eBusiness Weekly
Zvikomborero Mandangu National Art Gallery
Museums and Galleries are two different types of entities. They are both misunderstood about their purpose and meaning. The two serve the purpose of viewing and experiencing art. Galleries and museums have notable characteristics, such as the artworks which are often shown in empty rooms or vast spaces with minimal close to non-distraction and controlled lighting to showcase the exhibited art as too much light may damage artwork.
They both have a vital role of preserving the culture and heritage of a nation. Despite the similarities between the two, there are some major differences between an art gallery and an art museum.
One important factor to note is that people usually go to a museum to view art while with galleries it is usually to view art, from the perspective of purchasing the art.
Another notable difference is that galleries are usually small businesses that exhibit art for the purpose of promoting and selling art.
One can note that at a particular time galleries hold exhibitions with certain themes have themes which guide people on what the exhibition will be focusing on.
An individual could specifically visit an art gallery because the theme is of his interest also with the interest of buying the art. Despite their differences both of these different institutions both play a role of preserving the culture and heritage of a nation.
One can define a gallery as a small business that sells the works it exhibits and the profits made from these sales is likely to cover the operating costs to run that business.
Galleries often have a wide collection of art that is unified by some criteria such as tone or feeling of the artworks. However this is different from museums were there are hardly any exhibitions done to promote art since most of the collections is permanent.
Artists in galleries have their works exhibited often. Promotion of the exhibitions is done via different social media platforms, with print advertisements and also by hosting an art opening. Galleries become a brand representing a certain aesthetic point of view.
Since most museums are funded by governments, foundations and corporate and private donors, these are often operated on a non-for-profit basis.
In museums one is likely to find a wide range of collections, ranging from paintings to historical objects such as old guns which might not have a uniform theme. With galleries a lot of the things found are usually artworks by different artists.
A wide range of artwork allows people to connect with whatever art connects with them. Such a case can be witnessed at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe.
The gallery is subdivided into minor galleries and in these there are different types of art exhibited ranging from paintings, oil on canvas, acrylic paintings, ink drawings, sculpture and wooden carvings.
However, with museums antiques, paintings, coins, zoological items, geological items, and other artefacts are stored to reserve them rather than sell them. The gallery is in the business to promote its artists and sell their artworks.
It is important to note another difference between a museum and a gallery. Both of these are important in showcasing African heritage and different African cultures, however galleries are run more for a commercial purpose.
With galleries the goal is to sell art and promote business of an artist. It is all about exhibiting works of an artist. However with museums the goal is to conserve artefacts. A museum is different from a gallery as its permanent collection can serve to reflect on the history of a country.
Museums are established to help the community maintain the collections so as to share knowledge and history of the country with the rest of the world. The museum is a good source of information especially for students studying in the field of history and research scholars.
However, with galleries art students benefit much more as they learn a variety of art presented by different artists. Since the art collection is bound to rotate from time to time, meaning it is unlikely to find the same artwork hanging around by the end of the year.
In terms of funding museums are often funded by trusts or by the government. This is also the same with galleries, however, galleries that are commercially base are funded by selling off the exhibited artworks. Museums operate in a non-profit way. Funds obtained from the government are for the maintenance of the museum. Galleries on the other hand are profit-based and the earnings from sold artwork are expected to bring profit to the institution.
Galleries and museums both enable people to explore art and culture and this is one of the key aspect of both.
The range of exhibits in an art gallery is restricted to pieces of art, while on the other hand a museum may exhibit any item that is believed to have some sort of significance. Both of these institutions depict a story that links different historic pasts and presents into one story.
Museum collections are often a result of objects collected after wars, trade between civilisations; they could be antique coins, medals, paintings and sculptures, natural history. An art gallery, on the other hand, holds art works connected to a modern and contemporary framework, with the artist and the gallery working in tandem to conceptualise, develop and display the art works.
Despite these differences mentioned above, galleries and museums both fulfil the essential task of exhibiting different objects thereby creating spectatorship and asocial physical environment enhancing knowledge of heritage.
These institutions provide space in which people can view objects of cultural significance. They may be either large or small and they may have a large variety of different exhibits or a small, focused selection of collection, however they are both a cultural backbone for the preservation of African heritage.
