Leadership and Member Charter

This document is to identify Fountain Street Gallery, its mission, and the roles and responsibilities of the leadership team and its members.

OUTLINE:

• Our History
   

• Leadership

  • Director: Role and Responsibilities

  • Assistant Director: Role and Responsibilities

  • Advisor: Role and Responsibilities
     

• Teams

  • Member Roles and Responsibilities
     

• Member Structure

  • Core, Associate and Annex member benefits and responsibilities
     

• Member Acceptance Procedures and Timelines

  • Core

  • Associate

  • Annex
     

• Guest Artists and Solo Shows

  • Process

  • Fees
     

• Leadership Compensation
   

• Gallery Percentage Allocation

History

Fountain Street’s founders, Cherie Clinton and Marie Craig, felt that the Metrowest Boston area sorely needed a cutting-edge contemporary fine art gallery, connecting the area’s talented artists with art-lovers and collectors. And so, Fountain Street Fine Art gallery was founded in 2011 in Framingham, MA. The gallery was originally in a 2000 sq.ft. space housed in the Bancroft Building, a historic mill building.

In April 2017, the gallery’s unique space in Framingham was closed to the public due to public safety concerns. In order to survive, the leadership team jumped into action and took the next steps to give its artists exposure in Boston’s expanding gallery destination, moving the Gallery to its current location in South Boston’s SoWa arts district.

Leadership

Fountain Street is a LLC partnership with 2 co-owners, Cheryl Clinton and Marie Craig.

The leadership team at Fountain Street, and its main responsibilities, are outlined below. Tasks and responsibilities may be added or adjusted as our needs as a gallery evolve.

Director - Marie Craig: The director leads the gallery forward in the mission to present and promote innovative work, while enriching the cultural landscape of the Boston area and beyond. The director’s main duties are to promote gallery artists and exhibitions. The director plans the galleries exhibition schedule, and provides guidance and leadership to its entire membership base. In addition, the director leads the gallery’s corporate partnership mission.

Assistant Director - Tatiana Flis: The assistant director supports the logistic of day to day gallery operations and further promotes the vision of the director. The assistant director guides and assists member artists in marketing and implementation of their exhibitions, as well as leads the efforts for the gallery’s call for art exhibition. The assistant director assists in curation, exhibition production and administrative tasks.

Membership Roles

The contributions of Core members are critical to our success as a cutting-edge gallery in Boston. Member roles are organized into four teams- Sales, Marketing, Exhibitions and Operations. 

Member responsibilities are outlined HERE. Tasks and responsibilities may be added or adjusted as gallery needs evolve.

Membership Structure

Fountain Street has three levels of membership: Core, Associate and Annex.

Benefits and responsibilities of each level are outlined in the table below.

Member Acceptance to Gallery

The most up-to-date information is found on the Membership Page of our website.

• Core memberships begin and renew on September 1. Applications are accepted in June.  In July, applications are reviewed by the director and co-director, and interviews/studio visits are conducted. In August, the names of vetted applicants are brought to core members for a vote, and are issued acceptance.
   

• Associate memberships are accepted on a rolling basis. Applications are reviewed by the a group of core members which includes the sales team leader, and acceptances are issued promptly.
   

• Annex memberships are a one-year commitment, which begins in January. Applications are accepted in October, and are reviewed by Core members in November, with acceptance in early December. Annex members are welcome to reapply in subsequent years; preference is given to artists who have not previously shown in the Annex.

Exclusivity Policy

• Fountain Street has a limited exclusivity policy.

  • Core members may not be represented by or be a core member of a commercial gallery or member-based cooperative with a location within the City of Boston.

  • This policy does not apply to juried calls-for-art, accepted one-time exhibition proposals, or artist studio events. Other local galleries have adopted similar policies, we are doing the same.

  • However, showing new or different work in our space should be the standard. It limits confusion and maintains a newness of the work in our space.

  • We ask that you not show the same work twice in our space. This keeps us fresh!

  • This is a rule of thumb- use common sense, if you are unsure, ask Marie/Tatiana

Proprietary Information Policy

• What is 'gallery only' proprietary knowledge? What info can be shared?

  • We (cooperative galleries) are all in this together, and collaboration is what we do, so sharing information makes sense. And we have benefited, especially at the beginning, from information graciously shared with us by other cooperatives, in this area and beyond. But we are competing- for artists, for buyers; we have worked hard to develop our systems and best practices, and should protect those resources.

  • It is a difficult balance. We’d like to state a policy where gallery artists can feel free to share information that is publicly available on our website.... i.e. number of members, exhibition line-up, membership fees... we provide tons of information on our website. Any information that is in the password-protected members’ only area or shared in member-only group emails and is not to be shared outside the group. If you feel uncomfortable about answering certain questions, please direct the person to contact Tatiana or Marie.

Guest Artists and Solo Shows

In order to maintain flexibility, a limited number of guest artists and solo shows may be available. The gallery may host no more than 2 guest artists per calendar year.

• Guest Artists: On occasions where the gallery does not have a full component of core members for artists to exhibit with, or an artist feels a particular affinity towards showing with an artist who is not a core member, a core artist may have the opportunity to invite a guest (non-member) artist to show with them. Invited artists introduce a new audience to the exhibition and to the gallery, a major benefit for all.

  • Fee: Each invited guest artist will be asked to pay a $500 participation fee; the sales split for invited guests will be 50% to the artist, 50% to the gallery, unless the invited guest is an Associate or Annex member, in which case the sales split will be 60% to the artist, 40% to the gallery. Gallery directors have the option to discount or waive this fee.

  • Process: A Core artist who wishes to exhibit with someone who is not a core member is asked to consider Associate and Annex members as well as non-members. The guest artist must be approved in advance by the Director and Assistant Director.
     

• Solo Shows are not available at this time.
  

Leadership Compensation

Fountain Street is a LLC partnership with two co-owners, Cheryl Clinton and Marie Craig. Compensation is provided to the Director and Assistant Director, as well as the two co-owners, in recognition of their time, efforts and investment on behalf of the gallery, which in turn drives them to work harder for the collective good.The following compensation structure will be in effect from July 1, 2017.
 

• Co-owners: (Cheryl Clinton and Marie Craig)

  • 2% of all sales, each

  • All membership/entry/participation fees waived
     

• Director: (Marie Craig)

  • 8% of all sales

  • All membership/entry/participation fees waived
     

• Assistant Director: (Tatiana Flis)

  • 5% of all sales

  • All membership/entry/participation fees waived

Gallery Percentage Allocation

Fountain Street retains 40% of gallery sales, which is allocated as follows:

For 1stdibs sales:

15% for 1stdibs commission fee

3% for credit card processing

15% leadership compensation

5% loan repayment (borrowed to cover expenses related to our move)

For in-gallery sales:

15% for gallery operating expenses and special projects

3% for credit card processing (usually)

15% leadership compensation

5% loan repayment