Opening an art gallery is an entrepreneurial adventure like any other. That’s what Edward Van Houtte and Ranji Safarian, the managers of EDJI Gallery, a new-generation art gallery specialising in ultra-contemporary art, have been doing since April 2023. Elegantly housed on rue du Page, a stone’s throw from Place du Châtelain, EDJI’s programming features some of the most creative artists on the emerging scene, with the aim of shaking up issues of race, gender and sexual identity. Convictions are the best engine for success.
A passion before a profession
In art, as in all sectors, it is vital to identify your segment before jumping into the deep end. For Edward and Ranji, EDJI’s positioning was a natural choice. As avid collectors and consumers of art fairs and galleries, these two enthusiasts simply decided to exhibit the artists they love, namely « ultra-contemporary artists » – born after 1970 – « mainly from marginalised communities, women, racialised people or artists from the LGBTQIA+ movement ». It’s a commitment that has become EDJI’s trademark. They are certain that art has the power to shape attitudes, « to challenge the dominant moral compass » and to promote inclusion in our society.
The importance of digital
Because EDJI is targeting a new, younger generation of collectors with their own buying habits, a digital strategy was integrated into the project from the outset. On the one hand, there’s a website where you can view and buy all the works online, and on the other, there’s a very active Instagram account “serving as both a communication tool and a sales channel“. It’s a very welcome move, given that a year after the launch, Edward and Ranji have found that digital technology accounts for almost 70% of their sales, « whether via email, the e-commerce platform or social networks ». And while social networks serve as a direct link between the gallery and the public, they have also become « essential in the search for new emerging artists who have had little or no exhibition of their work ».
« hub.brussels helps us to discover potential uses that we hadn’t previously identified »
The ‘head office’ in Brussels
After several years spent setting up nomadic exhibitions in Paris, London and New York, Edward and Ranji decided to set up their ‘head office’ in Brussels. For its strategic location, of course, but also for « its real collector culture, which is quite unique in Europe ». EDJI is the first art gallery to join the hub.brussels network. For the time being, this unprecedented relationship will focus on the gallery’s tourist appeal and events potential. Through its participation in an operation on positive tourism, EDJI has been able to take advantage of the Hospitality cluster’s network to host a Visit Brussels event. The first of many? In the meantime, EDJI is continuing to put the spotlight on marginalised artists, be they American, Chinese, Mexican or Belgian. Prejudice knows no boundaries.
Visit their website to find out more : https://www.edjigallery.com/
