Jim Martin 2022
Brad Ford will gladly vouch for the breadth and depth of the Erie art community.
“There is a huge art scene here and it is quite extensive and quite strong,” said the 48-year-old artist and owner of Erie Art Gallery. “And honestly, it’s one of the best. There are so many different types of artists here.”
But in Erie, a city with often frugal inclinations, the business of hanging, displaying and selling that art in galleries can be challenging.
Ford knows this well.
He returned to Erie from Salt Lake City, where he had been involved in galleries for 10 years, with a plan to eventually start one of his own.
After operating a gallery in pop-up spaces and helping to set up the Performing Artists Collective Alliance in Erie, Ford, a software engineer, followed through with his plan, opening the Erie Art Gallery about two years ago.
Today, he counts his white-walled gallery, located at 24 W. Eighth St., as a success.
“I am educating as well as inspiring people and creating that art vibe,” he said.
But he’s not making money.
“As of right now, me and my fiance are fronting the gallery,” he said. “I put X-amount of dollars into the gallery each month.”
From the beginning, Ford made it clear that he planned to structure the gallery as a 501(c)(3) or licensed nonprofit.
While Ford said this week that he continues to seek nonprofit status, in a January interview he said that his gallery was at risk of being shut down if he didn’t get $8,000 in donations soon. His plea for help generated enough to get through at least the next four months.
Not all of Ford’s fellow gallery owners share his desire for nonprofit status. But most, it seems, can relate to the challenges of running a venture that straddles the worlds of art and commerce.