Short Summary

Hello, my name is Thomas H. Smith, founder of EARN, Emerging Artist Retail Network, we have 20 active members and our collective all live and work in the NYC area.  I have worked for years in Soho and Chelsea for galleries, from art handler to sales and management.  This concept came to me when i noticed how much it costs artists to show their completed work in a Manhattan Gallery.  The costs are thousands of dollars, and there's no guarantee of selling anything, which leaves the artist with empty pockets and disenchanted with the whole process.  Our Co-Op Gallery accepts emerging artists working in NYC, and we have no fees or dues, we're an open group of hard working professional artists from all backgrounds and disciplines.  Your contribution will enable us, as a group, to express ourselves regularly to thousands of art lovers and clients, as our EARN Gallery will be open to the public 7 days a week.  

What We Need & What You Get

All the funding which is contributed will be used to secure a retail space in Manhattan, NY.  We're looking for a storefront, around 1000 square feet, in the Lower East Side.  Rent for a space in this neighborhood is high, it will cost us at least $15,000 to cover the first couple of months of rent, some basic renovations, and a few pieces of furniture for the back office.  We have located several potential spaces, and our group is active in every step of this process.  We realize this is a lot of work to get a gallery started but we have all made some sacrifices to make this dream of an EARN gallery a reality.

Our perks are all art related, starting with joining our mailing list and providing Supporter Membership Cards, which give a discount on merchandise  like prints and tshirts.  At the middle levels, our perks are a beautiful, custom made binder full of our collective EARN prints from all active members included.  At the highest levels of funding, our members will create original artworks for our dedicated patrons.  Everyone who contributes will receive something from us in return, we're happy to give back to our supporters.

If we don't reach our full goal amount, we will continue to raise funds through other means, until we get the total we need to successfully open our own gallery.  We're determined to make this EARN Gallery happen, and we won't stop until our space is available to the public for daily viewing.

The Impact

EARN Gallery will always be a Co-Op Gallery, our members are each given 2 weeks for a solo show per year, plus a two week group showing for all active members, which results in every member getting 1 month of exposure for their artwork and themselves.  This is crucial for aspiring artists, we need to know there's a place we can go and earn our living as artists, where there's no costs or fees to the artist themselves.  This fact helps to reduce the stress on an artist, and allows them to create secure in the knowledge their art will be seen regularly and appreciated by collectors and potential buyers.  Being an artist myself, it makes me feel good to help my fellow members get this gallery going, and I've commited to running the space myself full time as long as it takes to makes this work for our collective.

Other Ways You Can Help

We could use all the support there is from the Art community and from all the interested people who just want to see our gallery become reality.  If you cannot contribute, share the link on your Facebook page, send it out on Twitter to anyone who supports the Arts.  Use the IndieGoGo share tools, which make it easy to share this project on your online social media networks.  We need as much buzz as possible, we want thousands of people to know about us, and we'll be out there ourselves pushing our friends, family and fans to help us get this project to its goal and beyond, thanks so much.