Holy Art Gallery?
Please look into The Holy Art Gallery They have just had an exhibition in London Oxo Bargehouse were the conditions we’re unbelievable. They take down any negative commits from artists. They do so many open calls a year. All contracts non refundable even though Artist at this exhibition, some had no gallery lighting, leaking roof, rubbish laying around, mice, no drinks nibbles at launch party, no proper sales sheets, no proof of promotion, poor footfall, visitors mostly family and friends, no proper signage outside or within the gallery. They took no responsibility for the conditions within the exhibition and were very rude to artists. I would not want others to go through this They have promoted it as a great success all over Instagram They are now promoting another exhibition At The Tremans Brewery London off of the back of this so called success. I would just like other artists to be aware of this company.
31 comments
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Anonymous
Do you seriously think you wouldn’t be a starving artist if you put your money into a Vanity Gallery?? What do you think you will gain by collaborating with them?
Why do you create art?
1. Because you can’t live without creating art? 2. So others can enjoy your art? 3. To gain admiration? 4. To sell your art? 5. To get recognition and become known in the art world?1.-3. By all means waste your money and enjoy exhibiting in Vanity Gallery. All admiration you’ll have you have bought for yourself. Staff of the Vanity Gallery will not going to even remember you after your exhibition (except when they want more money from you).
4.-5. By all means waste your money exhibiting in a Vanity Gallery, but you are absolutely not going to get what you desire.Get an education in art.
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Anonymous
A question for artists who have voiced their grievances here: as anyone in this thread sold pieces through this gallery before? I’ve actually had a positive experience exhibiting, but am unsure how the sale process works and am struggling to get that information. Can anyone in this thread speak to a sale experience with this gallery?
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Anonymous
No, because The Holy Art Gallery hardly sells any art, it’s not their main business. Their main business is to rent gallery space.
If your experience with them was so positive, why didn’t you sell any art?
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Anonymous
They were one of the first exhibtions I got accepted into, so I happily paid the + 200 dollar fee for an art on loop show, now with more experience, I would never do that again, I never even got to see a photo of my work in the show, or anything worth mentioning. It is clear they are only after the money
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Anonymous
Pictures, websites and promotions outside of artist call. Without these uts a vanity gallery and nothing less.
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Anonymous
ARTISTS BEWARE! My Experience with The Holy Ary Gallery – A Cautionary Tale
I feel compelled to share my recent experience with The Holy Ary Gallery to prevent other artists from facing a similar situation.
After being “handpicked” by the gallery to participate in one of their group exhibitions, I eagerly paid the £180 fee and submitted my artwork. It wasn’t until later, after I had already committed financially, that I stumbled upon online reviews about The Holy Ary Gallery. My findings left me with a sinking feeling that I had made a mistake.
The Holy Art Gallery is what the art industry terms a vanity gallery (you can Google it for more information). In short, these galleries make money by charging artists hefty fees and show little to no interest in actually selling the artists’ artworks. Such galleries are generally frowned upon by people in the art community, and I soon realized why.
Upon visiting the gallery to deliver my artwork, I observed a lack of curation in both the previous and current exhibitions. The displayed artworks seemed like a chaotic jumble, with a mix of good, mediocre, and even bad pieces. To my dismay, I noticed a designated “bad art corner” where some works were grouped together as if the gallery itself acknowledged their poor quality.
During my interaction with the gallery staff, there was no discussion or comments about the display of my artwork. It felt like a transactional process with little care for the artists’ creative efforts.
My disappointment deepened when it came to the gallery’s promised promotional efforts. Despite their assurance of social media promotions, I saw only one post on their Instagram feed a few days before the exhibition. Strangely, they never tagged the artists in their posts, but eagerly tagged themselves. The gallery would only repost an artist’s content on their IG stories for a fleeting 24 hours. Furthermore, any talk of interviews with the artists, which were meant to be showcased on their website indefinitely, turned out to be empty promises—I was not interviewed, nor were any other artists.
To add insult to injury, I learned that artists who wished to be featured on their Instagram posts were required to pay an additional £300. This blatant exploitation left a bitter taste in my mouth.
The opening night of the exhibition, much like other artists had mentioned, lacked a significant audience. The gallery staff seemed indifferent and didn’t even know who the exhibiting artists were. The attendees were primarily family and friends of the artists, as the gallery’s lack of promotion failed to attract serious art collectors or industry professionals.
The gallery’s location in Dalston might sound trendy, but it proved to be an unsuitable venue for attracting art enthusiasts. It felt deserted and lifeless, even on weekends.
In addition to their physical gallery, they also operate an “Art On The Loop” digital display in a small shop unit at the same location. However, the lack of curation in this aspect as well, where artists had to pay £280 to display photos of their artwork, further reinforced my disillusionment.
To make matters worse, information about the gallery’s ownership is shrouded in mystery. Attempts to inquire were met with evasive responses, directing individuals to check government websites for answers—an unprofessional and disappointing approach.
Upon researching the gallery directors, I discovered that they seemingly lack substantial art-related backgrounds. The registered office’s address raised concerns, as it appeared to be a residential flat in Harrow.
In conclusion, I urge fellow artists to think carefully before engaging with vanity galleries like The Holy Ary Gallery. Their practices exploit independent and emerging artists while offering little to no support or genuine interest in selling art. As artists, we deserve to be treated with respect and given the opportunity to showcase our work in spaces that genuinely value and promote art.
Remember, the decision is ultimately yours, but I firmly believe that supporting a gallery with no interest in promoting art ultimately undermines the essence of the art world.
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Anonymous
I have found the same at a recent exhibition. My emails are now going unanswered and I am being ignored. There seems to be an embargo on negative comments too.
Lesson learnt for me and hope for you too my friend. -
Anonymous
Updates:
I uploaded the same review on Trustpilot. Surprise, surprise! The Holy Art flagged my review right away, saying they believe it is not based on a genuine experience. They said they will remove my review unless I can provide documents as proof.
I am frustrated that Trustpilot is not listening to me even though I have explained many times that The Holy Art has a tendency to flag negative reviews when they see them, or call them “fake reviews”. Their responses to negative reviews are never professional or graceful, just like other vanity galleries.
I pointed out that The Holy Art needs to provide a list of specific reasons why they believe my review is not genuine or false, so that I can address them. However, Trustpilot has failed to do so and has only sent me generic emails and links.
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Anonymous
We should keep this thread alive, so people can see before falling into this trap.
They don’t give a damn of our arts. All they wanted is making money from emerging artists. Shame on such behaviour and business model. No moral!
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Anonymous
IM SOOOOOOO GRATEFUL YOU SPENT Your precious time writing this. I am about to cancel exhibiting with them. You have saved me £185 and a lot of disappointment and pointless effort – thank you so much – point to note, I have just exhibited at Boomer, Gallery, and pretty much had the same experience– these people are just ripping off artists that are craving for acknowledgement and willing to pay to get it. It’s really sad – again huge, thank you !!!!
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Anonymous
Ohhh my god, they asked me £480 , I was going to pay, thank god I saw this page
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Anonymous
These texts will hardly disappear from here, like on other platforms, so you don’t have to keep the thread alive in that sense. The most important thing is to write the name of the gallery clearly and many times so that it pops up in search engines. You should also use words like “review”, because many artists are probably looking for information with the words “The Holy Art Gallery Reviews”. Gallery certainly does that. That’s how they find and try to make all negative reviews to disappear 😂
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Anonymous
Hello I have read the comments and thank you all for making me aware as I was thinking of exhibiting with them
If you go on Companies House website it shows there are three directors no employees. The directors are a photographer, a producer of what I dont know could b producing meat pies! and a hairdresser! They have only approx £7000 in assets in their 2022 statement and their head office is a flat
I will say no more but I have changed my mind and not going to exhibit now!-
Anonymous
Yes this is definitely a simple money making project. No phone number, no home, no artists represented, lots of glossy online presence. 3 employees only. High fees charged for exhibiting. Avoid.
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Anonymous
OH SO NOW YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO BLOCK ME? YOU ARE A FRAUD. PLEASE ARTISTS, DO NOT SUPPORT THIS GALLERY.
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Anonymous
I’m an artist who got accepted for an exhibit as well. I’ve already paid for the fee and I’ve got so many questions that needed to be addressed right away since I will be shipping it from a different country. I didn’t get any reply too. It hurts me so much since I’ve already told my family and friends about this and feels like there’s no going back but as an artist, i kind of don’t want to spend $$$ for the shipping if the gallery makes me feel so unimportant even after paying…
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Anonymous
Better to tell everyone straight up that you were duped. People will understand and support you surely.
Invest your money in something more useful. For example create more art and put it on display in your local cafe or something. Take small steps, paying for Vanity Gallery is not a fast lane to success. That way you only end up losing your money and reputation. Check out what has been written here about Galeria Azur and Galeria Gaudi and other similar pay to play galleries.
Btw if you don’t go to the Holy Art Gallery yourself, you can’t be sure if and where your art will be displayed or if you’ll ever get it back. Good luck!
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Anonymous
To whom it may concern @ The Holy Art Gallery:
Please note before you start asking your artists to leave positive reviews here or fabricating them yourself, words alone are not enough, you need to provide credible evidence. Which art pieces have been sold at which exhibition and the artist’s website, etc, so the truthfulness can be checked.
Also note that attacking critics and making accusations does not give a reliable image of your gallery. A credible gallery accepts criticism and does not accuse the artist and other critics of ruining their reputation.
In a civil democracy, customers are allowed to criticize the company, also anonymously. In this case, anonymity is especially important because your gallery apparently has a tendency to doxx critics, for example this “Hazel” you mentioned in your comment.
ARTISTS should carefully consider collaboration with The Holy Art Gallery because if you have problems with them, they will not let you tell about your experiences honestly in public. They not only delete critical comments wherever they can (Trustpilot for example) and attack you verbally, but apparently are also ready to doxx you. That’s a huge red flag.
I’m not “Hazel”, I’m the one who wrote the second review (June 13th) and I stand behind my review. Nothing in the Holy Art Gallery’s response convinced me to change my mind, on the contrary, it only increased my distrust of the gallery in question. Why should I look for the owner’s name somewhere else when it should be openly stated on The Holy Art Gallery’s website and social media? RED FLAG! -
Christos Markou
Hello!
Hazel, we need to talk. It’s come to our attention that although you’ve been posting anonymously, it’s clear that you’ve been making efforts to damage our reputation.
We’d like to remind you that you were one of the 250 participants – including around 180 physical artists and 70 digital artists – at our recent art fair at the Bargehouse. Just because you didn’t sell any of your art doesn’t mean our event wasn’t a success or that we didn’t deliver on our promises.
Let’s address this and move forward in a positive direction.
We conduct open calls throughout the year and in numerous locations worldwide, including our permanent galleries in London and Athens, as well as in vibrant cities from New York to Milan to Amsterdam, with plans to expand to Paris and Brussels in 2023.
Rather than view our global presence and outreach as a negative, we consider it a triumph. Given our international scope, we believe our artists’ satisfaction levels are a testament to our quality and dedication to the arts.
Can you blame a car mechanic for fixing too many cars?Our contracts fall under British law and refunds are granted at our discretion.
Regarding our art fair opening night, we were not planning on feeding our 1500 guests, nor were we obligated to do so. Your expectation was unfounded.Although, we must admit that Coin Street’s poor handling of the situation resulted in a minor leak that affected only one artist and not the entire event. We are currently collaborating with them to reach a reasonable solution.
Setting the record straight, your allegations do not align with the truth.
We successfully promoted our last event and hosted over 5000 attendees. Your claims that it was attended only by friends and family are absurd.
In fact, we’re already preparing for an even bigger event at The Truman Brewery – one of the largest art spaces in London. Bigger and bolder than anything we’ve done before.
We must also highlight that almost every other art fair uses their smaller venues whereas we will be using their bigger one.
We can’t wait to welcome everyone and make it even more unforgettable. Feel free to contact us to get all the details. You can find us in our Athens or London galleries, or just drop us a line.
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Anonymous
I like to see pictures and hear about all the successful sales.
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Anonymous
I was also an Artist and I can 100% understand all the rage against the holy Art Gallery. This organisation is a moneymaking and corrupt organisation. The exhibitions are totally scam, its absolutely Trash what they offer and I cant find the words to put my Bad experience in a suiting frame. STAY AWAY FROM THEM!!! THEY ALSO BLOCKED ME AND DELETED EVERYTHING BECAUSE I TRIED TO WARN OTHER PEOPLE
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anonymous
I found out something about the gallery, but they don’t tell all the information on their website or even when asked, like who owns the gallery. Why is that information hidden?
They sent me a message on Instagram, but they didn’t even like any of my posts. Because of that, I don’t think they are genuinely interested in my art. The message seemed to be copied and pasted.
They offered me to participate in their exhibition in London that lasts only ten days. It costs 180£ + 15% sales commission fee. Artist pays shipping both ways.
They claimed that they also sell art online, but refuse to say where and how. There is no art for sale on their website, they only promote exhibition space for artists.
Artists could easily check online how much they sell art, that’s probably the reason why they don’t provide that service. According to their Instagram, they don’t sell much if anything.When I asked how many artists are participating in the exhibition, I got an evasive answer. They say they can’t know because the open call is still ongoing. However, they could have told how many artists participated in their previous exhibitions, but at that point they stopped replying to my messages completely. Does any legit gallery do that, stop responding to the artist completely? The questions were important to me as an artist and they were not difficult to answer. Unless they were hiding the truth. It does not give the impression of a reliable gallery.
I came to the conclusion that The Holy Art Gallery is a so-called vanity gallery where artists pay to exhibit. The gallery doesn’t make money by selling art, but by renting space to artists.
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Christos Markou
Greetings,
I’m uncertain why you implied that we are attempting to conceal our identity. We are The Holy Art, a business comprising more than 15 personnel spanning 4 countries. Our owners contribute significantly to our operations and can be found at our worldwide events.
Furthermore, UK companies are featured on Companies House, allowing anyone to review their details. There are no secrets as to who we are.
Regarding the query on Instagram, we don’t see any negative connotations associated with it. We’ve always responded promptly to messages, and it’s baffling to us that a potentially defamatory review could hinge on a single Instagram message.
At The Holy Art, we value each and every one of our artists, and we have worked hard to develop a reputation for exceptional customer service.
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Anonymous
Who owns The Holy Art Gallery? Where do you sell art online?
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Anonymous
Thanks to Christos Markou, I had a look at the Companies House.
There are 3 directors:
1. Christos Markou, a photographer
2. Evelyn Tsekoura, a producer (of what?)
3. Angelos Tsekouras, a hairdresser-
Anonymous
English is not my first language. Does director mean same as owner?
The gallery seems to be purely a money-making machine, it has nothing to do with art enthusiasm. Art is not their profession and passion, they have started the Holy Art Gallery purely to make money. Unfortunately many will fall for this scam.
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Anonymous
As a young artist, I am so conflicted between paying for what I now know to be a vanity gallery or saving my money and trudging through the starving artist lifestyle