Based in Newport Beach, California, Kennedy Contemporary launched in 2021. As a young and innovative space, the gallery’s ethos is firmly rooted in the success of the artists they represent: “It is a powerful thing to support an artist's career; by selling their works to collectors, you enable them to continue to create meaningful art” quotes Victoria Kennedy, Kennedy Contemporary founder, in Modern Luxury magazine.
Kennedy Contemporary is focused on relationship building, and establishing themselves as a reputable dealer in the local market. Going beyond the transactional, Kennedy focuses on the interpersonal element of running a gallery: “The biggest compliment I get is that we have a very transparent, open brand, and a way of doing business so that people feel they can trust us.”
On a mission to bring the new, the bold, and the exciting to the shores of Newport Beach, for Victoria Kennedy: “We're a modern contemporary gallery bringing a fresh take on contemporary art… so having payment methods to match that vision is important, like having convenient payment options that work for our clients, and a secure process that expedites payments.”
As a smaller gallery with an intimate team, time is always of the essence. So, with Artlogic Pay in their back pocket, the gallery runs more efficiently, managing and fulfilling payments at a much faster rate: “Our old system meant that we would take credit card information on file, and then arrange a time to speak with the client (or wait for them to call). Which can be tricky. Artlogic Pay has sped up the payment process by at least two to three days.”
When it comes to maintaining good collector relationships, and securing a sale, flexibility is key. By having Artlogic Pay as an additional option, Kennedy Contemporary can suit individual collector requirements, allowing them to tailor the sales process, and build an even stronger reputation for being efficient, transparent, and easy to work with.
“I have met some galleries who say they never accept credit cards, and if they do they'll charge a ridiculous fee.” Says Kennedy. “But in our case, we will always accept credit cards because we want it to be easy for our clients to pay.”
What’s more, “clients are used to online shopping”. These days, most people are so accustomed to making online payments that they have their credit card stored on Chrome or on Safari. So, with Artlogic Pay, buying art is as easy as any other online purchase.
Artlogic Pay removes the need to chase clients for outstanding payments, or manually check bank statements. Fully integrated into the Artlogic platform, Artlogic Pay automatically updates the contact record, artwork record, sales record and invoice when a client pays for an artwork via the payment link. Kennedy has found that: “Artlogic Pay helps because it’s immediate and clear when a client has paid”, providing accurate visibility on funds, ultimately helping to better-manage cash flow.
As a bonus, Kennedy notes that Artlogic Pay expedites the payment process, and increases flexibility for both the gallery and the collector: “Once the [collectors] get the link, they usually pay within a day. We even had a client that was in Los Angeles who wanted to do a commission with one of our artists, so we did a partial payment for the commission through Artlogic Pay – it’s pretty flexible in that way.”
Security and efficiency are top-of-mind for most gallerists. Especially when operating online where risk of fraud is high – which is why Artlogic Pay is run through Stripe, helping to further increase the security of payments, and create an even stronger bond of trust between gallerist and collector.
Kennedy remarks: “Artlogic Pay makes me feel better as a gallerist. It's given peace-of-mind regarding security, and has simplified our workflow: streamlining sales, creating a more secure option for clients to submit payments and collect art; ultimately easing the management of both my gallery and the brand.”