Pop-Ups Offer Unique Retail Experiences
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Marie Craig, co-owner and director of Fountain Street Gallery in Boston says that pop-ups have helped her business to grow their collector base and are currently running “Fire in the Belly,” a pop-up with a live performance and reception featuring the work of Dell Marie Hamilton, Joanna Tam and Georden West.
“At Fountain Street, we use pop-ups as a way to ‘cross-pollinate’ and introduce collectors to new and exciting art and to connect artists with a new audience,” she says. “The work that we show in the pop-ups is not necessarily commercial in nature, and serves as a way to generate publicity and invite reviews, which boost the profile and reputation of the gallery as a venue for the latest cutting edge work.” And creating a unique experience for collectors helps to increase engagement between buyer and gallery. “Pop-ups invite art-lovers to focus on the real-time experience of art, critically important in the age when viewing rooms and online art buying are easy and common. There’s nothing like the in-person experience of art, and popups give patrons an exciting reason to step out and savor art in gallery spaces.
“For artists, broadening their audience is the goal, so making sure that the venue is easy to find and in an area where other creative or luxury retail businesses are located will attract more walk-in visitors in addition to the artist’s fans and collectors,” Ms. Craig says.
While she agrees that the concept is not new to the art market, this more focused retail opportunity has many perks. “Pop-ups have trended on and off for years, but in this current real-estate market, short-term lower priced venues are a good way to test the market, as well as to show edgier work.
“Pop-ups invite art-lovers to
focus on the real-time experience
of art, critically important in the
age when viewing rooms and
online art buying are easy and
common.
”