We recently connected with Janice Santini and have shared our conversation below.

Janice, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I’m Janice Santini, owner and curator of Blue Door Gallery in York, Maine. I’m passionate about sharing art as I believe that an immersive experience in the arts is vital. What makes owning a gallery space special is how the community interacts with curiosity, excitement and gratitude. By acquiring and exhibiting important works of art, galleries ensure that these works are not lost and contribute appreciation by future generations. Art galleries contribute significantly to the cultural landscape of a community. We can show art from our area or from around the world. This gives the public a chance to see and appreciate works of art that they might not have been able to see or appreciate otherwise. A gallery gives artists a platform for valuable support and exposure. It’s a commitment I’m passionate about as an artist myself. If you are local or across the globe, take the time to visit an art gallery, a museum, attend performances and have a chat with an artist. I’m grateful to my artists for gifting me their time and talent.

One of the messages we express at the gallery is that Art is Dangerous. Art is Dangerous is a tongue-in-cheek mission statement for Blue Door. Plato first suggested that art is dangerous because it can evoke strong emotions, influencing our behavior and shaping our characters. Our mission is to energize the community through smile-worthy art that uplifts and inspires.

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

Janice Santini graduated from Boston’s Massachusetts College of Art in 2000 with a Bachelors of Fine Arts. After graduating, Santini’s oil paintings were represented by Chameleon, an art gallery that was located in Newburyport from 2000-2008. Moving from her hometown of Newburyport to Vermont she became the first Artist in Residence at a five-star hideaway in Barnard, VT known as Twin Farms. Between 2007 and 2017 Janice took a ten-year sabbatical to raise her three children and open their first family business in 2007.

Janice and her husband who is a chiropractor opened a holistic medical practice in York, Maine. They slowly grew the size of their practice to add primary care providers, acupuncture, counseling, massage, physical therapy and psychotherapy. Janice would express to friends and family that she had a vision for the practice to include an art gallery to fulfill her dream of integrating healing and art.

After taking that time in building a family business, Santini was inspired to paint again, No grass grew under her feet as she was quickly represented by PEG Gallery in Newburyport, MA and had two successful solo exhibitions in York in 2018 & 2019. Her art returned to Vermont’s 5 star hideaway Twin Farms guest gallery during that time. Not far after, Santini had the honor of being part of the Ogunquit Art Museum Auction where one of her paintings were displayed in 2019.

A change in health during the pandemic changed the direction for Santini’s ability to be a prolific artist and the dream she once visioned was born. Through the help of her family the gallery was built and created on the property where their primary business resides in a 1857 colonial inn.

They promptly began the renovation project of turning our weary old 1857 barn into an art gallery. My husband, brother, and nephew became foundational advocates in helping her achieve this goal.

Santini couldn’t be happier to find joy in representing artists who carry that same positive mindset and the collectors who follow. Art brings healing and joy. Art brings something to ponder and get lost in. A piece of art is experiencing the creative mind of another. The gallery space brings pondering, healing, and love to so many, exhibiting artists from all over the world.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

This is a two part answer. I think the reputation of the gallery success has to do with curating artists that hold a great reputation. Working with artists that are like minded, have the ability to create a strong body of work and are able to market themselves to a large audience is key. Committing yourself to a large audience on social media can quickly build your business.

The second answer is being a good business owner. As an artist, I take pride and treating my artist very well. It’s almost unheard of in the art industry to be paid immediately when a piece of art sells. That is something I provide for every artist. I find a very important to make my artists feel seen and understood. It is a honor to have artist globally, wanting to represent their work in my gallery because the way I treat their art.

How did you build your audience on social media?

We have an unusual story of how we built our audience on social media. When I started my Instagram page, I had less than 300 followers for a few months. We had an unusual finding in the gallery when we were doing renovations. When we pulled up the floor of the historical 1857 barn, we found a 20 foot hand dug well with 10 feet of water. During completion of the barn we decided to hire an engineering company in Ohio to create a glass cover that would hold up to 600 pounds adorned with well lights. Excited to finally finish that project we took a quick video and posted it on Instagram, thinking nothing of it. It was less than 24 hours where the video went viral and had over 42 million views. Our audience grew quickly as did the curiosity. As a result of that several magazines and publications in England, Italy, California, including a handful of interior design pages have written about the well and the gallery. It was very helpful to find a niche that reached many people quickly, we were fortunate.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://blue-door-gallery.square.site/
• Instagram: blue_doorgallery
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/rj1Uw2epc1eRZtuS/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits

Lexie Nichols of Loose Rein Photography