Fine Art Connoisseur magazine has set up a temporary website for artists, galleries, museums, and auction houses to register and tell their stories about Hurricanes Harvey & Irma (and Maria was still dangerous as this was being written). In addition, we’re offering them a chance to participate in a free ad spread that we hope will get spaces reopened and collectors buying.
*Please visit this site to register: https://fineartconnoisseur.com/hurricane
A message from Eric Rhoads, Publisher of Fine Art Connoisseur magazine:
Dear Friends,
As publisher of various art magazines and newsletters, I feel that we have a responsibility to help artists, galleries, and museums impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
When Katrina hit New Orleans, many galleries there were in trouble. Tourism fell way off, and locals were consumed with things other than buying art.
At that time we stepped in and offered free advertising to help some of those galleries survive, and we later learned that it helped a lot. Thankfully, collectors with good hearts looked at the websites, found art they liked, and did some purchasing.
We feel an obligation to give back during this storm as well. We know of one gallery in Texas whose building collapsed. We also know that there are galleries that will be impacted by a lack of traffic and tourism, and galleries affected by flooding in their space or simply the distraction of storm-related issues in their communities, keeping people from visiting and buying.
We have set up a quick temporary website for people affected by the storm to register and tell us their stories.
We will reach out to these galleries, artists, and museums, and offer them a chance to participate in an ad spread to try to get people to visit and buy from them, to help sustain them during this difficult time.
We are not charging them for this special ad space, which will be in the next issues of PleinAir and Fine Art Connoisseur magazines, and promoted on the magazines’ websites as well.
We know there’s a long road to recovery even as flood waters recede, so please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers.
This is a time when we, as a community of artists, galleries, collectors, museums, and auction houses, can come to their rescue. I encourage you, particularly if you were going to buy art anyway, to consider visiting these people online and making purchases.
Yours truly,
Eric Rhoads
Publisher
PS: This is not a time for competitive differences. Therefore I encourage all of my sisters and brothers in the arts community to come together, and for local galleries and artists not affected to help those who are. I also call on all other art magazines and websites to step up and offer a similar program.
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
