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There was debate amongst Chicago art dealers that included those still in business and some no longer open as to how to price art in this economy.  According to the article in the Sunday Trib, the camps were divided into: the artists have earned their provenance and deserve their prices vs I’m making part of my collection affordable because the market it so soft.

Whether or not these galleries were still in business weighed into the discussion.

This typifies the sentiments in the entrepreneurial sector. The question is NOT do we deserve our fees. The question IS how do we survive the recession?  It makes sense to uphold our prices to markets that can  afford them AND drop our fees appropriately to those who can’t pull the usual freight.

To those of you with corporate clients still willing to pay top dollar, I say BRAVO and go for the gold.  But for those of you who service a split sector, is it not in your best interest to keep working just a little bit harder for a little bit less so that the Chicago business engine keeps moving?

Call it Business Consciousness or Entrepreneurial Responsibility.  Call it a Can Opener if you want to. I don’t care!  But my question to you is DO YOU HAVE RESPONSIBILITY TO YOUR OWN SECTOR so that individually we can support ourselves AND the collective?

Please chime in and let me know your views.  I am not looking for you to agree – I am looking for you to tell me WHY or WHY NOT you agree and where we each fit into the bigger scheme.