Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ed Dixon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ed, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Starting a business is always a gamble, but launching a fine art gallery with no formal background in the industry is a specific kind of leap. When I opened the Edward A. Dixon Gallery in 2017, I didn’t have a curated resume of museum internships or gallery apprenticeships; I simply had a lifelong love for art, a fascination with art history, and the foundational lessons of my past business ventures.

The learning curve was steep, and the “rules” of the art world were often learned in real-time. However, the true test of this risk wasn’t just my initial inexperience—it was the gauntlet of the years that followed. Since 2017, the gallery has weathered the global standstill of the 2020 pandemic, navigated the logistical hurdles of two separate relocations, and remained resilient through the ebbs and flows of a volatile economy.

Surviving these challenges wasn’t a solo achievement. While my business background provided the framework, the gallery’s heartbeat has been the unwavering support of my family, friends, and the Dayton community. Their belief in the mission transformed a risky personal passion project into a lasting cultural fixture. Looking back, the risk wasn’t in starting without experience—it would have been in never starting at all.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

The Edward A. Dixon Gallery is about helping to fill a need in the Dayton area for more space for artists to exhibit and more venues for art enthusiasts to visit. The gallery is about sharing art with those completely new to art and art galleries, as well as, those with vast experience and large collections. The gallery also exists to be part of the community by collaborating with local organizations and sharing its space for art and non-art related community events.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

The gallery has mostly been a one-man show with the occasional help of employees and interns. In spite of that, the gallery has always took chances with artwork from areas near far, unproven artists and artwork with a message. I think those things have helped the gallery build in-part a reputation for being willing to chances and display artwork that is not always comfortable for many viewers but still necessary to be seen.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

The gallery wasn’t orginally supposed to be as large a part of my life as it has became. I thought it would be something that small but meaningful. It turned into something a bit larger and I think meaningful to many more people than I anticipated. The visits and conversations I had from the beginning quickly pushed the vision for the gallery to be larger in scope. I am still surprised by some of the encouraging feedback I get, but whether the responses are positive or negative I just continue to try to make the gallery a welcoming space that displays art that makes you think or make you feel.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shop.eadgallery.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/eadgallery
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/eadgallery12
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EADgallery

Image Credits

Imaged provided by the Edward A. Dixon Gallery