Today, we are interviewing Tascha Sciarone, an art historian and gallery manager at Gallery Sorelle Sciarone.
1. Please tell us something about yourself.
I started the gallery a year ago. The name reflects the fact that I am the eldest daughter of 6 girls. We are all in the arts.
2. How did you get into what you do right now? Please tell us more about your journey?
I was born and raised in South Africa. My mom is an artist. My father has always been a finance professional who has always been a business owner in different sectors. So it seems logical that these two things combined is a gallery. Art and business. We immigrated to The Netherlands in 2007, and I graduated from Leiden University with a Master’s degree in Arts and Culture (2016). By this time, I had a one-year-old and had also been working at a commercial sales company. It was not my plan to have a gallery. I specialized in museum collections and practices in the political context. Running and owning a gallery is the combination of working for a gallery after a period of working in a museum as a volunteer. I learned two things. One, you need the guts to say I am a gallery owner, and I believe in my artists. But also that you can support your local community when doing so. While I was working at a museum, doing data management on the newly acquired aboriginal art collection, all the artists were affiliated with one gallery/cultural space in their region. The practice has shady roots, but I liked the idea of an art gallery being bound by its geographic roots. So we have mainly artists from my village.
3. Who are your role models?
The gallery is an ode to my mother. She is also represented by us. But even an ode to my father in always taking me along in his business ventures.
4. What inspires you?
I am also inspired by a sense of community and localized art ideas in our world. The geographic community can ground us and still be part of a larger world.
5. Please tell us about your art gallery.
The Gallery Sorelle Sciarone is an online art gallery that specializes in contemporary Dutch paintings. Our artists have all been making art for decades, but the gallery and art world has always been male-dominated. We actively promote our artists at fairs and online spaces.
6. What’s your most memorable experience?
Being signed to a gallery gives many of these artists the validation they have that their art is meaningful. It’s a bit of a bad part of the art world, but I love to see how motivated some of our artists are when they are signed and even more after a sale. It really is a beautiful moment when artists and buyers both say: this is it! I love it. I want it. It vibes with me.
7. Which social media channels work best for promoting your work?
Artsper is a french gallery association, and we do okay there. We have an Instagram account and just recently started using Pinterest.
8. What’s your greatest fear?
My greatest fear is that people stop making art after we tell the artist that their work is not a good fit for our gallery. We can only represent so many artists, and we are geographically grounded, so it breaks my heart when artists plead to be part of our gallery when it is simply a question of logistics and geography. We used to get 40 applications a month from mostly male artists, and that was rough turning them down.
9. Looking back, what’s one thing you wish you understood better before you ever got started?
I wish I knew how to better manage my time with my kids. My youngest was 1 when the gallery started. I am glad though that we took the leap.
10. What are the strategies that helped you become successful in your journey?
Working together with other galleries and unconventional platforms has resulted in quite a lot of unexpected sales. And it is delightful how my social and professional network has grown.
11. What keeps you going when things get tough?
When stuff gets tough, I remember that most businesses take 3-5 years to become profitable, and in the art world, it is closer to 5-10 years. Art is a very personal thing, and its always a hit or miss no matter where you take your art.
12. Any message for our readers.
Buy art from artists. If you don’t know any artist, galleries are your best friend. Don’t be scared of galleries or artists. The price is often negotiable, as well as payment terms. You can even rent a painting, and it counts towards a downpayment of the painting. If you can’t afford a painting, ask if they do prints. The options are endless.
13. How can people connect with you?
You can check our website or find Gallery Sorelle Sciarone on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.
P.S. If you felt inspired after reading this Interview, request you to please share with your friends on social media because your friends might get inspired too!