Paul Dorrell’s Blog

All right, why do you suppose I’ve worked so hard to help my artists get accepted by galleries in other cities?  Why have I worked to help them get press in national magazines?  Because I realized long ago that local collectors are impressed when a local artist has a success in some distant place, such as Chicago, Santa Fe or Carmel (a greatly overrated scene, by the way). 

Again, because my gallery is located in Kansas City, I can’t count on hordes of tourists to acquire work.  My apologies to the metro boosters, but KC just ain’t a tourist mecca.  These other cities are.  They’re also held in greater esteem by local collectors.  So if several of my artists are routinely having successful shows in these locations, I can point out that fact.  Believe me, that eventually results in more work sold at home.

This is the case in all provincial cities.  Hell, it’s sometimes even the case in NY and LA, where I’ve heard artists complain about the same malaise.  It isn’t that any of these collectors are evil; this is just human nature.  Once you accept that, and decide how to work with it, it will cease to be frustrating and instead will bring ample rewards.

So if you want to be a local hero in the arts, become highly regarded in a different city first, and you likely will be.