Local Artists in Cleveland, Ohio

When you visit a Cleveland art district like Shaker Square, you will be supporting our local economy and purchasing a unique souvenir that cannot be duplicated. Artists are a vital part of the Cleveland, Ohio community, and a necessary part.

By purchasing a piece of local art, you are taking with you a piece of Cleveland's culture that is unique and special. You can find art work in Cleveland's art districts and art shows all over the city in the spring, summer and late fall.

Jazzin by Brian Jones prints available at Lake Erie Artists Gallery

There are lots of excellent reasons for artists to put their work in a gallery as long as the gallery fulfills their promises to the artist. However, there are always artists who will only sell their work directly. Why?

Well, let's start with why a gallery? Here are the benefits that a gallery can give to an artist:

Legitimacy--If you are in a gallery, many people take you more seriously as an artist.

Year Round Consistent Exposure--A good gallery will keep your work fresh, rotate it, and market for you.

A Representative Agent--The gallery will act as your agent to proactively sell your work to the public and possibly other venues.

PR and Marketing--The gallery should routinely be doing PR and marketing to promote you and other artists in the gallery.

But here are some reasons that artists don't want to be in a gallery:

Profit on each piece is less because the artist has to give the gallery a commission (typically 30% to 60%)

The artist loses control over the sale.

The artist doesn't get to meet every customer.

The artist needs to have enough work to sell some of it in a gallery (and many are not that prolific).

Some artists just don't want to deal with galleries.

Blue Bird by Donald Swann Photograph available for purchase from Zazzle.