‘I don’t see impossibilities; I like to push myself to the extreme’

Adenrele Sonariwo is the founder and director Rele Gallery. In this interview, she spoke on her trajectory in the art business- how she started, her exhibitions, her experiences, the ups and downs. She also spoke about her dreams, among other issues bordering on the business. Excerpts:

You’ve been here for over 18 months; what were your hopes and fears before opening the gallery?

I won’t say I had fears. I was charging ahead, trying different things: some of them were educational– to educate people, to give people insights, to refresh their memories. I had different pop-up exhibitions. The first ever was at Civic Centre, then afterwards at The White Space. The last one I did before I opened Rele was in my living room; I took out all the furniture and created an art gallery.

Who did you exhibit?

I exhibited five artists: Victor Ehikhamenor, Kayode Adegbola, Opedun Damilola, Uche Uzorka and Ayoola Omogbolahan. This was in June 2014. After this we started conversations about opening my own space. I’d sold art through the pop-up exhibitions and from the booth of my car. I started Rele to have a space people could keep going back to, an institution you could come back to meet people and interact.

The pop-up exhibitions lasted for one or two weeks, we lost a lot of audience, people who had travelled while the exhibition was on. Here our exhibitions last a month and even after a month the works are still available for viewing. So rather than call me to get a painting say, as a gift, you can walk in here. Rele is also well located. People can come in here during their lunch break to buy art, to relax, and be inspired.

How successful was the exhibition in your living room?

I broke even. I didn’t sell all the works though. I was fine with that. That gave birth to Rele. Before the exhibition I had decided to do a course in curating in the UK. I love presenting art. I’m not an artist but I think of myself as a creative. The good thing about the course was that I was able to visit different galleries.

What have you learned about the art market in Nigeria since you opened?

We are very open here about pricing. There is the issue of going to the artist to a get a discount for an artwork. There is an issue with artist representation. A lot of artists are a bit skeptical and are reluctant to being represented exclusively by a gallery. They are unwilling to sign contracts. I’ve learnt it’s possible to bring in a new audience. I noticed that the same people visit galleries and so I wanted to attract a different audience. I’m pleased when people walk in here and say it’s their first time in a gallery. It’s the most beautiful part of what I do.

What’s Rele to you, is it a hobby, a social pastime, a means for making a living?

I won’t say Rele is a hobby. It’s not a social pastime. For me Rele is a business. Rele is a socially conscious business but first we must make enough money to cover our costs and pay our artists. It is a business. We’re not doing this because it is fun. When we entered the market, we realized there were a lot of gaps and we want to fill them.

What are some of these gaps?

I think we’re doing fresh and exciting things many galleries aren’t doing. We’re catering to a younger aspirational market. We found out that Nigerians get bored easily. At the opening of a new exhibition people are already asking, ‘When is the next one?’ We realised we’re in market where you must be constantly creative. And it’s unfortunate that there’s no funding from the corporate sector. This limits the number of exhibitions we show.

What does to take to run a successful gallery?

I think you need to be curious and willing to act on that curiosity. As a gallerist and curator, I know what I like but not all the artworks we’ve exhibited appealed to me. You must be curious about artists and their work, visit their studio to see what they are working on; good artworks you attract people. Collectors are curious as well.

How do you find artists?

There are different ways. Most of them I met by visiting their studios. We live in a social media world where artists post their works on Facebook or Instagram. When I see an interesting piece, I ask the artist if I can visit or if the work can be brought over. We can be reached via our website, but few artists don’t realise staging an exhibition is serious thing. We insist that interested artists take their time before sending us a proposal that states their understanding of their art and what they want the audience to see or feel at an exhibition as well as pictures of their artworks. We’ve started visiting art schools to see what’s available. Eventually we’ll travel across Nigeria to spot talent.

Do you sell artworks from your own stock or those consigned to the gallery by artists?

Most of the works here are on consignment. Artists understand it must work that way. Sometimes we buy artworks by the younger artists. Sometimes we do secondary sale and advisory. If a collector wanted to sell an artwork we evaluate and find a buyer. Our primary business is to show exhibitions and represent artists.

What sort of artists is Rele interested in?

We are interested in artists doing things differently, in art that is relevant to contemporary society. We are interested in artists challenging themselves in terms of medium. Art is beyond the painting on the wall; it must have a message. Not just one message. The artist must be doing cutting-edge, interesting work for us to show them here.

Do you represent artists on an exclusive basis?

Yes, but mostly young artists. There are four ways to show here. We have artists we represent exclusively whose works you find here at any time and give them preference when it comes to exhibitions – they get priority over other artists. For our curated exhibitions we invite artists who fit into the show. We have artists whose works are consigned to us. And we stage shows based on an artist’s proposal, if it fits into the audience we cater for.

Rele wants to be a place where young aspiring collectors find new emerging new artists

Yes, but while it’s important the brand is perceived as such, we also exhibit established artists because big collectors help us pay our rent and stay afloat.

Do you come across young aspiring collectors often?

I enjoy educating people about art. I don’t know the size of the middle class in Nigeria but people my age or older don’t buy art. I want them to spend their money on less ephemeral things. Some are a bit more difficult to convince. I must be patient with them to get them to understand and start collecting art.

Do they walk in curious to buy or to see?

Whether they want to buy or see, I always say they may not have the money to buy now but eventually they’ll get to that point. Even artworks can be seen online, I still believe there are those who want to come and see and experience it. The thickness of a painting can get lost in a picture. It might not wow you as much as it would if you walked in here. You don’t get to see, for instance, the detail of Ngozi Schommer’s works.

How do you combine your roles as promoter, tastemaker, matchmaker and gatekeeper?

There are lots of artists in Nigeria. Even when we don’t go out looking, many come to us. I don’t necessarily have to like all the works we show but it must be able to excite; works that engage people on a different level. Artists must challenge themselves and their audience more. There is a lot going now in Nigeria and artists must be able to spark a conversation.

Most collectors in Nigeria know what they want. They do their homework. Younger collectors too will buy what they like, even though we are educating their taste. We ask them what about an artwork speaks out to them. We ask if they’d prefer to come back and see during another exhibition. One collector came solely for the drawings at our last exhibition.

How did Rele get to partner with Samsung and attend ArtHamptons within a year?

I’m a go-getter. I like to push myself to the extreme. Give me any industry and I can tell how we can collaborate on art. I’m talking with a cement company to see what we can do. The creative part of me allows me to figure out how we can work with any industry.

With ArtHamptons I wanted to attend a fair other than 1:54, the Affordable Art Fair, or Joburg. I did with Tafeta. The experience was great. It was a totally different audience. We had to educate lots of people. African art is booming in the UK while in the US it’s not well known. No one knew who Ben Enwonwu was. It was an opportunity to educate collectors about art from Nigeria.

What’s your dream for Rele?

There’s so much talent in Nigeria. Rele deliberately shows only Nigerian artists. I tell my social media manager that if you run out of works to post online it means we who curate or manage the gallery are not doing our work; we need to go and find more artists even if it means we have to go to Nsukka. I feel there’s so much within the Nigerian space. I also want to focus, to understand this market. I won’t feel comfortable selling to a collector a work from South Africa when I don’t understand it or know if it’s a good buy. I call my work with collectors a journey; it’s not a one-off relationship. We might change but at the moment we are focused pushing out Nigerian talent.