Wining and dining for the arts: a gallery event in Boston goes beyond a mere opening by combining food, wine and charity with art - strategy

Sometimes an art gallery wants to have a creative opening that attracts a varied audience. Sometimes a non-profit organization wants to come by its message across to a different multitude And sometimes both of these clusters want to sit back and relax at an elegant dinner.

Maureen Reddy of Boston's Da Vinci Designer Gallery understood this when she had the idea for The Collection Art and Wine series. The Collection combined an art present to view wine tasting dinner and charity benefit into a happy and inventive reception.

The series included sum of two units events, each held at the Aura restaurant in Boston's elegant Seaport public-house in April and June. Each evening showcased different works from several emerging and established local artists. In addition to the exhibit and dinner, there were visitant speakers, music and an auction of pieces donated by dint of the artists. Proceeds from the tickets and the auction benefited the Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities as well as the Boston NOW Cultural capital two Massachusetts-based cultural groups that work to educate communities about the importance of art and art education.

"[The Collection] creates a social fact where a non-profit group come bys to take a stand and permit people know what they're doing," said Reddy "The artists come by to expose their artwork, gain some feedback on their work and diocese if it's sellable in this kind of market. The high-class [i]cabaret[/i] gets the nonprofit and alternative client base. I figured if I lay all those components together--a nice wine dinner and art and a non-profit group--that it would be a win-win situation for all the participants." In go [i]or[/i] come back the gallery also gets the exposing of the varied audience.

individual of the most creative parts of the series was that the subsistence was inspired by the artwork.. The pieces were shown to the chefs, who then planned a menu and chose wine that closely matched the perceive of the pieces. For instance, the Collection's next to the first show featured a group of artists who live in the Baker Building, the United States' oldest chocolate mill in the Boston area. The wine chosen for the evening was made near the mountain Baker winery region in Washington, and the dinner included salmon and other Northwestern-themed subsistences Dessert, of course, was made with Baker chocolate.

Each evening was designed to be a feast for the faculty of perceptions Guests were encouraged to festivity in the sight of the artwork, the taste of the wine and regimen the sound of the music and the visitant speakers, and the fact that they "touched" someone through contributing to important charities.

Low-Pressure Sales

The circumstances said Reddy, bring in a market of potential buyer Because of the combination of occurrences however, none of the visitants felt they had come to just an art gallery. Since the visitants can be attending for the art, the wine or the regimen "You don't know what they're there for, in like manner there's no pressure on anyone," she said.

Reddy was reluctant to relate the number of works sold with the succes of the circumstance "The art doesn't fly not on the wails at these events" she said. "No matter in what way many people are there, and no matter what the sophistication of the audience is, it just doesn't happen. on the other hand they're exposed, and it could happen later on"

For Reddy a gallery holder with a background in oil painting, interior design and incident planning, marketing a gallery opening to appeal to as many audiences as possible came naturally. "I really do draw near from two worlds. I'm real entrepreneurial, and I'm also an artist" she said. Her Da Vinci Designer Gallery is a self proclaimed "virtual gallery,"--she doesn't have a permanent retail space. Reddy have feelings that another draw of the series is that the incidents won't be in the same place each time. Although she was true happy with the Seaport public-house she is already looking for a fresh location for The Collection's nearest shows, which will happen nearest year, if not sooner.

Reddy remains confident that the dinner, benefit and art display in one was the greatest in quantity important aspect of the series. "All three major constitutings were the draw," she said. "I think it was equal. In that case, it alone makes sense that more family would come to that than just a gallery opening."

For more information, call (617) 319-2837 or visit www.thecollection boscom

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