WHAT IS SIXTEEN ONLINE?
Sixteen Online is an artists collective that helps emerging and established artists share their portfolios, find their audience and be part of a self-supporting community. Made by artists for artists, we build on the back of the physical space at Sixteen Gallery in Cheltenham. We bring together a digital space for artists to showcase their work, and a way for art lovers to discover and connect to new artists.
ARTISTS, SIXTEEN ONLINE CAN HELP YOU:
SHARE NEW WORK
CREATE A PORTFOLIO FOR VISITORS TO EXPLORE YOUR WORK IN A DEDICATED ARTISTS SPACE
FIND YOUR AUDIENCE
GET PROMOTED AND HAVE YOUR WORK SHARED WITH ART LOVERS AND COLLECTORS
GET INSPIRED
BE PART OF A SELF SUPPORTING COMMUNITY OF ARTISTS WITH TIES TO A WORKING GALLERY
Joining Sixteen Online allows you the opportunity to show in a physical gallery space, encourages artist collaborations, fosters support through the online community and allows you to connect directly with the buyer; building your own mailing lists and nurturing your client relationships. All while taking 0% commission on works sold through the site!
We provide additional support through a creative hub of digital resources, monthly newsletters and insight into the industry. As well as assisting in connecting you with new audiences.
When you become a member of the collective, it allows us to pool the resources from all community members to spend on advertising and promotion for all of the artists. It enables us to dedicate more time and money to promotion with consistency and a budget far greater than artists could afford individually.
All this helps artists find a voice away from social media and to build a professional portfolio that’s engaging and easy to explore.
ART LOVERS, FRIENDS, COLLECTORS, SIXTEEN ONLINE CAN HELP YOU:
EXPLORE
DELVE INTO WORKING ARTIST'S PORTFOLIOS AND LEARN ABOUT THEM THROUGH THEIR BIOS
MOVE AWAY FROM SOCIAL MEDIA
FIND ARTWORK IN AN ENGAGING AND DEDICATED SPACE
GET LOCAL
FIND ARTISTS WORKING ACROSS THE UK
Our database holds the portfolios of all the artists in the collective for visitors to browse. You can find their latest collections, their bio, where to see their work and get in touch directly with them.
All the artists in the collective are from the UK, you can support UK arts by collecting artwork directly from a thriving community of artists.
The collective is home to some fantastic artists, and while that means we always encourage them to value their work correctly, plenty of the artwork on the site is affordable. You don’t have to be mega-rich or a celebrity to be an art collector, you can start with one well priced piece from an artist you love.
If you like what we’re doing here, sign up to our newsletter and get monthly updates on what’s going on across the collective and the wider art community.
WHERE IT STARTED
SIXTEEN GALLERY
Opened in Montpellier, Cheltenham in the summer of 2021 as an artist run rentable exhibition space in an area that would soon be dubbed the Montpellier Art Quarter.
Artists are able to rent the space for one or two weeks and steward an exhibition without paying any commission on their work. At least twice a year we host curated exhibitions around a theme and encourage both emerging and established artists to submit work for free. These exhibitions have a commission of 25% on work sold, bucking the trend of traditional galleries whose rates are often much higher or have an entrance fee.
With this, we have helped numerous artists make the leap to becoming full time artists through first-time solo shows or collaborative exhibitions with like minded creatives.
Our ethos has always been to support as many artists as possible along their journey navigating the challenges of being a professional artist. We have kept the weekly rent for the space competitive and any commission as low as possible, dedicating as many weeks as available to free shows and open competitions.
With only a limited number of weeks a year, we are unable to showcase ALL the artists we would like, so we are developing Sixteen Online as a space artists can showcase and promote their work all year round, as well as getting added benefits that come with being a digital platform.
WHERE IT'S GOING
We’re growing to a vibrant community, a collective of exciting practicing artists from across the UK.
We’re building up a strong online presence, culminating in a site that people visit often for new artwork, resources, inspiration, interesting articles and genuine connection to the artistic community.
We want to become a platform synonymous with great art, make partnerships with other brands or collectives which support artists or share our vision.
We will build up artists profiles, give support in their careers and be a platform members are proud to be part of.
HOW IT WORKS FOR ARTISTS
CHOOSE
A PLAN
YOU CAN JOIN US FOR LESS THAN £10 A MONTH. CHOOSE A PLAN BY CLICKING HERE. YOUR SUBSCRIPTION HELPS US FUND THE COLLECTIVE
CURATE
YOUR
PORTFOLIO
CREATE YOUR PORTFOLIO BY UPLOADING IMAGES AND ADDING YOUR BIO. YOUR PORTFOLIO ENTERS OUR SEARCHABLE ARTIST DATABASE.
KEEP IT
FRESH
REFRESH YOUR WORK IN YOUR PORTFOLIO, ADD YOUR EXHIBITIONS AND GET HELP FROM OUR RESOURCES. GET FEATURED ON OUR HOME PAGE, SOCIAL MEDIA AND NEWSLETTER AND IN THE CALENDAR.
Sounds good? What are you waiting for, join us now.
THE TEAM
Andy, Arthur and Ellie
All three of us are artists and designers, who are all part of the community too. (Click on our work to check out our portfolios).
Sixteen Gallery was set up by Andy and his son Arthur as a place to show their own work when it was not being rented out to other artists. They wanted to create a space that supported new artists and could act as a springboard for those wanting to make the leap into becoming full time artists.
With the hope of extending that ethos to a larger. Audience, Ellie came on board to develop Sixteen Online into what you see now. We hope as the community grows we can grow our team with it to help support more and more artists find an audience for the work they love to create and share.
ANDY OWEN-SMITH
ARTHUR OWEN-SMITH
