Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Leja Atwood.
Kimberly, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My husband and I opened up Elephant Room Gallery in November of 2009 after seriously considering the vacant storefront as a potential art gallery for several months prior. I studied photography and video at UIC, graduating in 2006. During my time there, I got a taste for curating and collaborating with other artists and I became very intrigued with that process. I wanted to open up a space one day where I could work with Chicago-based new and emerging artists as I didn’t see many opportunities for artists just starting out. After reaching out to the owner of the building and presenting a business proposal, he agreed to give us a chance. Today, the gallery is a hub of activity rotating art exhibitions out every month or 2, hosting intimate workshops, artist talks and other community events. I get to work with artists now who I am in awe of and I am so grateful for that opportunity.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course we have met our share of challenges throughout the years, but I believe you have to make mistakes in order to grow. We move on and don’t dwell on those hardships but we have definitely learned from them. As with many galleries, making enough revenue in order to continue to operate is always a struggle. Art is important in all of our lives and a lot of my job is convincing others of that fact by getting them to invest in these artists. There have been amazing exhibitions where we did not sell any of the artwork, and that definitely made for a challenging period, but through those struggles, I learned about what areas I could improve on and creative ways to get people in the doors in order to continue our mission of connecting artists to the broader community.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Elephant Room Gallery – what should we know?
Elephant Room Gallery is interested in fostering a community that exchanges ideas, collaborates and inspires. We represent artists who continue to grow in their techniques, explorations and ideas in order to bring the public an exciting and immersing gallery experience. We focus on Chicago-based new and emerging artists while broadening our inspiration by curating open calls for group exhibitions periodically. We love collaborating with other artists and curators for exhibitions and various events not only in our own space, but also in other spaces. We believe in accessibility within the arts which is why most of our events are free and open to the public and why we offer short term payment plans for new collectors. We are known for exhibiting local artists who create powerful and relevant work and who are also interested in participating in various programming throughout their exhibition. What I am most proud of are the lives we have impacted positively through our work whether it be with our intern program, artists, or visitors who have attended an exhibition, workshop or talk. What sets us apart from other galleries I think is our sense of openness and community as it relates to our programming. We want to create a dialogue around our exhibitions and provide a positive space for everyone to come and be inspired, network and grow.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
What is most important to our success is flexibility. We have to grow and change as the community, our artists and our lives demand it. Evolution is inevitable and you have to be willing to evolve in order to grow.
Contact Info:
- Address: 704 S Wabash Ave. Chicago, Il 60605
- Website: www.elephantroomgallery.com
- Phone: 312-361-0281
- Email: kim@elephantroomgallery.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elephantroomgallery/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elephantroomgallery/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/elephantroomchi
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/elephant-room-chicago-5
Image Credit:
Sentrock, Jennifer Cronin, Chantala Kommanivanh, Michael Foster
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