Upstarts (August 2005)
The high profile lifestyle magazine, North East Times, featured a full interview with Victoria Anderson, Managing Director of Art Evolution.
'As the demand for bespoke and original art steadily increases in the North East, two sparky Newcastle-based entrepreneurs have decided to embrace this new fertile market and make it their own. Victoria Anderson and Craig Millar first thought about setting up Art Evolution a year ago and, after considerable efforts, the company was launched at the end of February 2005.
Having had the opportunity to work with a number of North East artists over the last two years, Victoria and Craig say they felt they: "Wanted to support the work they were producing and allow wider access to it". And that Art Evolution's key aims are: "To bring affordable, exciting, contemporary art produced by North East artists, to the North East. Art Evolution, above everything else, is about accessibility and style."
With a key focus on accessibility, the pair decided that the best premises for their business were definitely in cyber space, which they say enables clients access to art work 24 hours a day, 365 days a years.
What is the atmosphere like for art business in the North east at present?
Extremely exciting. The North East has undergone a cultural revolution and, as a result, there is a huge interest in original art work in the region. As original work becomes more accessible, more and more individuals and organisations are recognising the benefits of renting or buying work.
Image is extremely important in today’s competitive business environment and the North East business community has recognised that displaying the appropriate contemporary artwork reinforces their corporate image and puts them one step ahead of their competitors.
Art work in the work place also becomes something of a talking point. Works as a stress reducer and holds the ethical value of supporting local artists.
What adviser services do you offer potential arts buyers?
We offer adviser services to both our client groups, our artists and our commercial clients. For artists this can be assistance with a marketing strategy, advice on suitable framing services, pricing structure and provision of information on the current arts market., For our commercial clients we, for example, offer guidance on renting or purchasing the right pieces of art, advice on suitable framing and organise the framing of pieces as and when required. We are also happy to recommend and provide assistance with regard to finding the right interior designer to redesign a client’s home or premises or to access suitable furniture.
What makes your business unique?
Art Evolution is unique in the North East as all our pieces of art work are available for rent and for sale.
By offering artwork in this way we are making access to art more flexible than ever before. We enable individuals and organisations to access art work in accordance with their finances and financial planning. Art rental allows our clients to trial pieces before buying them so they can gauge people’s opinions before making a commitment to buy. It offers them access to artwork that could otherwise be out of their reach financially, and enables them to change their artwork as and when their tastes change.
What are your hope and plans for the future of your business?
Our immediate plans are to build on the success that Art Evolution has already had within the North East and continue to grow and evolve our portfolio. At present we operate exclusively in the North East, However, our long term goal is to work across the UK to approach Art Evolution in order to access affordable, quality art produced by artists from the region.
Art Evolution currently promotes over 60 artists who produce work across a range of medium, painting, photography, sculpture and film. For more information log on to www.artevolution.oc.uk or tel: 0784 0056504.’
North East Times, August 2005.
August 25, 2005 6:26pm
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