It's official. I have ended my relationship with .....

Singulart.

When I was accepted into Singulart a while ago. It was actually hard for artists to be accepted. You had to meet certain criteria including an artist studio and professional art practice. I still remember the package I received from them after I sold a few paintings through their online gallery. The package showed up at my door from Paris, France and contained white gloves, special packaging tape, notepad and more. I thought to myself, “OK. This is an art selling platform doing things differently and aligned with how I perceive the value of my art.” They took a hefty 50% commisssion but no upfront fees and took care of shipping needs. While 50% is high for online galleries, it’s standard practice with most brick and mortar galleries, at least for now.

Then a few years back, they sent out an email to us stating they would be starting monthly subscriptions and the prices were quite high….. but I would be grandfathered in and not have to pay a monthly subscription. A few months after that, the emails changed and if we wanted to stay we would need to sign up. At the time I decided to try it for one year. The money and value for the subscription at that time did not match and I planned to cancel my membership. And as we all forget things, I did and I forgot to cancel so I stuck around another year.

A few months ago, Singulart accidently sent existing subscribers an email meant to get new subscribers onboard with the promise of a money back guarantee. When I received that email, I set an alarm on my phone so this time I would not forget.

I guess I’m rambling on here because I think it important to understand that artists have power. Often you see artists chasing the perfect gallery or going into business with organizations or people that maybe don’t quite fit but its rough out there right? Here’s the thing …. artists need to think about their relationship with other parties selling their work as a business partnership. Artists need to own their power. They are the makers of the art. Something doesn’t feel right, artists can say no. Don’t allow others to minimize you or your art.