Support Young Artists @ Ugallery.com

I recently ran into this great website that helps young artists sell their work. They are all college students or recent grads. One of the hardest things for young artists is finding a venue to display their work. The internet has really helped by providing virtual gallery space if you know where to look.

This is what the site says about the project:

Alex Farkas, Greg Rosborough, and Stephen Tanenbaum are the founders and managing partners of Ugallery.com. The three developed Ugallery.com to provide art enthusiasts access to affordable original artwork while offering young trained artists a platform to launch their careers.

Several years ago, while Alex was studying art in college, he noticed that his classmates were having trouble starting their art careers. Many of the talented students he knew were unable to find an outlet to sell their work upon graduation, and as a result, took jobs in completely unrelated fields.

When Alex, Greg, and Stephen met in business school, they shared an interest in supporting the art world. The three often discussed the difficult transition from art school to the art business, and the lack of reasonably priced original artwork. Ultimately, they discovered a solution to these problems; Ugallery.com helps art students begin their careers and offers patrons access to affordable original artwork.

Artists do often have a hard time "making it" which is why the phrase "starving artist" has such residual truth. I've been thinking lately about the push to consume locally and to re-use not only for the sake of the earth, but also to subvert global capitalism/consumption. Is there a rough equivalent in art? Could buying original art rather than mass produced posters be a way to support the arts and subvert capitalism?

I get the fact that many people are genuinely fearful of purchasing art...either because they feel they know nothing about art (partially because of our poor education in the US and in Modernity science wins), or often its cost seems prohibitive. Why spend 500-1000$ on an original painting or photograph when we can spend 150$ on a framed poster that matches my couch?

Ugallery.com provides a way to look for art that may match your couch, that is original rather than a poorly printed poster of art, and support emerging artists.