Artistic reality in the virtual realm

ENNIS artist Carmel Doherty has launched a new website which will enable Clare artists to showcase and sell their work without taking on the crippling costs of galleries and exhibitions.
Carmel, a painter and sculptor herself, has worked as an artist for over 20 years and has exhibited her work in a number of galleries. She is qualified with a Masters in Public Art and Design and originally worked organising a number of public art exhibitions. She was instrumental in setting up the Ennis Sculpture Trail Initiative. Prior to that, she set up the first sculpture trail in the late 1990s in Doolin, a temporary trial to demonstrate to Clare County Council that there was an interest from the public in public art. The Dromore Woodlands Sculpture Trail was part of the same trail and both proved the point very well.
She emigrated to Portugal for three years in 2001 and while there, she started painting again.
“I had almost exclusively worked as a sculptor before that but found painting gave a much faster turn around of work and more satisfaction in less time as a result. A sculpture can take up to six months, while obviously a painting is considerably faster. The colour and the light intensity in Portugal were incredible and inspired me to paint more and more. I’ve been painting, predominantly in oils, ever since,” Carmel explained.
It has taken until now for the larger galleries, such as those in Dublin, to take on Carmel’s work and she says that the commission costs imposed on artists by galleries is making it almost impossible for artists to make a living. “It is not easy for an artist trying to make their way because it is so hard to get into galleries. Even when an artist’s work is accepted for showing in a gallery, there is the issue of the huge commission costs. Galleries look for over 40% of each work sold and some galleries are looking for up to as much as 55% or even 60%. It makes it very hard for artists to make any money at all. Essentially, a lot of galleries are making it almost impossible for artists to work through them. When people see the price of art in galleries, they automatically think that it’s very expensive but I would imagine that they are not aware that galleries are charging artists so much commission. That is why artists have to put higher prices on their works,” Carmel remarked.
With this in mind, Carmel has launched a new database, arts shop and information webpage for Clare artists, which can be found at www.clare-arts.com. The idea of the website is to project Clare as a cultural centre.
“There is a lot of public art in Clare already and there is huge interest in it but through this website, people can see what Clare artists are doing and acquire some of their work for themselves.
This site is for artists, who are based in Clare or from Clare and living elsewhere or with a strong Clare connection. It will be linked with all the tourism webpages, including Fáilte Ireland, Shannon Development, Discover Ireland. This facility is not just for high-profile artists, it’s also for up and coming artists, those starting out, students, as well as for crafts people. A lot of people, including tourists, want a piece of local art in their homes and this will be a great way for them to find them,” Carmel explained.
The idea for the website stemmed from the Public Art Brochure that Carmel brought out over a year ago, which encouraged accessibility and enjoyment of public art throughout county to everyone.
“We published 20,000 brochures. It did work to some extent but it was limited in that it was impossible to show artists’ work or develop it any further, so the logical step to develop the idea was a webpage. I believe the website is a very necessary too to promote the work of Clare artists to the world. It is crucial that the work of Clare artists is pushed,” she added.
In time, she stressed that the page will include an arts news page, where there will be regularly updated news on exhibitions, awards, competitions, festivals, arts and crafts fair, anything that will help to promote local artists. “It is also my intention to include a database and information, as with artists, of local photographers. It will expand to include musicians, dancers and any other practitioner of any form of art. It is currently part funded by Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council. I’m really hoping that this project will take off and get a lot of support, because Clare artists, in my opinion, need this tool to help them continue to do the fabulous work that they are doing. I view this as a great opportunity for artists to showcase their work, without crippling them financially,” Carmel said.
She also wants to get artists to support each other and to work on projects that are of a combined help to others also.
“That was the idea with the Anonn is Anall exhibition which ran for two years. Ten musicians composed 10 new tunes and 10 artists created works in response to the music. A storyboard then told the story of the music and the art piece and people could listen to the music composed on a MP3 players. It was a great success and is something I will revisit again. Artists have to work together to survive and to showcase Clare as the wonderful arts area that it is,” she said.
Artists who avail of the website will not be charged any commission for any sales that arise from their inclusion.
“In turn, I’m encouraging artists to drop the price of their work. Art should be selling through the site for up to 35% lower than in galleries. There is a very reasonable annual registration fee and I will keep that fee low, because I understand that artists are struggling to make a living currently. Through the website, there will also be a facility for potential customers to contact the artist through me, so they do not have to buy a piece purely after seeing it on the webpage. They can meet the artist and see the piece before any commitment to buy, if they so wish,” she added.
Carmel is also encouraging public bodies to buy local art or craft pieces for presentation purposes.
“If they are making a presentation to someone they should ensure it’s something local or of local significance. It’s not right that the councils, for example, when they’re making a presentation to somebody don’t always source a locally made or inspired piece. There is no reason why they can’t do that and it would have, I believe much more significance to the recipient also. Such pieces could also of course be sourced through the webpage.”
She added it would not have been possible to get the project up and running without the assistance of Patrick Stack of Adept Designs, who developed the webpage free of charge, as a mark of his support for the idea.
“That’s very much the kind of support that Clare artists, across all genres need, the support of other artistic people to help each other,” Carmel commented.
The new website is at www.clare-arts.com.