A sustainable world for artists

In an article that appears on the Gilles Perrault website (La revue Experts n° 59 – 06/2003 © Revue Experts), a court expert states, “The relationship between the artist and gallery owner often begins with love at first sight and ends in court proceedings.”

Artists are often unrestrained, idealistic, highly imaginative and impulsive and they see the world in a very different way from the rest of us. These traits give rise to works of art that often leave the rest of us breathless.

But when this world collides with the demands of commerce, practicality, recognition and acceptance, the result can be catastrophic, and in most cases the gallery comes out on top. 

The artist and gallery owner are two very different beings, and it is essential that the relationship is symbiotic, built on trust and respect. 

Where once the artist was wholly reliant on the gallery to reach a broad and fee-paying audience, where the gallery owner was the more dominant in the relationship, social media platforms now give artists direct access to their audience. But this democratisation has simply added another layer of complexity and work for the artist. 

We believe that it is incumbent on us as a gallery to do all we can to help artists flourish. 
If an artist struggles, financially or due to recourses and materials, their work can be lost and that is a loss for us all. 

In our relationship with the artists we represent, we have swept aside many of the contractual restrictions that constrain them. We have set a lower commission fee level, so the artists get paid fairly for work they produce, and for every sale made we give an agreed percentage to the Artists’ General Benevolent Institution. (www.agbi.org.uk) 

The AGBI was founded in 1814 by members of the Royal Academy of Arts, including J.M.W. Turner, John Constable and John Soane, and was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1842. It is one of the oldest charities in the United Kingdom.

The AGBI provides grants and a space for artists to gather the community and discuss the complex issues they experience. They aspire to be the safety net for all professional visual artists across all visual mediums and identities.

In addition, Silverlock Ward Gallery has set up our own charitable trust, Thea’s Fund. The trust was set up in 2024 to raise money for Thea, the now one-year-old baby daughter of a former colleague and artist, Anthony Bennett, who sadly passed away from cancer aged only 40.

We will be giving 3% of SWG net profits to the fund in an attempt to raise £50k over the next ten or so years so there is money available to send Thea to university or college, buy her a car and driving lessons, or for medical or other expenses. 

Ant was an art lover and collector, specifically of pop and street art. We are proud to support Thea’s Fund in Ant’s memory.