artists we worked with this year didn’t completely miss out on having their work exhibited. We were then able to adapt this technology to be used by our member artists to create personal virtual galleries.
This was all possible thanks to the amazing support of the Arts Council England, who also enabled us to give away 25 annual memberships to local artists, meaning that very soon we will have 25 new virtual exhibitions for the public to enjoy! Each level 3 member will be able to hold up to 4 exhibitions per year in their own, personal virtual gallery.
PR: What’s the response been like to these so far?
Lucy: The response has been fantastic; we were delighted by the huge numbers of applications we received for the membership giveaway and our current members are very excited about the possibilities that are opened up by utilising virtual galleries. We also think this is a fanatic opportunity for art lovers to experience art in a gallery setting from the safety and comfort of their own home. We hope it will encourage more people to buy local this year and support local artists and galleries.
PR: How important are things like this to support artists during a pandemic? Will this be ongoing even when things begin to go back to normal?
Lucy: Although the scheme was born out of the pandemic, it is becoming clear that the world is forever changed; digital is now the norm and we will continue to look for online experiences, even when real world ones can resume. While virtual galleries can never replace physical spaces, they do open them up to a much wider audience and make art accessible to all, so they are here to stay!
We’d like to thank Lucy for having a little chat with us all about these new virtual art galleries, now everyone can enjoy some stunning art from the comfort of their own home.
For more information about these galleries and Dot-Art, visit https://dot-art.co.uk/virtual-exhibitions/