Gallery Communication Channels & Networking Partners - Research on the particular roles of online and offline communication channels for a gallery and its networking partners

Galleries are the most essential intermediaries in the art market. Having success in the art market though, hardly depends on the talent of the artist but rather on the access to decisive networks and their use. The network is predominant for a gallery’s success in its function as an art intermediary that adds value to the art market, while having to keep track of the business aspects. In recent years, due to mergers, monopolisations, increasingly professionalized business practices and the search for new ways of mediating art in the age of digitisation, as well as the recent influences emerging from the COVID-19 crisis, the field of action of galleries has changed increasingly. Galleries are progressively embracing new ways of cooperation, instead of the traditional individualistic procedures. However, it is surprising how little is known about the communication channels of a gallery’s network, given their apparent relevance in the art market. In the course of this empirical research the “who”, “why” and “how” of a gallery’s network are to be determined. Thus, the aim of this research is to examine the different offline and online communication channels of galleries, with the objective to clarify their particular role and importance for a gallery and its networking partners. After a detailed theoretical research on the characteristics of the art market, the gallery’s intermediary role, the art market network and communication channels in said network, as well as the research questions are explored by the means of qualitative empirical research, that is to say with expert interviews of galleries. It becomes apparent that the network or rather the connections with the networking partners are the be-all and end-all for a gallery’s success and that it is not an "either/or" decision between the various online and offline communication channels. Rather it is a complementary combination of the channels, with offline communication channels (such as personal sales, direct contact, art fairs, exhibitions, events and word-of-mouth) primarily being used to establish new contacts and online communication channels (such as the gallery website, E-mails, newsletters, social media and online art platforms) mainly playing a role for the maintenance of existing relationships with networking partners. Considering future trends, the social distancing and isolation due to the COVID-19 crisis have reinforced the importance of offline, personal and physical contact and connections, while giving a simultaneous boost to the use of online communication channels.