“I feel like I am almost a part of history by working in the art world and I love that.”

- Morenike Adeagbo

Morenike works in Sales and Marketing at Kate MacGarry Gallery in London. She completed a degree in Art History and Museum Studies at the University of Manchester. Although she always knew she wanted to work in an art gallery, she didn’t always know in what capacity. Working at Kate MacGarry has taught her so much already and she loves having the opportunity to spend so much time with creative people in creative spaces. 

Can you tell me more about your job?

I work in marketing and sales for a privately-owned gallery. Essentially, we – as a gallery – work with artists to sell their work to private buyers, collectors or public institutions. We also assist in facilitating funding for our artists or securing exhibitions in major institutions.

The role of a gallery in the art world is essentially like an agent is to an actor. We secure the artists their primary income and find collections and space for their art to be enjoyed and received. My role also incorporates artist liaison which essentially means that I am the first point of contact for the artists. I get to know them and at times will visit them at their studio to check their progress on projects which is always fun.

I recently watched the film Velvet Buzzsaw on Netflix, with Jake Gyllenhaal, Toni Collette, Zawe Ashton and Rene Russo. It’s so funny because it’s a satirical horror, thriller film but one of the most accurate depictions that I’ve seen of what working in commercial art sector is like – crazy but always funny.

 

What does an average working day look like for you?

Usually I will check my emails first thing, but after that I have no idea what my day is going to hold. One day I could be painting plinths, the next I could be organising the shipment of artwork to South Korea. It varies so hugely, and I l just love that.

It’s quite hard to describe my actual day-to-day, as the team is very small, I end up pitching in with so many different tasks. When working at the gallery physically – coronavirus has changed this somewhat – because I also act as front of house, which means I answer the phones and emails alongside greeting visitors my role has definitely shifted.

One of my other main responsibilities is to create sales PDFs. These essentially provide potential buyers and interested parties with information on the artist, the artwork and importantly, the price of the artwork.

 

What is the work / life balance like?

It helps that I get on really well with my team and with my boss – there is a mutual respect there.

I do get the odd message on a Saturday when I’m not working asking me to help with something, but I don’t mind. I think this is again in part because the team is so small, so some things that I do no one else knows how to do and then if I’m not there and there is a deadline, I am really the only one that can complete the task.

As I also help with the artist liaison, I guess there is always the possibility for boundaries to be crossed but that has not happened to me yet. However, I don’t give out my mobile number to our artists, I am only contactable through email which helps to draw healthy boundaries. But then again the whole point of my job is to make life easier for our artists to allow them to produce more art – and for many of the artists who aren’t as  established and who do not have a studio assistant or a manager I can become that person for them.

 

What kinds of artists do you work with?

We have a really interesting and diverse mix of artists; many are already relatively well established.  

At the moment we have a really amazing exhibition on at the gallery by our artist Helen Cammock titled I Decided I Want to Walk. She was one of the most recent winners of the Turner Prize and is an artist that I am really excited to watch develop. Helen’s work is so key to what is going on at the moment especially in terms of Black Lives Matter and I mean the title of the exhibition alone is poignant. It seems like suddenly the whole world has decided they want to listen to black voices and hear what black artists have to say.  

 

What do you love about the art industry?

When their art makes you think, that’s what a good artist is.

You can’t love your job every single day, as that would be unrealistic to say, but I do really love my job and I can safely say I am doing what I was called to do. I adore working in a creative space and having access to all these people in the art world is just a dream come true and I feel like I am fulfilling my purpose. Also, a huge perk is all the memberships that Kate has, it means I get to go out and see a lot of exhibitions and shows – it’s exciting, and it’s free!

I think that art should always be a reflection of the current world that we live in, it’s a voice box to what is going on in our society, and when we look back on art throughout the years and throughout history it acts as a mirror to what was happening at the time. I feel like I am almost a part of history by working in the art world and I love that.

 

What is the biggest misconception about the commercial art industry?

People think that we just sit around all day and go to countless dinners and lunches. Yes, this is definitely part of the selling process with clients, but we also work hard!

Art is sometimes seen as a bit of a cop out – but I don’t know if this is an African mentality that I am constantly surrounded by. I have met some of the most intelligent people in my life in the art world. Many people don’t know that their favourite curators hold PhD’s, I remember being told that I would need a PhD to become a curator and none of the big institutions would even look at me without one. I feel like that narrative is slowly shifting as the artworld is slowly (very slowly) becoming more inclusive.

I also had misconceptions about the industry before I worked in it. I used to think that being successful in this industry meant working in the biggest gallery out there and closing million-pound sales but now that I’ve got closer to it, I’ve realised that I really don’t care for all that. Of course, commission is nice, and we need money to keep the gallery afloat and keep doing all the great things that we do, however the more I see of the commercial art industry the more I understand how cold and cut-throat it really can be. There can be a lack of personality the higher up the chain you get and that’s not an environment that I want to work in. I always want the primary attention to be on the art and their work and I’m so glad I found a place I can grow and develop my skills.

 

What do you think needs to change in the art industry?

Diversity is rubbish. There are hardly any black of ethnic minorities working in the industry, from the artists through to the directors, it is definitely a top down thing, but it is also exacerbated by not having enough black curators. The industry is dominated by white people who control the narrative and even when there is involvement of black people it is often whitewashed. This is definitely something that I want to improve and work on in this sector. I am slowly building up my own network of black creatives and I’ve spoken to Kate about it too.

Climate change is not going away and there is a lack of communication in the artworld about the part that we need to play and the responsibility we need to take. In the past six months, we have been working closely with a group of credited individuals across the artworld and have formed the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC). Our aim is to provide the necessary resources and guidelines for the artworld so that we can collectively reduce our carbon footprint by a minimum of 50% over the next ten years (in line with the Paris Agreement) as well as promoting near-zero-waste practices. We will be launching next month so please visit the website or follow on Instagram for more information.

 

What was your route into a commercial art career?

I studied Art History and Museum Studies at the University of Manchester as I’ve always been creative and loved art. But as I can’t draw or paint or anything, I knew literally being an artist wasn’t for me and so I started to come around to the idea of working in a gallery.

Getting my job, I won’t lie, was not a smooth and easy road. I must have applied for over 100 jobs and had over 25 interviews before I got my job at Kate MacGarry. Unfortunately, the art industry is hugely based on networking and who you know and so networking and being ‘visible’ is really important. Jobs regularly get sent out to people that they already know and there is lots of in-house hiring.

I did a lot of work for free and completed a lot of internships to build up a good CV for myself with a body of experience. I was completing a volunteering stint at Camden Art Centre alongside completing my masters and when you’re a volunteer you get a regular newsletter with information about what’s going on and current job openings in the industry. In one issue of the newsletter I spotted a part time role going at Kate MacGarry and so I went for it. I had a couple of interviews and eventually got the job!

So sadly, there is no formula to follow to get into a job like mine, I know that God was looking out for me. For atheists I guess it’s just being in the right place at the right time, or luck if you prefer, and being persistent.

 

What advice would you give to a young person looking to pursue a career in art – specifically young black people?

Firstly, get as much experience as you can. Not everyone can afford to volunteer which is a huge problem in the art world. Unfortunately, your worth is tied to your experience in the eyes of employers and so it is hard to get into the industry without experience – much of which is unpaid.

To be successful you need to know your stuff. Do some courses if you haven’t ever studied art as you need to know what you are talking about. You should have a niche, whether it’s renaissance, Flemish art, African art etc., there should be a something that you are a master of and that you are passionate about. Make sure you’re bringing something to the table.

But most importantly, don’t give up – there is definitely space for young black creators in the art world at the moment. People are hungry for it.

 

What projects are you currently working on – how can people find out more?

Well, we recently just opened our latest exhibition, titled I Decided I Wanted To Walk by Helen Cammock. This is her first exhibition at the gallery as we just recently started representing her. It’s a great show through which Cammock explores social histories through film, photography, print, text, song and performance. She is motivated by her commitment to questioning mainstream historical narratives around blackness, womanhood, wealth, power, poverty and vulnerability. It is an incredible show and very relevant to everything going on at the moment in our world.

We are also participating in Frieze online in October. This year it will be a virtual art fair, which is a shame as we won’t be gathering at Regents Park. COVID has changed the entire face of the art world and there is a real uncertainty about the future of art fairs. I don’t think anything can ever replace the experience of art, it’s not a takeaway experience and as helpful as digital platforms have been, I have always believed they would co-exist with the physical. Frieze is always such a great time to celebrate the art world and get together, but we hope it will still be as productive and set us up for a successful quarter.

Check out the Kate MacGarry website for more information.

Interview by Mollie Kate Cohen