Business structure breaks traditional gallery mould

Glenn and Sherylle Dovaston opened their art gallery in February, determined to rewrite the formula for gallery operations in Western Australia.

The husband-and-wife owners have tweaked the traditional business model for their gallery, DOVA Collective, allowing emerging local artists to set the foundations for their career at an affordable cost.

The couple collaborate with the artists, sharing costs and operating on about half the commission structure of other galleries.

Prior to embarking on this venture, Mr Dovaston was a mining engineer for more than 35 years as both managing director and chief executive.

He worked at a suite of mining and resources companies including Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold, Dominion Mining and Resolute Mining.

“Throughout my career, I championed the development of a highly skilled and motivated workforce, effective mine-site rehabilitation practices in the eastern Goldfields and Indigenous business development in the Pilbara,” Mr Dovaston told Business News.

Ms Dovaston also has extensive experience in the corporate world, playing a leading role in the human services sector.

She worked at Asthma WA for almost 10 years (as chief executive for the final year) before moving to Albany as Baptistcare’s residential care manager for the Great Southern.

Ms Dovaston was recruited by the state government’s Department of Communities, formerly known as the Disability Services Commission, and was appointed to transition the DSC from the WA care model to the NDIS.

“I was there for about eight years before being moved to Broome as regional manager for the Kimberley and Pilbara and transitioning that whole slice of the state to the NDIS,” Ms Dovaston said.

The DSC became the Department of Communities shortly after Ms Dovaston moved back to Perth and took a position managing district leadership groups.

“It was all about building capacity in the regions and getting all government departments and some private enterprises, like Rio Tinto, to work together to address social and cultural issues,” Ms Dovaston said.

“COVID hit and the Department of Communities focused on managing the welfare response, establishing a unit called the State Welfare Incident Coordination Centre, where I began doing strategic planning.”

In December 2020, when the severity of COVID became apparent, Mr and Ms Dovaston took the opportunity to reflect on their careers.

“Our worlds had been shaken up, so we asked ourselves what we should do,” Ms Dovaston said.

“Do we keep putting one foot in front of the other with what we’re doing or do we take a breath? We both opted to the latter and resigned from our respective roles.”

After a break, Mr Dovaston said the couple began planning their entry into the arts industry and the form their next venture would take.

“I’ve always loved designer-made furniture and objects, while Sherylle … had always wanted to focus on her art practice full time,” he said.

“One thing we noticed very early on was the limited avenues to promote and sell high-quality fine art in Perth.

“There’s only a handful of galleries within the region and most of those focus on well-established artists, meaning there’s very limited opportunity to take on and exhibit new artists.”

Ms Dovaston said the obstacles to a successful career shift of this significance seemed insurmountable at times.

“We were wondering how we were going to break the traditional gallery mould,” she said.

“There’s a really small window through that gallery model, and with the vast pool of artistic talent across WA, the chance of me being picked up by a gallery was slim.

“I decided to be my own driver, so Glenn and I buckled down and learned how to promote and get our art out there.”

Mr and Ms Dovaston tapped into their networking skills from their corporate backgrounds, attending business events and spreading awareness of their gallery through word of mouth.

They trialled short-term exhibitions at Co.Lab by Liberty on Murray Street.

“We tested the waters with my own artworks for the first exhibition in May 2022,” Ms Dovaston said.

“Then we invited another WA artist to the next exhibition to co-exhibit.

“We started to see a way this could work if we had support from businesses to keep some costs down.”

The Dovastons devised their new approach to gallery operations and opened DOVA Collective in Hay Street Mall.

This space was provided through Activate Perth’s #FillThisSpace initiative at a discounted rate.

While traditional galleries charge between 40 and 50 per cent commission to cover the costs of exhibiting artworks, DOVA Collective collaborates closely with artists, sharing the costs and tasks and asking only for 20 per cent commission.

“Half of commission we give to whichever gallery assistant sells the artwork,” Ms Dovaston said.

Corporates

Ms Dovaston was selected for HHG Legal Group’s Artist in Residence program for 2023, which was established to support artists and boost the arts landscape.

Every year, four WA artists are invited by HHG Legal to showcase their work at the company’s city office, with each artist allocated a quarter of the calendar year to exhibit.

HHG hosts a launch event for each exhibition and pays for all forms of promotion.

“The artist can sell their work on the opening night, but their work also remains on display to potential buyers for the next three months with no cost to them,” Ms Dovaston said.

“In return, HHG Legal gets the benefit of your art in its corporate space, meaning fresh artworks produced by different local artists, and the workplace is engaging and vibrant.

“It’s a win-win initiative.”

Ms Dovaston’s work will be on show at HHG Legal’s office from October to January.

While excited to see private businesses supporting the arts in Perth, she said there should be more businesses engaging in these kinds of initiatives.

Mr Dovaston agreed, saying it would be wonderful for businesses to be active and visible in their support of the arts.

“WA’s corporate sector has a long history of supporting sport, and this is important to the lives of many Western Australians,” Mr Dovaston said.

“What we’d like to see, though, is a broadening of support in recognition that the arts are the essential cultural backbone for communities, and also need this support if we want a vibrant and diverse city.”

DOVA Collective is currently sponsored by TurnKey Management, which Ms Dovaston said was a great example of another business committed to arts and community.

“I think you need those kind of business partners if you’re going to be successful with a different business model like ours, where it’s not evolving around commissions and money,” Ms Dovaston said.

“This is especially important for emerging artists who don’t necessarily have massive bodies of work or a reputation to rely on and they’re trying to build their presence."