CIAO gallery is a non-profit organization located in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a very busy arts destination at the base of the Teton Mountain range. The gallery opened on March 24th, 2007, in Victor, Idaho, and made its way over the Teton Pass to Jackson Hole in 2009. CIAO is currently home to many emerging artists varying in mediums and skill level. CIAO Gallery began as a for profit business, but our mission was to help emerging artists learn the basics of the art industry as well as give them an opportunity to showcase their work without the costs of a traditional gallery space. In late 2010 CIAO turned to a non-profit organization, to finally fulfill its original mission of being a community “owned” gallery. CIAO’s mission is to provide professional development assistance for emerging and local artists. This includes hands on professional mentoring by established artists in the community as well as workshops for emerging artists that will focus on a variety of professional development areas. Choosing a career as an artist is full of uncertainties and there is not an instruction manual on how to develop your career as an artist. Our goal is to help artists develop their skills in the following areas:
Sales experience
Web and social media exposure
Managing gallery operations
How to seek professional representation
Managing clientele
Professional Growth
Professional Presentation
CIAO also offers a number of “how-to” workshops focusing on areas such as:
Applying for an individual artist’s grants
Proper framing and professional representation of works
Applying for juried competitions, proper package and shipment of works
Designing and writing publicity materials including an artists statement, resume and marketing information.
We believe that the continued success of the gallery and its future contributions will continue to provide artists with a place to develop new skills and hone their talents in the pursuit of a lively career in visual art. CIAO Gallery is a valuable resource to the community of artists and this is why we felt that we could better serve the community as a non-profit co-operative.
