As many galleries are being priced out of New York and San Francisco by
high rents, many of the galleries here in San Miguel seem to be struggling to
stay open. This statement is based almost solely on my own observations as I
walk through centro and see empty galleries on a busy Saturday when the
tourists are out in full force. The long-established galleries at the Fabrica
Aurora art complex are doing okay, as are the larger and more diversified ones
in centro. However, some marginal spaces have become hybrids in order to
survive by selling furniture or other items.One such marginal gallery is attached to a mail service called La
Connection on Calle Aldama, and another, the Atenea on Calle Jesus, sells real
estate. Others
survive because they are built into residences where the artists live (mostly
in the neighborhoods of San Antonio and Guadalupe). There are at least two
co-op galleries, Izamal on Calle Mesones and Magenta on Calle Zacateros, that
are holding their own because they have members who share the cost of rent and
advertising and are obligated to work a specified schedule per week. So far
there are no galleries where selected artists pay a monthly fee for wall space,
but I understand one is being organized. This concept has been used in the US
for at least a decade now and the monthly fee is usually quite high.
Gallerists/artists who run this type of collective space seem to do so in order
to make a profit, and I believe a substantial one. I know of several artists who
have opened galleries to show their own work as well as work by colleagues they
admire, and an empty gallery is heartbreaking for them, but such is the
situation right now. I have no idea why so many of the galleries here in San
Miguel do not have more traffic, especially on a Saturday, unless there are
simply too many of them.