A FAMILY GALLERY - UNE GALERIE FAMILIALE

  English Version - *version française dessous*


A FAMILY GALLERY

My wife Francine and I opened the gallery in May 2013.  It was supposed to be a pop-up gallery with the objective of selling 50 paintings by the end of September 2013.  We did that by the end of June and made the decision to keep our gallery open indefinitely.

 

Our other major objective was to create a “Family Gallery” meaning that everyone would feel welcome regardless of whether they were going to acquire a piece of art or not.  It didn’t matter who you were, we wanted everyone to feel welcome and have an enjoyable experience. 

 

Francine, who manages the gallery, went out of her way to recruit and train her colleagues to greet everyone warmly and answer any questions they had about my art.  If they had children and wanted to browse, they would often give the kids coloring books and crayons.  They would even sit with them as they made their own creations!  If they had pets, they would give them water in a dish.  They often provided directions and restaurants suggestions.  If they were not too busy, they often took folks into my studio which is located right behind the gallery. 

 

Since we opened 11 years ago, Francine and her team have literally greeted tens of thousands of visitors and I’m so proud of how they treat everyone.  They are a big part of the gallery’s success in ‘’Transposing Joy!”


PHOTOS BY LOIC PRAVAZ



Version française



UNE GALERIE FAMILIALE

 

Ma femme Francine et moi avons ouvert la galerie en mai 2013. Il s’agissait d’une galerie éphémère dont  l’objectif était de vendre 50 tableaux d’ici la fin septembre 2013. Nous l’avons fait fin juin et avons pris la décision de garder notre galerie ouverte indéfiniment.

 

Notre autre objectif majeur était de créer une « galerie familiale », c’est-à-dire que tout le monde se sentirait le bienvenu, qu’il achète ou non une œuvre d’art. Peu importe qui vous êtes, nous voulions que tout le monde se sente le bienvenu et vive une expérience agréable.

 

Francine, qui gère la galerie, a fait tout son possible pour recruter et former ses collègues afin qu’ils accueillent chaleureusement tout le monde et répondent à toutes leurs questions sur mon art. S’ils avaient des enfants et voulaient parcourir les œuvres, ils leur donnaient souvent des livres de coloriage et des crayons. Ils s’asseyaient même avec eux pendant qu’ils créaient leurs propres créations ! S’ils avaient des animaux domestiques avec eux, ils leur donnaient de l’eau dans un bol. Ils leur donnaient souvent des indications et des suggestions de restaurants et d’attractions. S’ils n’étaient pas trop occupés, ils emmenaient souvent les gens dans mon studio qui est situé juste derrière la galerie.

 

Depuis notre ouverture il y a 11 ans, Francine et son équipe ont littéralement accueilli des dizaines de milliers de visiteurs et je suis très fière de la façon dont ils traitent tout le monde. Ils sont en grande partie responsables du succès de la galerie dans sa mission de « Transposer la joie » !


PHOTOS PAR LOIC PRAVAZ


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