Q: What exactly is McKinney Arts? It seems to be a lot of different things … I’m confused.
A: McKinneyArts.com now is several things:
- McKinney Arts provides a collection of original art for sale by artist Mark McKinney.
- McKinney Arts has online art exhibitions, some of which cover IRL (“in real life”) exhibitions, and some of which are virtual.
- McKinney Arts was originally an art gallery in the East Village in the mid 1990s and the website will soon add an archive of that gallery.
- There is an arts blog, covering all sorts of interesting topics, with the simple instruction to “Read.”
- Many more features will be coming soon – the goal is to NOT be a typical arts website. Stay tuned for more!
Q: Tredomus and McKinney Arts gallery spaces were active in the 1990s … it’s 2023 now. What happened in all those years in-between?
A: The gallery was making a small profit and moving ahead, but struggled to break through to be sustainable at a full-time basis. Mark McKinney got married, had two sons, and often said over the years that “breaking even wasn’t going to pay for diapers.” He learned web design, and launched his own business Four Story Design, which he continues to operate to this day. He also transferred his artistic energies to creating and developing Artsology, an online arts resource for teachers and kids, featuring arts-related games and arts-ed resources that are utilized by students around the world. He sold Artsology in early 2023, and is now solely focused on McKinney Arts.
Q: I like some of the art presented on the website … is it for sale?
A: Yes, the art is for sale. The e-commerce aspect of the site will be developed soon, but don’t expect a one-click Amazon-like shopping cart … packaging and shipping art gets complicated, depending on how big the piece is, and where it’s going. Mark McKinney spent 10 years packaging and shipping art for Pace MacGill Gallery and Pace Editions, and knows from first-hand experience that shipping sold art often takes custom packaging. The hope is to receive inquiries about art works, and engage with the potential customer to determine the most efficient and affordable way to ship the art. Or, if you’re in New Jersey or New York, we can figure out a delivery or pick-up.
Q: Are the virtual exhibitions only going to be work by Mark McKinney, or will you show other artists?
A: Yes, I would definitely like to show other artists, and am reaching out to several whose work I love, and hope to convince them to let me design virtual exhibitions for them and offer their work for sale as well. At some point I may start looking at portfolios of other new artists, but in the meantime, please enjoy what I have here now!