FAU Galleries has the same policy as Ewig Gallery: we do not sell the art. If the artists are opened to sales, and buyers ask, we connect them directly with each other. When artists ask us about commission, we answer that we take none but welcome donations to the galleries if they find it appropriate, as they allow us to continue our work. Since we provide exhibition honorariums to our exhibiting artists, some artists who make large sales donate a percentage back to the gallery voluntarily. Usually, only the really large sales, not student works, of course.

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One thing that may be different at FAU Galleries than in other non-profit academic spaces though is that I often insist on adding a price range on the exhibited artworks that are on the market for sale, regardless of me selling it or not. Because we exhibit artists from all walks of life, from grad students to internationally known artists, I think it is educational to have the discussion of “how much is this worth?”. I also place the appraisal value for collections items. This transparency is for educational purposes. It allows me to have discussions about monetary value, versus cultural value, versus market value or insurance value. We don’t teach our art students or art historians enough about these topics, finding the dirty concerns outside of the realm of academic interest, but it is crucial to our students understanding of our field. It also allows us to discuss the sales commission versus honorarium profit system. They are all important concerns in the arts. We all agree that “Exposure” is everyone’s least favorite form of compensation. ?

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Best,

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