ABSTRACT
The commercial Art Market is one of those industries where the firms almost never own their venues, and must pay retail rents that are the equivalents for the restaurants, cafes, shops, and services located next door. The preferred venue for a gallery can be described as prime retail location, which for galleries would mean street-front entrance on the ground floor with well-placed shop windows. The first alternative to prime retail that a gallerist will consider will be something that can be termed sub-prime retail. A partial solution to the high rent cost can be to split a location. Up until 2010 gentrification had not become a bad word. It was associated with urban rehabilitation, rescuing great architecture from oblivion, and creating livable cities. Artists who have no gallery representation usually face poor options for holding exhibitions.
