New Surry Hills art gallery sells affordable art from local artists
Image: Joshua Gallent at City Gym. Photo: Ann-Marie Calilhanna
By Tessa Pelle
The Sketch Collective Gallery dedicates its space to showcase the talent of emerging Australian based artists, with most artworks priced between $500 and $1500.
After noticing a gap in the market for affordable art pieces, Founder and Director, Caroline Heslop turned her freelance collective office space into a gallery for local and emerging artists.
“I’d go to big national galleries all the time, but it felt like what’s the point? I’m going to go in there and fall in love with [the artworks], and I’m not going to be able to afford it. It’s like going into a candy shop and not being able to eat anything,” she says. “We wanted people to feel they could walk into a space that wasn’t intimidating, whether they are first–time art collectors or adding to an existing collection,” she says.
Nurturing The Next Generation Of Australian Artists
Sketch Collective Gallery presents artists from all disciplines and aims to nurture the next generation of Australian creatives.
“Someone once said to me, ‘Caroline, there’s so many artists and not enough galleries.’ It’s two–sided – it’s important that these guys get exposure, and it’s also important for me that every Australian can say they can afford original art,” Heslop says.
Caroline says the gallery’s main ethos is accessibility and affordability, with all pieces capped at $5000 and some starting as low as $250.
“Our pieces are all from emerging artists or those that are just establishing themselves and getting some traction. So, they’re all priced with that in mind and all our artists set their own prices,” she says.
Caroline discovers artists using varying methods, from scouting Instagram to approaching people on the street.
“A good old slide into the DMs is my modus operandi and it gets a great reaction,” Heslop says. “One of our artists, his street name is Silly Pear, was doing a commissioned graffiti mural around the corner from the gallery, and I plucked up the courage to bug him and strike up a conversation.”
Sketch Collective Gallery’s current exhibition titled Going Home will run until March 26 as part of Art Month Sydney 2022.
