#LANobleGallery

[thenebulaworks]

Dreaming to enlightenment part of series Imagined Rooms. #fineart #fineartphotography #lanoblegallery #flowersgallery #enlightenment #hiddengeisha #surrealistartist #dreamstate #alteredstates #parisart @openspace_paris @galerielelongparis @parisphotofair @earthgalleryparis @parisreview @venice_art_district @guggenheim_venice @venicearts @cortonaotm @romearts #deathandlife #lifeanddeath #rebirthcycle #rebirth #psyche #mixedmediaartist

[samanthathompsonphoto-blog]

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Gallery and Gallery Director Research

Laura Noble

Myself and Alex are really interested in creating our own gallery space so I thought it would be useful to research different gallery organisations and to see how they present themselves on line but also to look at how they engage with there audiences. The first person I am going to look at is Laura Noble who created LA Noble gallery which exhibits exemplary art and represents well established artists and is eager to discover upcoming talent. Noble represents artists from across genres in all its from really enabling her to interact with artist’s photographers across the industry, generating a broad spectrum of audiences, something I need to think about when myself and Alex decide who to represent.  What I found really interesting about this gallery and Noble herself which is that it isn’t simply a gallery space, they nurture and care for the careers of their artists while getting their names out there to a wider audience. In particular, she provides portfolio reviews and career consultations to encourage and develop the art world. On her website she provides information about the portfolio reviews which provides you with information about what to expect from a review but also what to bring and how to get involved. Online there is also a price list of session prices. I have been really inspired by Nobles, engagement and motivation to engage and nurture photographers. I think it really acts as a unique selling point as she is thinking beyond the four walls of her gallery.

I came across Laura Noble last year when I volunteered at Fix Photo Festival of which is an annual celebration of photography in all forms and is a 10day long exhibition. But what I found really interesting about this exhibition is that they have made it into a competition and have collaborated with photocrowd to bring the Fix Photo Festival Awards. The awards which brings exposure from the photography industry to new and upcoming photographers. It provides a wide range of photographers an opportunity to present there work to a wider audience, but also allows Nobles brand to be seen from a wider audience and people to want to be apart of it, allowing her to stand out from other gallery’s. Something I found really interesting was that the competition has been split into categories; Identity, Community, Environment and Harmony which allows the competition to appeal to a wide range of audiences again allowing Noble to be seen from a mass audience. This has really inspired me to think about clever ways to use exhibitions to engage with different audiences and for when myself and Alex curate exhibitions to think about themes and what influence this will have on the audience. The Fix Photo Awards, have there own Instagram account, highlighting the importance of a social media presence to generate an audience and to not only get people to apply for the award but to also be aware of the exhibition and to build an audience for the exhibition before it is even on. Something I found really interesting about the Fix Photo Instagram was the use of Instagram takeovers. The Instagram page is taken over by different photographers who will be exhibiting, allowing an audience to engage with the exhibition but to also engage with the photographers and to get a taste for what to expect. I think this is also a good tool to build on an audience as each photographer who does a takeover will bring with them their own audience and exposure for the festival and for Noble.

After looking at how Noble has successfully used Instagram and this external exhibition to build an audience for her brand I was really interested to see how she disseminates her self on line. Her website, is incredibly simple and easy to follow with bold headings for each section of her website with clear titles. It is clear from her website the extent of work she does beyond the gallery; it really makes me think about how important it is to create a brand which is much more than a simple gallery. I have learnt from looking at Nobles website, specifically the importance of good headings in order to easily navigate your audience around the site. I was also really interested to see how what information she provides about the artists which she represents and to see how much information she puts about them.

Noble represents artists, Brittain Bright, Carlotta Cardana, Chloe Rosser, Chris Steele-Perkins, Colin Coutts, Deborah Baker, Elinor Sira, Emily Allchurch, Geoffrey H.Short, Helen Petersen, Hendrik Faure, Herb Schmitz, Holly Lynton, Johanna Ward, Jon Wyatt, Karl Blossfeldt, Kajsa Gullberg, Kuriko Sano, Lisa Holden, Lottie Davies, Misha Haller, Renee Chabot, Robert Clayton, Robert D. Phillips, Sandra Jordan, Tom Broadbent, Venetia Dearden, Yvonne, De Rosa. I thought this would be really interesting for when I come to putting up the artist’s section myself and Alex are putting on our website and to learn about the sort of information we should be providing. Noble is very simple about the information she provides, something I thought was really important was that the photographs from the artists are large on the screen and you can easily click a navigate from photograph to photograph really getting a feel for their portfolio. There is then a description about the artists work and specific projects before a short description about her background and previous exhibitions they have been apart of. I think the information provided to you really allows you get a feel for who the artists are, and only with a couple of paragraphs as you really don’t want to over whelm your audience with information. Other than her website, there is a Laura Noble Gallery Instagram which is a really good tool creating an on going relation with your audience, in particular this Instagram works as another way of promoting the fix festival and also provides you with snippets of work from a spectrum of artists the gallery represents. I think Instagram here is really important as it really allows Noble and her different jobs to be explore and seen from a different online audience than simply her website.

Twitter

https://twitter.com/LANobleGallery

Not only does Laura Noble use Instagram to generate an audience of her gallery and events she also uses twitter in a similar way. Promoting both the gallery and fix photo festival, giving her twitter audience teaser of what to expect at the exhibition but also for finding volunteers to help with the events. I think it’s a really good tool to bring in people who are interested in photograph and wanting to learn more getting them to volunteer and see an exhibition come together. I think using twitter is an incredibly contemporary way to engage with different audiences and keeping them up to date. I think its something I really need to think about with Alex and making sure when we create a twitter again we stay active and post lots to keep our audience engaged and continue to build it.

After being really inspired by Laura Nobles experimentation with her brand and using unique and diverse ways to make her self stand and and create a relationship with her audiences I was really interested to find out more about her and learn more from her expertise in the gallery industry. I began digging deeper and came across an interview with Laura Noble on the Flozvisisions website. (http://www.flozvisions.com/laura-noble.html ). It is a really interesting interview allow me to really understand her practice and also get some advice from her expertise. Below are a few points I collected which really stood out to me in the interview.

“As a gallery owner, what is your advice to a younger photographer who wants to start a professional career?��

Laura:

1.     “Look at other work. If you do not know your position in the market and what else is out there you can replicate work, miss out on discussions with curators through lack of photo history knowledge and appear arrogant to think that you are too good to consider others who came before you.” – This really made me realize the importance of doing all my research in both the agency and gallery industries, I really need to understand the market and be willing to learn.

2.     “Good grammar! I know it sounds strange, but a well-written letter or email goes a long way. Do your research and address the person correctly? I have had many emails that begin ‘Dear Sir’. These are deleted without being read as the lack of care reflects a lot”. – I Really need to make sure when emailing I email correctly, I think that the south bank collective will help me feel more confident with this, but I also need to email professionals and test my emails.

3.     “Present yourself professionally. Have a good portfolio and website which showcases your best work. Sometimes it’s better to ‘kill your darlings’ than show too much online. Be concise in all your communications with everyone you deal with, promptly and in a friendly manner.”- This is really valuable advice and really taught me the importance of doing more research on how professionals in the gallery and agency industries present themselves online, I need to be clear and lean about what works well.

Researching Laura Noble has really highlighted the importance of being different and finding services you can provide an audience which goes beyond the walls of a gallery. It has taught me the importance of engaging with a wider audience and thinking of interesting ways to do this by using exhibitions to create new audiences. Nobles use of awards and portfolio reviews has really inspired me to bring this into myself and Alex’s company, as we can combine our passion for photography and look at people’s portfolio and can build relationships in unique ways, beyond having their work in our gallery. Noble has taught me the importance of having a dominant online presence and highlighted the success of Instagram takeover which is something myself and Alex need to bear in mind when trying to build our online audience. When it comes to building our own website, Noble has encouraged me to be simple and clear and create an online space which is easy to navigate thought providing our online audience with the important information.

Screenshots and information from:

https://www.instagram.com/fixphotofestival/

https://www.instagram.com/lanoblegallery/  

http://www.lauraannnoble.com/fixphotofestivalawards/

[johanna-ward-photographer]

Laura Noble’s blog posting from the exhibition ‘Capturing the narrative’ showing work alongside Lottie Davies and Brittain Bright

[krthiel]

"Being and Art" - Looking from the outside in. #36 (Visitor in hammock, Art Academy Duesseldorf Germany). © Karl R. Thiel — http://www.thielcollection.de

[empty-frames-blog-blog]

Love this series of photos by Lottie Davies! I'm so privileged to be working at the LA Noble gallery for a week, where the series is being shown as a whole for the first time. Come along if you're near by, they really are a beautiful set of images. 

http://www.lauraannnoble.com/exhibitions/

[thenebulaworks]

Dreaming to enlightenment part of series Imagined Rooms. #fineart #fineartphotography #lanoblegallery #flowersgallery #enlightenment #hiddengeisha #surrealistartist #dreamstate #alteredstates #parisart @openspace_paris @galerielelongparis @parisphotofair @earthgalleryparis @parisreview @venice_art_district @guggenheim_venice @venicearts @cortonaotm @romearts #deathandlife #lifeanddeath #rebirthcycle #rebirth #psyche #mixedmediaartist

[thenebulaworks]

Porcelain #2 from the series 'Porcelain' discussing the future of the human and life as we know it. Looking for a space to exhibit this body of work later this year. #flowersgallery #lanoblegallery #fineartphotography #fineartmixedmedia #fineartportrait #moby @moby @cortonaotm @whitecubeofficial #whitecubeofficial

[thenebulaworks]

Porcelain1# from the series 'Porcelain' #fineart #fineartportrait #fineartphotography #porcelain #moby #londonartist #buckinghamshirephotographer #lanoblegallery #flowersgallery @moby @heralienatedsoul

[thenebulaworks]

Porcelain #2 from the series 'Porcelain' discussing the future of the human and life as we know it. Looking for a space to exhibit this body of work later this year. #flowersgallery #lanoblegallery #fineartphotography #fineartmixedmedia #fineartportrait #moby @moby @cortonaotm @whitecubeofficial #whitecubeofficial

[thenebulaworks]

Eternal mother. From the series 'Imagined Rooms' #flowers #flowersgallery #surrealistphotography #mixedmediaart #photographicart #darkart #surrealism @flowersgallery @pacegallery @thephotographersgallery @gagosiangallery @lanoblegallery @beetlesandhuxley #beetlesandhuxley #paris @openspace_paris @galerielelongparis @parisphotofair #parisphotofair #galerielongchamp #galerielelongparis #openspace_paris #cortonaotm @brightonphotographygallery #brightonphotographygallery #venice #mediumformatpositive #mediumformat #mamiyarb67 #veniceart

[thenebulaworks]

Eternal mother. From the series 'Imagined Rooms' #flowers #flowersgallery #surrealistphotography #mixedmediaart #photographicart #darkart #surrealism @flowersgallery @pacegallery @thephotographersgallery @gagosiangallery @lanoblegallery @beetlesandhuxley #beetlesandhuxley #paris @openspace_paris @galerielelongparis @parisphotofair #parisphotofair #galerielongchamp #galerielelongparis #openspace_paris #cortonaotm @brightonphotographygallery #brightonphotographygallery #venice #mediumformatpositive #mediumformat #mamiyarb67 #veniceart

[thenebulaworks]

Porcelain #2 from the series 'Porcelain' discussing the future of the human and life as we know it. Looking for a space to exhibit this body of work later this year. #flowersgallery #lanoblegallery #fineartphotography #fineartmixedmedia #fineartportrait #moby @moby @cortonaotm @whitecubeofficial #whitecubeofficial

[krthiel]

"Being and Art" - Looking from the outside in. #19 (Museum Haus Lange Esters, Krefeld, Germany). © Karl R. Thiel — http://www.thielcollection.de