Gallerina Darlington

After leaving school and getting a job in a studio, picture framer and photographer Richard Hindle carried his dreams around with him in a little green notebook with a scruffy red spine. It had the word “Gallerina” written on its cover. “Contained within were my far away, impossible imaginings of how I thought the gallery I would most like to visit might be,” he says.

In reality, thoughts of running his own gallery – and it succeeding – were beyond what he dared to imagine, but almost two decades down the line, the business is thriving. It recently relocated to Darlington’s Victoria Road, and as commuters swing down the ring road into town, their attention is grabbed by an ever-changing window featuring the striking pieces of artwork for which Gallerina is known.

And yet, it was an inauspicious start, admits Richard. “Our mixed business backgrounds didn’t seem an obvious blend – Richard’s talent was for photography, partner Gwen’s in administration… “and joining the effort a little later, a globe-trotting little sis”. When the doors opened in Duke Street, many of their new neighbours were happy to share their thoughts – it’ll never work, and certainly not in this town, they told him.

But with the encouragement of others and a belief and optimism Richard admits was born out of naivety, the Gallerina team embarked on their adventure. “Darlington was chosen simply because it is where we live, where we are from, no plan,” says Richard. “Looking back, I was beyond naïve. I dared to imagine that if I loved a thing there was a chance that someone else would too. Even artists’ agents, when they visited our newly-opened gallery, asked, ‘who do you think are going to buy these pieces, Richard? They are huge and far too challenging’. I swallowed hard and dared to believe that if I was excited, I was in with a least a chance of enthusing others. Thankfully, I was right. It just took a while.”

It was slow and difficult at first, but 18 years on, Richard has a life doing something he is passionate about, “sharing incredible talent on the gallery walls with the wonderful people who support my efforts. That makes me the richest man I know.”

His aim has always been to demystify the world of contemporary fine art and make it affordable and accessible to everyone and Richard puts his success down to the people who visit the gallery and who join in and take part. “People have turned this gallery into something very special. They have made it their own,” he says. “I often say that the only difference between owner and visitor is that I have a key to open the front door. Beyond that, we are together, enthused and excited about what the gallery is lucky enough to have inside. Also, the gallery has never flinched from what it was we set out to achieve, to create access, to help make this level of work affordable and to help visitors realise that this work is created for all of us to live with and not just a privileged few, as is the popular misconception.”

Gallerina has grown a collector base worldwide and set itself apart from other galleries with its friendly, informal approach. The collection changes constantly, featuring paintings, printmakers, glass and ceramics by local, national and international artists.

In terms of artists the gallery has picked up on earlier on in their career, Banksy is perhaps the best known. “For a time the gallery was filled with signed work by him, most of which cost from £55 to £450,” says Richard. “This was back in 2003/2004, when for me the best part of that era was that it was the sons and daughters dragging in parents to the gallery instead of the other way around. I have young customers who have now sold the pieces they bought and used the money to help buy houses or start up in business. We continue to be very lucky, and while nothing gives me more pleasure than to represent Northern talent and younger careers, we show alongside them many works by established artists.”

The decision to up sticks and move to Victoria Road was taken for largely practical reasons. “After our first 18 years, we both ran out of wall space and found ourselves in perhaps the wrong part of our town,” says Richard. “Darlington’s retail shape and footfall has altered, as with all towns reacting to a changing high street. We spotted a building that excited us, offered a better setting, more space and had better parking nearby, in addition to our own parking at the rear of the new gallery, and took the decision to move.”

One thing hasn’t changed over the years, though, and that is Richard’s passion for art. “I am often asked who is my favourite artist, but I couldn’t say,” he says. “The truth is I am regularly disappointed that I have allowed a piece I would like hung at home to be sold, but that’s how it should feel, like it matters, otherwise its shop keeping and that’s not what this is. The new gallery boasts a lot of talent new to Gallerina, some established and some just starting their careers. All of them make me feel very happy and very lucky.”

Grange Cottage, 1 Victoria Road, Darlington DL1 5SJ. Call 01325-363635 or visit gallerina.co.uk

The Own Art scheme

“We joke at the gallery that ‘Art is for life, and not just for Christmas’, but lots of us dare to choose and or commission something very special and unique for a special someone,” says Richard. “The great part of that is that it is for life, and not just for Christmas. Very little of what we choose to buy can have that said of it. These are future heirlooms and a rare opportunity to own something truly unique.”

The Own Art scheme, a scheme created and run by Arts council England, offers interest-free options when buying or commissioning artworks and continues to be championed by Richard. A couple of years ago, Gallerina featured on the BBC flagship arts programme Imagine, when Alan Yentob visited the gallery because of its success with the Own Art scheme and its commitment to making art accessible and affordable. “Art for all and not just a privileged few. Eighteen years ago, that is what we said we would try to achieve, and it remains our primary aim,” says Richard. “We love sharing what we do.”