About room212

It is easy to get space in room212. The costs are low, and the aim is to give local artists an opportunity to display their work.

What do you get?

Room212 is a 150 square foot shop with a 15 foot shop window; you can use it for one or more weeks. Room212 has no facilities. If you sign up to use room212 you will get free presence on the room212 web-site for up to 20 weeks, where you can show your portfolio, leave your contact details, etc. It is up to you how you use room212; you can use it as an open studio, gallery, shop, exhibition space, etc., as long as it is legal under UK law, and as long as you leave the space the way you find it.

How long can I get it for

It is meant to be a space with regularly changing exhibitions. So, as an individual, you can rent it for two weeks, as a group no more than 4 weeks. Changeover day is Sunday, so you will always need to get it from Sunday noon till Sunday noon the following week. Saturday is the day that you will get most visits to the shop.

Pricing

The price structure is simple: you pay the highest of:

5% of your turnover (sales, commissions, entry, ...)
a minimum rate, £15 per week (some weeks, such as the weeks before Christmas, have a minimum price of £30 per week)

On top of that you will have to pay for any excessive electricity that you use (beyond, say, 20 units a week). So, if you just exhibit stuff, you pay the flat rate. If your turnover is high you pay more; see also a few examples. You pay the minimum rate as a deposit in advance. After the event, we settle the bill.

How is room212 financed

People who participate in room212 finance it with their contribution. Room212 is experimental, and it will only continue if the owner of the space does not lose money; he is responsible to pay the business rates and building insurance. Room212 is only viable if there are enough people who are interested in using room212. The percentages and minimum rates are set so that the owner can pay business rates and upkeep, and in the future, if there is sufficient interest, also contents insurance.

Making the most out of room212

It works best to share room212 with somebody - even though the space is small, you will find that when the word spreads amongst friends of friends of 2 or 3 people, you get two or three times as many people through the door. There are also quite a few people who just pop around every week to see what's on, but they tend to visit the gallery rather than buy your work.

Putting something big in the window helps to draw people into the gallery, it stops people from just looking through the window. A big painting, sculpture, or anything else that stops a direct view of the rest of the gallery will trigger people's curiousity.

If you aim to make sales, make sure you fill the whole of the space, and make sure you have some affordable works, ie, well under £ 100. You may sell expensive works, but probably only to people who you know already. The people who shop on Gloucester Road for their meat, veg, and clothes do spontaneously purchase art, but only when reasonably afforadable.

What about insurance

There is no contents insurance cover whatsoever. You have to insure your own work, and not leave expensive works unattended. You must also have a comprehensive 3rd party liability insurance.

Contact

If you want to use room212:

First have a look at the schedule to find which week(s) you would like to use room212. This list also contains the minimum rate.
If you haven't done so already, come and have a look at room212.
Then register yourself if you have not already done so, and fill in your profile in sufficient detail.
Drop me an email on telling me which weeks you are interested in. Please note that I will only reply if I have slots available. These slots show up on the calendar. If I have no slots, I will drop you a mail when I open again. There is no waiting list - all slots go on a first-come-first-serve basis...
You can call me on 07855268922 to discuss details, but I can only confirm a booking once I have it in writing (preferably email).

If room212 is viable in the long run, I may get around making an on-line booking system.