The Sun Valley Contemporary is leasing its gallery space to a limited number of artists to exhibit their work in an artist co-operative arrangement. Sun Valley Contemporary, located at 511 East Fourth Street in Ketchum, wants to give artists without representation an opportunity to show their work on a regular basis to the public and through the Internet.
"There are so many artists in Sun Valley that are not represented by major galleries," said Sun Valley Contemporary and Sacred Dancing Gallery owner John Morton. "Having an artist cooperative is a local and regional effort to have a professional space."
The gallery space is already built out for artists with a space ready for exhibition. The gallery also has secured permits with the city of Ketchum and has working phone lines and Internet. In addition, the gallery has a post office box.
"It has to help everyone as long as the artists feel confident in difficult times," Morton said.
The gallery features a computer and front desk and the space has been leased through July 15, 2010, with an extension option. Additional space may be available in the same location across the courtyard.
"My wife and I have talked about this," Morton said. "It's an interesting concept in these bad times."
The location of the gallery attracts numerous visitors for Gallery Walk, and is directly in front of the Farmers' Market in the summer months. Artists will not have to pay a percentage fee for the sale of their art as long as they work one day per week during business hours of noon to 5 p.m. during the regular season. Off-season or "slack" days of operation will be modified to suit artists' needs. The idea of the co-op is to remain flexible and open to artists' needs.
"This cooperative offers a chance for artists to pay a much smaller fee," Morton said. "They can take in much more money for their work."
Sun Valley Contemporary will collect all sales, pay merchant card services for credit cards, pay appropriate local and state sales taxes and distribute payment to all artists on a monthly basis.
"We don't have all the answers," Morton said. "This is a chance to get away from a traditional concept of a gallery and give much more back to the artist."
Each artist will pay a monthly fee of $395 paid to Sun Valley Contemporary. The co-op would like to invite artists who want to commit their art for a one-year minimum so the gallery and artist have a fair chance to promote the work.
"If it takes off, it would be interesting for the area," Morton said. "If there's enough demand, we could have up to 20 artists and could have local shows and it could be very dynamic."
Artists interested in joining the co-op should submit images to Sun Valley Contemporary and Sacred Dancing Gallery for review at info@sacreddancinggallery.com. For details, call (406) 249-9910.
The Sun Valley Contemporary is seeking artists for a new art cooperative. Photo by Willy Cook
