Success Story:

BBA Gallery
H O W B B A G A L L E RY U S E D A R T S Y T O G R O W F R O M
A N A R T I S T - R U N P R O J E C T S PA C E T O
A N I N T E R N AT I O N A L G A L L E RY

Exterior of BBA Gallery. Courtesy of BBA Gallery.

Index

INTRODUCTION 3

ABOUT BBA GALLERY 4

THE CHALLENGE 5

STEPS FOR SUCCESS 6

WHAT’S NEXT FOR BBA GALLERY 10

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How BBA Gallery used Artsy to scale its business from an artist-run project
space to a gallery that exhibits around the world
When Renata Kudlaeck and Nele Ouwens opened Berlin-based BBA Gallery in
2015, it was a small, artist-run project space. Four years later, BBA has evolved
into a thriving gallery with an international roster that exhibits around the
world. How did Kudlaeck and Ouwens successfully scale their business? And
what role did Artsy play in bringing more visibility to their artists and
broadening their collector base? 

Instillation view of the BBA Artist Prize at BBA Gallery, Berlin. Courtesy of BBA Gallery.
.
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About BBA Gallery

After transitioning from project space to professional gallery in 2017, Kudlaeck

and Ouwens spent the past two years setting their gallery and artists up for
success. In addition to managing their physical location in Berlin, the co-
directors have brought BBA online, establishing profiles across social media and
Artsy to promote their program of emerging and mid-career artists that boasts a
history of predominantly female representation. BBA’s diverse group of artists
come from around the world, including Australia, France, the U.S., Slovakia,
Spain, Denmark, and Poland.  

BBA stands for Berlin Blue Art. Berlin Blue, now known as Prussian Blue, was
invented in Berlin in 1706 and was the first modern pigment to be developed. Nele Ouwens, Co-Founder of BBA Gallery
True to its name, BBA’s artists are united by their “strong vision and visually Renata Kudlaeck, Co-Founder of BBA Gallery
compelling styles.” Today, the gallery shows works of all different media, from
painting and video art to drawing and photography. 

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The challenge

Faced with the challenge of transforming their artist-run project space into the
professionally operating and international gallery they envisioned, the directors of
BBA recognized that they needed eyes on their artists not just in Berlin, but around
the world.

Their first step? Joining an online platform that could support them in this
endeavor. “We wanted to go global right from the start, which is why we started
with the Artsy platform for the first year of our gallery,” says Ouwens. “Artsy
elevates your gallery to a level of seriousness that you don’t have if you’re not on the
platform—being on Artsy is a stamp of being professional as a gallery.”

Their peers affirmed that Artsy provided the best opportunity to get their name into
the art world ecosystem. “All of the big-player galleries in Berlin were on Artsy, and
then some of the galleries we compare ourselves to, the smaller galleries that are
bigger than project spaces, were also on Artsy. That was part of the research we did
—we thought, ‘Okay, if they’re on it, we should be on it, as well.’” 

Like any social platform, building a consistent and engaged following took time.
But with consistent effort, they established their name on Artsy and a strong
Olivia Lennon, Atlas III, 2018. Artwork placed in private collection via Artsy.
network of collectors to go with it. How did they do this?

5
Steps for Success

1 . G I V E Y O U R A R T I S T S T H E V I S I B I L I T Y T H E Y D E S E RV E
Practicing artists themselves, Kudlaeck and Ouwens have always prioritized their
gallery’s ethos of putting their artists first.

Kudlacek  explains, “As artists ourselves, we know how fundamental it is to be

given a chance to be seen and recognized for your work. We joined Artsy because
we were looking to increase the visibility of our artists and the gallery.”

“We joined Artsy because we were looking to

increase the visibility of our artists and the
gallery.”
Notably, for BBA, “emerging artist’  does not mean ‘young’ or ‘fresh out of college,’
but rather references a stage of career, where artists have yet to gain recognition in
the art market.  “Being on Artsy is a great deal for our artists—worldwide visibility
is a huge achievement and career booster for them,” observes Ouwens.

With Artsy’s tools, measuring this visibility is easy. And for a lean team like BBA,
tracking success metrically is especially important when keeping track of one’s
return on investment and what efforts are best serving their artists.
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Steps for Success
“Before we were on Artsy,” Ouwens remarks, “we had no idea how many people were
looking at our artworks. Through the statistics we get with Artsy, we have numbers that tell
us that there are tens of thousands of people sometimes per month that are looking at our
artists and artworks. Of course, you could use Google analytics for your website to get a
similar statistic for your website, but you will never get this amount of information or
views without Artsy.”
While collectors may initially discover BBA’s artists through a Google search or from
Artsy’s personalized recommendations, Owens shares that collectors satisfy their need to
learn more about their programming and artists by browsing the gallery and artists’ profile
pages. These pages include everything from an overview of the artist’s career to biographical
information and press mentions. They also enable BBA to host online exclusive shows—
specially curated online exhibitions that allow a collector to view works just as they would
in person, even if they can’t make it to the gallery.
“Through the statistics we get with Artsy, we have
numbers that tell us that there are tens of thousands of
people sometimes per month that are looking at our
artists and artworks.”
2 . C U LT I VAT E A N I N T E R N AT I O N A L A U D I E N C E
For Kudlaeck and Ouwens, scaling their artist-run project space to an international gallery
required developing an international audience they could rely on to support their artists
and program.
“Most collectors we meet through Artsy are international—Artsy is meant for us to contact
or get contacted by collectors everywhere,” Ouwens and Kudlaeck share.
“Most collectors we meet through Artsy are
international—Artsy is meant for us to contact or get
contacted by collectors everywhere.”
While galleries once exclusively relied upon foot traffic and fairs to extend their network
beyond their primary location, online platforms and the online art market as a whole make
it possible for buyers to engage with and collect artists, regardless of their location. Not
only does a broader collector base help support the careers of emerging artists, it also
legitimizes the gallery by establishing recognition beyond the local art scene.
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Steps for Success

Ouwens recalls one particular story that highlights how easy a platform like Artsy
makes it for collectors to buy from an artist they take an interest in.

“We had one collector [from Austria] recently who read an article about one of our
artists, and then he Googled the artist,” Ouwens explains. “The first thing that
came up was our Artsy profile. Through our Artsy profile, he contacted our gallery.
We then had a meeting in the gallery where we showed him 10 artworks. In the
end, he ended up buying three paintings from our artist Marina Roca Die.”

Though digital strategy is often discussed as if it exists in a silo, this experience

highlights how online and offline efforts often work in tandem, which is why it’s so
important to put equal effort into both.

3 . U S E A R T S Y T O G R O W Y O U R P R O F E S S I O N A L G A L L E RY N E T W O R K
One unexpected benefit of BBA’s gallery partnership has been the networking
opportunities with other galleries made possible by Artsy.

“Other gallerists on Artsy approach us and ask if we want to participate in a gallery

exchange,” Kudlaeck and Ouwens explain. “Being on Artsy is part of our global
perspective. Collaborations and exchanges with other galleries and projects are
something we do on a regular basis.” Marina Roca Die, Weird Woman Standing Still IV, 2015. 

Artwork placed in private collection via Artsy. 8
Steps for Success

“This happened most recently with Fann-A-Porter gallery in Dubai. Fann-A-Porter Gallery
is also on Artsy and we showed in Dubai [this past February and March] and they
presented their middle eastern artists at our gallery in Berlin. Many of the collectors in the
Middle East that we met look on Artsy and were researching us through the platform,
which was really fascinating.”
But before they shift their focus to the photography competition in October, Kudlaeck and
Ouwens will be preparing their booth for the SWAB art fair this September in Barcelona
with works by artists Olivia Lennon and Silvia Binda Heiserova. Kudlaeck and Ouwens say
they look forward to it and “appreciate Artsy partnering with fairs, which gives
participating galleries an extra boost.”

Not only have these exchanges created new professional relationships for Kudlaeck and
Ouwens, they have also translated the international exposure that BBA receives online
through Artsy into an invaluable on-the-ground experience and opportunity for their
artists. Ouwens adds that “the international visibility Artsy gives online also helps us give
ourselves visibility through [fostering] collaboration in real life.”

W H AT ’ S N E X T F O R B B A ?
Always looking to attract new talent, support artists, and grow the gallery, BBA has started
hosting two open-call artist competitions a year at the gallery—one artists’ prize and one
photography prize decided by a panel of select art-world judges. The reward for winning?
Being represented and promoted on Artsy by BBA. Ouwens says this is a draw for many
artists “because they want to be on Artsy.”

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