Exceptional art dealers must be intelligent, knowledgable, intuitive, educated, and business oriented – and that’s just scratching the surface. Art dealer, gallery owner, and curator Wambui Kamiru-Collymore of The Art Space fits the role on all accounts. She graciously sat down with our A.E Olivia Kidula to discuss the inner workings of her job, her passion, and just how vital a good art dealer is to any great artist.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am first of all an artist and recently I made the transition to being a gallery owner. It is not unusual for artists to turn into gallery owners. This decision was mainly influenced by the need to create more spaces and channels to sell art in Kenya. I am in admiration of the Nigerian and South African art market and I would like to see something similar happen here.
Why did you open a gallery? Tell us about your journey from inception to execution.
The Art Space came about while I was looking to get my own studio space and to curate Gakunju Kaigwa’s show. There is a part of The Art Space that is still reserved for my studio. I have taken time off from my own art work to build the gallery but I hope to return to my art toward the end of this year, once The Art Space has got some of its footing in place. The gallery is the sort of place I would want to show my work and exactly the audience I would want to see and interact with it. It has been gathering a lot of attention both locally and internationally and I am happy that this little space is beginning to shift things a little in our arts sector.
Who inspires you, and why?
I am currently looking to gallery models both locally and internationally. Off the top of my head I am interested in the structures of Galerie Quynh in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Tiwani Contemporary in London. I am interested in fusing how they are working with how Banana Hill and Paa Ya Paa have operated locally.
There has to be a model that works for our very young arts market, which still appeals internationally.
In my work as an artist, I am inspired greatly by Ai Weiwei. He is a Chinese contemporary artist who now lives and works from Berlin, Germany.
Tell me about a project or accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career.
There have been a number of accomplishments but I have to say the largest has been taking the first step to open The Art Space.
What works do you represent? How do you find the artists you represent?
I mainly focus on contemporary art. I choose not to represent any artists at the moment as I still think representing one or more artists in our small market requires resources that I don’t have at this time. I am more interested in growing the buying and trade of art. I think we are a little away from gallery representation being a structure that serves us all well. For starters, representation is more than just selling the art of a particular artist exclusively. It involves a commitment to develop that artist and support them through the periods when their art is not selling as it should. It also requires that one markets, vigorously, work by that particular artist. The Art Space does not do that and as we grow organically, it may be something that we consider doing but not in the immediate future. That said, we sell and have shown art from some of the country’s most sought after artists.
What makes an artist attractive to your gallery?
I get a lot of requests from young artists, some are really good and have began to define their style. Some however just need practice and time to clarify their style. In my own practice, I didn’t understand that until I had a fulltime studio and art was the only thing I did. I often encourage those who are still very new to work a little more and to keep in touch with me as they progress. For artists who have began to explore a particular style and who execute it strongly, we have a show and then a critical conversation with the rest of the arts fraternity about their work.
The Art Space has the feel of what someone described as an eclectic industrial gallery in New York. Even though we weren’t aiming to be imagined in New York, the space does show work like it would anywhere else in the world. The space, like the artists we show, has character.
What should an artist expect from a gallery, marketing and sales wise? Conversely, what does a gallery expect from an artist?
At The Art Space, we do two types of sales and marketing. We have shows, exhibitions where we showcase the best art from the region’s art and also expose some strong but relatively new artists. In March’s show, we exhibited work by Michael Musyoka and David Thuku from BrushTu Studio in Buru Buru. Both of them are fine artists. Musyoka has shown in different spaces, while for Thuku it was the first time this style of his work, Sgraffito, was being shown as extensively. It was well received with more than half of his work bought. That is great when that happens, for the gallery and for the artist.
The current show by Gakunju Kaigwa and Justus Kyalo brings together for the first time, two of Kenya’s masters. It is an honour to show their work. Both have not done a show locally for a couple of years.
We also have work on consignment. In our vault we hold about 60 works by different artists from Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and Tanzania – small and large of varied prices. Though the vault we are encouraging first time buyers and regular collectors to buy and keep track of trends and work by their favorite artists. Our collection changes every 3 – 6 months so there is always something new to find.
We market all our shows through traditional and online media and directly to clients who have registered to be on our mailing list. We also hold pop-up exhibitions and partner with other galleries to reach out to new buyers. Our best tool however remains word of mouth and over the last couple of months we have new buyers who were referred to us by other buyers. We also have artists buying from us. I think that is a great mark of faith in our services because they know the artists and could buy directly from them, but they choose to buy art through The Art Space.
From artists, we expect high quality work and great thought into the pieces. The pieces have to generate conversation and are not only about the aesthetic value. We place a high premium on work that is technically and intellectually sound.
What can galleries offer an artist? What’s the advantage of having gallery representation?
A gallery is just a space that showcases artwork. One can go to a central place to seek work by their favorite artists. It frees artists to focus on the production of their art as opposed to the sale of it. From my experience managing the two can sometimes be cumbersome. I believe that an artist should focus on their work and by doing so, improve their skill and expression. I think galleries strengthen an arts industry. Their job is to educate buyers on what to buy and how to buy and to link buyers with their preferred artists.
I think the more galleries that open, the more demand is placed on artists. The more demand rises, the more work is produced. Then only the best will stand out. It is a way to force the momentum we need to be competitive globally. There is a lot of focus on art from Africa at the moment and East Africa has been relatively unexplored in comparison to West and South Africa. We are in an opportune time to pull this new focus and maintain it – especially beyond the selected better-known contemporary artists from Kenya.
We aren’t doing too badly on how our art is being received internationally but we need to also grow it locally. Some of the largest consumers of Nigerian art internationally are Nigerians buying art from fairs, galleries and auctions abroad to bring the art back to Nigeria. It sustains a sector even when the international tide turns - local consumption of art is important. I can’t emphasize this enough. We need more Kenyans buying Kenyan art.
People tend to stay away from galleries because they assume that it is too expensive. Is this an accurate conclusion to come to?
I don’t think all galleries are expensive. Galleries have basic overheads like marketing the work. They are businesses. The cost you pay is the cost of their selection of pieces and the presentation of those pieces. You also pay for the numerous conversations and exchanges they have shared with artists to bring you the work. The service includes going and finding the work that please your tastes. You could either go to the kitchen and cook from an unknown recipe; or you could dine at a restaurant selecting an item where the chef is an expert at creating and presenting. Speaking for The Art Space, we only bring you what we know is good.
Our prices are fair because I hate negotiating for art. It is affordable. At The Art Space you will find art for Ksh. 5000 to Ksh. 650,000 currently. At Ksh. 5000, you still will get the best art from that particular artist.
Describe the ideal artist - what does this artist have to do to make your life as a gallery owner happy?
The ideal artist is the one who works hard and keeps their word. It is just that simple. When we commit to selling your work, we will hold our side of the deal. As an artist you have to commit to your side as well. When there is a timeline that we are working with, before a show, I can be quite demanding – within reason, and it is solely for the success of the show. Before a show happens there is a lot of groundwork to be done, from concept development to catalogues to marketing. It is important to work as a team – gallery and artist. As a gallery, we are investing time, money and space to focus on this one/ two artists. It needs to work as seamlessly as possible so that the best is out there, as I have my reputation on the line as well.
Tell us about a time when things didn’t go the way you wanted— like a promotion you wanted and didn’t get, or a project that didn’t turn out how you had hoped.
I had a conversation with a local bank a couple of years ago, about dedicating a floor in their new headquarters to a gallery. We talked about how it could work, exploring the idea through a couple of meetings. I was sad to recently find out that the bank will develop my idea further but with another gallery. A couple of years ago I didn’t have The Art Space but I had the passion and drive to see the idea through. I have learned that people respect and trust structures more than individuals. It is the reality. I am still looking to work with a corporate to develop an in-house gallery and I now have the experience of running a gallery.
Any artist (local/international) that you’d love to represent/work with?
There are just too many artists that I would love to show. I am in conversation with a couple of curators in Nigeria to bring a show or two here to The Art Space. I am lucky to regularly travel to major cities like New York and London and I use these opportunities to look at art. I want to bring those experiences here and to also open up the selection for our buyers here. It would be great to partner with curators from different places to bring work they choose to this audience. In the same way, it would be great to show the works of local collectors to educate other buyers that investing in art is a viable option.
What are your thoughts on the Kenyan art scene/gallery scene? Do you think it’s on the right path? What do you see for it over the next 5-10 years?
I think the Kenyan art scene is on the rise and it is exciting to be a part of it. Over the last number of years work by those in the scene before me, has made it possible for me to open The Art Space. Collectively we have the opportunity to strengthen our structures and grow our market. We also have the opportunity to influence government policy so that it safeguards the future of the arts industry in Kenya. We are a hotbed for art in waiting. But we have to guide it purposefully and protect it jealously.
Which other African country’s art scene do you admire most?
It is not so much countries but cities that have vibrant art scenes. I admire the art scenes in Kinshasa, Lagos, Kampala, Marrakech, Addis Ababa and Johannesburg. Africa is lighting the world up from all corners.
Art Space is located on Riverside Drive, Nairobi.
