Last week, I asked the folks who run a few of Tampa Bay's best-known art galleries and organizations what effect the economy has had on their business in recent months. I was prepared for the inevitable bad news — yes, they've felt the pinch — but what surprised me was the resilience with which some had already adopted new strategies in reaction to a situation that still could get worse before it gets better.
One of the most unexpected responses came from Maria Emilia, executive director of Florida Craftsmen in St. Petersburg. (Read more interviews at artsqueeze.com and blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf.) Emilia offered the counter-intuitive revelation that big-ticket items from the gallery's stock of elegant, handmade Florida crafts continue to sell while "the revenue crunch is most evident in the lower price points," she wrote in an e-mail, continuing:
"Whereas middle-income buyers like me are fearfully holding on and protecting their assets, collectors who are committed to supporting the artists' community are looking for opportunities to help. We've advised some artists to take this opportunity to showcase their most important work."
Florida Craftsmen's current show, Architectural Details and Other Decorative Crafts, emphasizes investment pieces like Richard Chill Cott and Diego Duran's "Beach House" console table made of walnut and zebrawood or Joshua Johnson's custom mosaics. Several artists in the exhibit are currently negotiating important commissions, Emilia said.
The economic crunch has led the organization to tweak its approach to CraftArt, an annual, pre-holiday juried showcase of crafts from around the country. This year, the event takes place outdoors at Central Avenue and Fifth Street, right outside the Florida Craftsmen storefront, on Nov. 22-23. The move will spare the organization $9,000 in rental fees for the historic Coliseum, make the event free to the public and help support surrounding merchants. Another sign of the times: Marketing for CraftArt will urge consumers to "Give the Gift of Florida" and buy local.
Other changes afoot at Florida Craftsmen include slimming down next year's exhibition schedule and offering more entrepreneurial workshops to spur the economic success of individual artists — and that of the 56-year-old nonprofit itself.
"We are the creative industry, and creativity is all about problem-solving and exploring new avenues," Emilia says.
This article appears in Oct 15-21, 2008.