The Spongleheim Gallery is a not for profit online gallery which focuses on outsider art. Exhibitions are planned for every September, December, March and June. Lasting only 21 days and featuring just 21 artists all exhibits will be chosen from open calls for submission.
Steve Chapman is the man behind the Spongleheim gallery. It’s online but this is really about replicating the physical gallery as much as possible. Each piece will be unique and only available for the time of the exhibition. Come the end of the show, it all comes down and the process starts again for the next online show.
Certainly it’s a unique way of doing things. Since the lockdown artists have been getting more used to selling work online and trying new things. Virtual exhibitions have become a thing though with a varying level of success. On instagram, the Artists Support Pledge has been doing big business and forging real links between artist and buyer.
Chapman himself has spent the lockdown forging forward with his own brand of outsider art. His daily art on instagram became popular with fans including ourselves at Inspiring City. The Spongleheim is a new initiative. Artists submit work and are chosen by a panel of their peers, none of whom know who each other is. The work can be bought by then contacting the artist direct.
The first exhibition of the Spongleheim Gallery will run from 1-21 September 2020. All artists have been chosen following an open submission and the virtual exhibition will last for 21 days.
Interview with Steve Chapman
