A politely put, “good luck” followed by a short little laugh is probably one of the nicer responses you’ll receive after telling someone about your big plans of opening an art gallery. Just like artists, galleries have a difficult time attracting and maintaining a clientele in a smaller population center such as Salt Lake.

But for twenty years now, the Salt Lake Gallery Association has consisted of galleries that endure these challenges in good economic times and bad. If competing with other galleries weren’t enough, retail art galleries compete with non-profit galleries that may not be under the same restrictions. Retail galleries depend on the sale of artwork alone to support rent, overhead, advertising and staff while non-profits can depend on state and federal funding along with donations and grants.

The Salt Lake Gallery Association now includes twenty-one retail galleries, seven non-profit galleries, eight affiliate galleries (businesses that host exhibits) and one open studios gallery. Ironically, it was a controversy between the retail galleries and the non-profits that motivated the organization of what is now known as the Salt Lake Gallery Association.

In 1983 the SLGA was born under the name of “the Utah Art Dealers Association.” In the beginning, it consisted of strictly for-profit retail galleries in both Salt Lake and Park City. The first members were Dolores Chase Fine Art, David Ericson Fine Art, Phillips Gallery, Meyer Gallery and many more, some of which closed down or are no longer with us.

The union of these galleries was triggered by what they believed to be unfair dealings being made by the Salt Lake Art Center – a not-for-profit organization. The Utah Art Dealers Association argued that the SLAC’s sale of artwork to corporate entities was done in a manner that violated the regulations placed on organizations with non-profit status, putting them in direct competition with retail galleries in the surrounding area. In the meantime, the Salt Lake Art Center was fighting for its very survival. Directors and board members were approached, issues were discussed, compromises were made and it wasn’t long before the Salt Lake Art Center and retail galleries were able to cohabitate in harmony once again.

In fact, it was the Salt Lake Art Center Guild’s involvement in 1983 that initiated what is now known as Gallery Stroll. The Guild chose surrounding galleries to participate in the “Gallery Crawl.” The “Old Salty” tourist train transported gallery goers around the city from exhibit to exhibit until the evening culminated at a “champagne breakfast” reception hosted by the Salt Lake Art Center. After Old Salty broke down in front of Phillips Gallery it became clear that buses would be necessary for future crawls. The Salt Lake Art Center hosted Gallery Crawls for two years, but not long after that the Salt Lake Gallery Association picked up Gallery Strolls as a monthly event.

It took ten years before non-profit galleries became a part of the association. In retrospect, it is apparent that banding together was key to bringing an agreeable balance to the visual arts community. In 1993 the Salt Lake Art Center joined the SLGA along with Art Access, Finch Lane Gallery and the Utah Arts Council’s Glendinning Gallery. Once the non-profits became involved, the SLGA really took off as a community-outreach organization, hosting a free Gallery Stroll once a month and developing a more educational mission statement:

“To provide an avenue for galleries and museums to strengthen the local visual arts market and to promote and foster increased public awareness of the wide variety of traditional and contemporary art available in Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake Gallery Association further seeks to develop a knowledgeable buying public through visual arts education and enhanced public awareness of arts and culture.”

Gallery Stroll is undoubtedly the most successful program created by the SLGA. This cultural event has increased in popularity to the point that it brings hundreds of art lovers downtown on the third Friday night of every month.

The SLGA has had several presidents in the past such as Dave Ericson, Bonnie Phillips, Ruth Lubbers and Judith Christensen. But it is Kent Rigby who has kept the association running for the past ten years. For many of those years he handled all the paperwork, advertising and correspondence. In the year 2000, Kent Rigby received the Mayor’s Award for his dedication to the visual arts.

In the past year or so, Rigby has received some significant help from a new executive committee actively involved in cultivating the visual arts. These committee members provided some welcome energy and fresh air to the association, attracting many new sponsors and members. Although many of the galleries and arts organizations have different goals and missions, the SLGA as a whole shares one mission: to develop a knowledgeable buying public through visual arts education and enhanced public awareness of arts and culture.

Selling fine art in Salt Lake City is a challenge and any gallery owner will tell you they don’t do it for the money. In fact, Dave Ericson who has been in the business for over 25 years says, “I can easily count on one hand the years my gallery has made more than $20,000. I can much more easily count the years I’ve made less than $5,000. And I’ve never taken home a salary.”

It is clear that art galleries as well as non-profit arts organizations love what they do and respect the artists they represent to continue in their chosen professions. To endure a struggling economy takes courage and a deep devotion. No matter how slow art sales may be in Utah, the SLGA will continue to hold quarterly meetings to discuss local arts issues; they’ll continue to educate the public through the remarkable work of talented Utah artists and they’ll continue to open their doors after hours for Gallery Stroll every month.

At the time of its 20th anniversary, the Salt Lake Gallery Association would like to pay tribute to our dearly departed. The following galleries successfully contributed to the diverse visual arts culture in Salt Lake City, but unfortunately are no longer in existence:

Air Terminal Gifts
Ancient Future Gallery and Gifts
Aperture Gallery
Artists in Action
C Gallery
Canyon Gallery
Dolores Chase Fine Art
D.B. Gallery
Hippodrome Gallery
J. Christensen Gallery
Lumiere Gallery
Moonflower, Inc.
Marble House Gallery & Appraisal
Rim Rock Art Gallery
Rocky Mountain Gallery
Soho Gallery
Voris Gallery

the SLGA website is: www.ourcommunityconnection.com/slga.html

Laura Durham

Laura Durham is the Director of Programming and Engagement for PBS Utah. She curates projects and plans events that utilize local and national media to provide entertainment and meaningful dialogue beyond broadcast. Prior to PBS Utah, Laura worked at the Division of Arts & Museums for 15 years, served as Vice President of the Salt Lake Gallery Association, Program Director for the Salt Lake Gallery Stroll, and was a board member for the Utah Cultural Alliance.