Buying and Selling Artwork Online

Internet Brings Art Galleries to Everyone, Information to Artists

Aug 4, 2009 Aaron Scott Robertson

The World Wide Web has taken art galleries, art organizations and collectives, and individual artists to new heights in terms of exposure, sales, and collaboration.

The Internet allows people from all walks of life to instantly access knowledge and wisdom at their fingertips that spans the ages and the world over. Art galleries and resources for artists are no different.

With the rise of e-commerce and the growing appetite of consumers for goods and services that are ready to go with a simple click of the "buy now" button on their computer screens in the convenience of their own homes, it's only natural that individual artists, art collectives, galleries, and related organizations have responded to the demand and have filled great niches in cyberspace.

Art and Culture Online

One interesting website, Art and Culture Online, comes up as the first non-sponsored link on Google using the search term "art galleries online".

What makes Art and Culture Online unique is that it not only provides visitors and potential buyers with an extensive, centralized directory made up of websites gathered from across the Internet that brings together, in its own words, "...thousands of exhibits, galleries, museums and artists from around the world", but it also serves as a great informational website for artists.

Some of the resources geared toward artists on the site cover topics such as copyright and legal help, obtaining health coverage, tax information, and how to build and optimize a website, among others.

OnCampus Creations

Another website, OnCampus Creations, tailors to a narrowly defined niche within the broader world of art, which is rather extensive. Based in southeastern Wisconsin, OnCampus Creations provides collegiate artists with an online marketplace in which they can attempt to sell their one-of-a-kind creations.

What makes this business even more unique, though, is that, according to its website, it donates a portion of each sale to the art department of the creator's school. It also offers an e-newsletter, along with information and resources that appeal to a larger audience within the world of art, such as an art glossary and a helpful guide to buying art online.

Students interested in selling their work through the site must register a free account, which then allows the student to publish a biography and other information on the site. Student artists affiliated with OnCampus Creations get to name their own asking prices, according to the site.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the Internet has taken the beauty and accessibility of artwork to an unprecedented level, allowing billions of people throughout the world to view and purchase it instantly. This not only does the obvious, which is improving the overall financial picture and exposure of individual artists and art organizations and collectives, but it also provides the world with far greater amounts of cultural and social capital.

In addition, the Internet, at the heart of the phenomenon referred to as the democratization of information, is helping artists by allowing them to connect with one another to share information and best practices.

The copyright of the article Buying and Selling Artwork Online in Art Galleries/Museums is owned by Aaron Scott Robertson. Permission to republish Buying and Selling Artwork Online in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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