This gallery has got to be a unicorn, right?
In a world of rising sale commissions, Sydney Road Gallery is breaking the mould.
A city art gallery that only charges a 10 per cent commission on sales. It sounds like a fever dream, doesn’t it?
We artists know the average gallery “cut” is between 40 per cent and 50 per cent and are positively bedevilled with rumours some galleries are considering raising theirs to 60 per cent.
The existence of a gallery taking only one-tenth seems as likely as finding a unicorn at your front gate. Yet, for the past seven years, the Sydney Road Gallery at Balgowlah in Sydney has proved it can be done.
This makes sense when you realise the two-room gallery on a busy Northern Beaches thoroughfare was started by artists as a co-operative, rather than as a for-profit enterprise. Further, members support the gallery by each contributing $535 per month towards the running costs.
This kind of commission structure can be a game-changer for artists who are confident about having steady sales.
Co-founder of Sydney Road Gallery (SRG), Fiona Chandler, says the gallery was devised as a way for artists to make a living from their practices. On average, in Australia, visual artists earn just A$23,200 per year from their art.
“Because of the commercial nature of our gallery (low fees), it means they can make money,” she says.
SRG supports their artists working with other galleries, but Fiona has observed that many struggle with the higher commissions. Fortunately, over recent years, commercial galleries have become more relaxed about demanding exclusivity from the artists they show so that artists can keep SRG in their exhibition schedule.
“Some people have left and come back for purely that reason. They’ve learned a lot, but they weren’t able to make a living. Or they’ll come back once a year, or they’d like to do a collaboration,” she says.
Fiona has a solo exhibition of her watercolours at SRG until October 6. She works with three other galleries around Australia but ensures she has enough work selling through Sydney Road to boost her annual income.
One year, when she skipped a SRG solo show, her accountant took note: “He looked at the figures and said I had painted exactly the same amount as previous years, but had taken home over a third less profit”.
Many of the original coterie of 13 artists and other early members have used the skills and experience they gained through SRG to seed new ventures and stellar careers.
Founding member Fiona Verity went on to co-host the Art Wank podcast, Miguel Gonzalez co-founded the Brookvale Arts District, Sarah Montgomery became the owner of the ArtSmart framing and art store in Seaforth, Ash Holmes founded the Hake House gallery in Dee Why, Ben Waters helped start the Pittwater Artist Trail, and Debbie Mackinnon, founder of ME Artspace in St Leonards, has branched out into art tours.
“The people we had at the start were all go-getters”, she says.
Key points:
Members are charged a 10 per cent commission, contribute $535 monthly and make a 6-9 month commitment.
Fees cover rent and salaries of three staff, as well as running costs such as accountancy, marketing and a delivery van.
Guest artist commissions are on a sliding scale up to 40 per cent, depending on required services.
The gallery has never operated with more than 18 members.
There is no non-compete policy – so members can exhibit elsewhere.
The gallery maintains relationships with artists if they go elsewhere and will continue to recommend their work.
Artists retain the contact details of buyers and visitors to their exhibitions.
The gallery is open four days a week.
Starting out: recruiting a team of believers
Fiona Chandler could barely keep up with the demand for her work, when her long-time framer chided her: “You’re a mug. What the hell are you doing? You should be opening your own gallery”. He took her downstairs to an empty shopfront in his building, which was slated for demolition.
“It was as quick as that. It was a three-month lease and, after that, we could go month-to-month,” she says of that time in 2017.
Fiona recruited artists Jessica Watts and Sarah Montgomery, “both of whom I knew vaguely”, and they decided they would need a dozen members to contribute towards the rent and to share the work of running and staffing the gallery.
“So, we made a shortlist of the artists that we would really, really love, not only based on their work, but I had to stalk them on Instagram to see what their work ethic was like,” she says.
“We spent one weekend painting the premises and we literally only had three or four weeks to get up and running.”
“We all put in $435 each up front and I just stretched that as far as I possibly could. So, I don’t think all the walls got painted. But we started selling from day one.”
Not every artist that was approached could see the value at first: “So for every artist we got in there, we probably had ten knockbacks. And then, once it was successful, people came and wanted to know what we were doing, but you want people in the boat who were willing to take that risk with you,” says Fiona.
Members had different reasons for participating in the project: “I probably was one of the more commercially-minded, alongside people like Jessica Watts. Whereas, with other people, their only aim was to become a full-time artist within five years.
“Or some people just wanted to have a lot of exhibitions under their belt to fill out their CV.”
How things changed since 2017
The monthly cost for members has risen by around $100 per month
Paid staff mean members are no longer rostered to work in the gallery.
SRG has started collaborating with other galleries, such as a gallery swap with The Corner Store in Orange in 2025.
How managing a gallery fits with an art practice
Fiona Chandler runs the gallery with two other directors, Sarah Montgomery and Marilou Palazon.
“I couldn’t do what I do, and they couldn’t do what they do, without each other. And we have a brilliant bookkeeper who keeps us on our toes.”
Fiona says the gallery takes up around 50 per cent of her productive time, leaving her to create around 50-60 watercolour paintings each year. On top of that, she builds up her personal marketing database through her newsletter, where she offers a “mini” 20x20cm framed painting for a very enticing $225 each Thursday.
“It is bonkers,” she admits about the low price and work involved in the weekly drop (after a break, the Start Your Salon Hang resumes at the end of the month). However, the discipline has improved her newsletter production and given her a “voice” to speak to clients.
“It probably doesn’t make any sense business-wise, but it does make sense marketing-wise.”
Fiona works with three other galleries – AK Bellinger in Inverell, NSW, Studio Gallery and Bistro in Yallingup, WA, and the Manyung Gallery Group. She would also like to start looking for a gallery outside Australia.
Other goals include creating a label for wine, to work with an architect or designer to create a bespoke rug, and to collaborate with a brand to exhibit her work in other settings.
Fiona has been a finalist in the Mosman Art Prize, Small Things Art Prize in Woollahra, the Manly Regional Gallery, and has exhibited in group shows throughout Australia. A former Warringah Council’s Artist in Residence, she created Harbord Public School’s first Artist in Residence programme. Fiona holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts from the University of Newcastle and a Masters in Design from the University of Technology Sydney.
The newsletter is a wealth of revlatory information!! Always enjoying your insights, abilities and selfless sharing. Thank you.
Love Sydney Road Gallery! Always pop in at a show, great variety of works.