Bringing Art to DC from Across the Pond

In 2019, Nicola Charles took a leap of faith and moved from the UK to the US to open an art gallery. When she finally moved to the US, the space she thought she’d secured, fell through. So, she had to scramble to find a new space for her art gallery. Just a few months after she opened the gallery in November 2019, COVID happened.  And her plans like everyone else’s were put on pause. She was away from family and considering whether or not to return home. If she did return home, she would not have been able to return. She decided to  stay in the US. And the gallery is thriving.

​​Shantay Robinson: So where are you from? And what is it like in comparison to DC?

Nicola Charles: So, I'm from London. I think DC feels like London. London is much bigger than DC, a lot more populated. I'm trying to think but it feels a bit smaller because our buildings are smaller, our roads are narrower, etc.

SR: What do you like about DC?

NC: You know what, honestly, I know it sounds crazy. I love that the sun is always shining.

SR: No, that doesn't sound crazy at all.

NC: Yeah, we don't have a lot of sun at home. I like that it rarely rains. I think the people here are very friendly. Especially in comparison to London. And DC for me feels like a happy medium between London and New York. If that makes sense. I like the small city vibe. But it also feels a little bit small townie. I remember when I moved here, it felt like I've stepped back in time. Like, I've stepped back like 50 years.

SR: Yeah, I love the size of it as well. Everything is so accessible. It just seems like everything is just minutes away from each other. I like the size of it. It's not too big. Not too small. And you get everything that you would get in New York. Or you know, a big city. I don't know about London, but you get all the perks of it without the congestion.

NC: Honestly, it was a feeling I had, it was just random. It was like a spiritual feeling. So, it's difficult because I used to be corporate, and I used to be an expat tax accountant. And I also hated the US and everything about it. And I eventually quit my job and went traveling for a bit. And then while I was in Cuba, we went to this place. And it dawned on me that I wanted to have an art gallery. And I didn't know where. I didn't know how. I didn't even know why I just knew that  was what I was supposed to be doing. And then as we continued our travels, I reluctantly came to DC. And when I got to DC, the same feeling that hit me in Cuba hit me when we reached DC. So, I just knew I was supposed to be in DC.

SR: How difficult was that?

NC: Um, honestly, there's so many layers to the experience, right? Because I've never really been a massive risk taker. But for some reason, I just had to do this move. So, I was coming back and forth. I came a couple of times to do market research and stuff, obviously to apply for my visa. And I remember I made two good friends. It’s difficult sometimes, especially out of sight, out of mind. When I went back, I didn’t hear from these friends. But I then came. Something that I struggled with is the culture. So, I assumed, and many people do make this assumption, that because the US and the UK are both English speaking countries, I assumed it would be… We have a lot of American television at home and music and stuff. I don't think I was prepared for the culture shock here. In terms of things that are appropriate to say. A lot of things that I deem appropriate, I noticed cause offense. And then I think a lot of things that Americans deem appropriate; I'm always taken aback. So, there's just those little nuances.

SR: What is great about running the gallery? Is it fulfilling to you at this point?

NC: It’s really fulfilling. I started my career at Christie's auctioneers. And then I started the curation certification at Sotheby's, so I've been around the creative industries, but I think that being able to contribute to building a career for an artist is a good feeling for me. Seeing as it's my creative space, I really like that too. I feel very comfortable here. And I quite like the feeling of being able to contribute to the career growth of artists. And I love being able to advocate on behalf of artists. I've also been able to put a lot of what I've learned over the years into practice. And I love that 11: Eleven Gallery is quite unique to DC. And I love that aspect of it. It can be difficult sometimes to keep it so unique, because there's a lot of people who don't necessarily understand the art that we carry or the artists that we work with. And there's a lot of people who question whether pop art is real art. We do a lot of limited-edition prints.People don't necessarily understand the value that prints hold in an artist's career. So, I really enjoy the educational aspect. And then also learning new processes and understanding. I feel like I grow with most conversations, I wouldn't say all, but with most conversations with artists, I usually feel like I grow in some way shape or form. In terms of my understanding of their techniques, or their inspirations, or what drives them, etc.

SR: So, you say that 11: Eleven Gallery focuses on pop art, can you speak to that and why you chose pop art to be the focus, or the kind of art that you put out?

NC: I wouldn't say we focus on pop art. We just tend to have quite a few pop art pieces. But that's one aspect of the gallery that people don't fully get. But in terms of the artists that we work with, and our style, it's very London. So, obviously being from London, I think it's a little bit disingenuous for me to be here and kind of be like this is American art. Because it's not my area of specialty. I didn't come up in that market. So, it's not really my place to necessarily talk about American art. The artists I work with are predominantly British.

SR: So, what did you do at Sotheby’s and Christie's?

NC: So, Christie's was really early in my career. It was actually my first ever job. I was like, 18. And I started out on the management team. And if memory serves, they never used to recruit people of that age group. And this makes me sound really old. But I remember it was just before I joined, they started allowing women to wear trousers to work. And I always remember thinking you couldn't wear trousers? But I did. Yeah, so I always remember that. That used to be spoken about quite a lot. But so, I started out in the client management team. I then started doing promotion, I started targeting sales. So, we would be looking at which clients purchased X amount in which sale. Or, this department has a sale coming up. So, we would look at which clients around the world would be likely to participate in this auction or even have an interest and just stuff like that. It was really interesting stuff in terms of targeting and marketing. etc. I became more involved with clients, and sales. And I loved it. I really loved every day at Christie's. And then at Sotheby’s, I just did my curatorial certifications there. So, I didn't really work there, I just did my curatorial certifications.

SR: Is it challenging to be a woman gallerist? Do you have any challenges that come along with being a woman and gallery owner?

NC: I've never been a feminist or, or anything of the sort. I just go through life doing what I want. But that is as an employee, right. And so, when you're an employee, there's an element of protection. In terms of legislation, companies have to adhere to what can be deemed as harassment, what's deemed appropriate, what’s inappropriate. If a situation occurred that was inappropriate, there's somebody you can escalate it to. There's a framework in place to support you through that process, right. And even though I've never been in that situation, or never knowingly been in that situation, I think sometimes just knowing that there is a framework there to protect you gives you a sense of freedom. So, coming here and opening the gallery, I am my framework. You do come into situations that are just wholly inappropriate. And I feel like I do have to fight or not fight. I do feel like I probably have to speak louder than male gallery owners to be seen. So, I often will have collectors or artists even who say things like, we'll be talking, and they could say something like, oh, you're so beautiful. And it used to throw me off. But I always say if I was a male gallery owner, would you comment on my looks? And they go, no. Or, I've had an artist hug me and touch my lower back. And I thought I said, oh, would you do that if I was a man? And he didn't get it. But it's those sorts of things. I do have a lot of people kind of doubting my ability in a very subtle way. I did have somebody come into the gallery once. And she asked me if I knew of this other gallery. And I said, no, I've never heard of them. And basically, she said, oh, you should speak to this other gallery owner and learn their business model. And maybe you could replicate it. And I thought you don't know me or my business model. It’s such a strange thing to say to me. I think as a woman, there are just certain challenges, where I think some male gallerists kind of just get recognized for doing less.

SR: So, what's some advice you would give a woman entrepreneur about running a business, not just a gallery, but just anything that you've learned. How can we strengthen the framework to avoid those little microaggressions?

NC: I would say just believe in yourself because others probably will believe in you less. If you are not strong in your focus, in your plans, you do that age-old thing, where you probably do have to work a little bit harder. Sometimes you can see women in business use their sexuality, to get ahead. And that's absolutely fine, if that's what you want to do. But I think that not every woman wants to do that. And so, I would say to the women who don't necessarily want to use your sexuality, and that doesn't mean that you're sleeping your way to the top in the slightest. It just means that people carry and conduct themselves differently. So, I think my thing would just be however you want to be, whether you are out there or not. You have to firmly believe in yourself. And I think as women we have additional pressures. Outside of business, we have additional pressures. I personally think my journey might have been a lot easier with a partner because you have somebody to fall back on. But then that could just be like a patriarchal way of thinking. Although your partner doesn't have to be a man. So maybe it's not? I don't know. I think for me, it's just, you know, stay strong, believe in who you are. Sadly, you've got to toughen up. Women are always going to bring a more nurturing aspect to business. And I think that's great. I just think that what I've learned is that you have to be quite discerning with your energies and who you nurture. But at the same time, something I've also come to see is entrepreneurship is not for everybody. I'm probably not the best person to ask because I'm quite humble to a fault. That's cultural. So, growing up like in England, we don't celebrate stuff. You might be proud of it and celebrate with your close circle, but you wouldn't shout it from the rooftops, whereas I feel like over here if people have like the smallest wins, they shout it from the rooftop, right? And I think that's a really good thing. And so, I would encourage people to do that, because those are the things that get seen.