When friends opened a coworking space in Columbus, OH, they asked their “art friend” for help planning wall decor for the space.

After coordinating rotating displays, artist talks, and public events, we saw some of the barriers between artists and their audiences:

• It’s not uncommon for artists to have great work in storage. Artists may only secure one 30-day exhibition a year, a narrow window to connect. After an exhibition, artists rarely have a route to display their work.

• Although we see the value of art, many of us live and work in spaces with blank walls or meaningless mass-produced wall decor because we don't know where to find art. High costs keep us from purchasing original art and even if we hunt down a piece, we get hung up on logistics like installation. Walls remain bare even when artists have work ready for display.

That’s when we realized that we could align these related barriers and simplify the process for ourselves and our collaborating artists. The problem is wall-based, so the solution is too.

Through Rela’s wall-based pricing and simple platform, anyone can source local, original art for display or purchase without an art dealer or any knowledge of art. Any space can be transformed into part of a decentralized, functioning, city-wide gallery. Work circulates through commercial and residential spaces and can be refreshed anytime to keep any space fresh.

For artists, Rela is a free option that reroutes artwork headed for storage, keeping work on view with a variety of audiences. Artists earn each month their work is displayed, building an important model of consistent support for local artists.

Rela helps anyone transform their space simply by making it easier to source and display original artwork.

The takeaway?

When you need somthing, ask your friends. You never know what innovative solutions you’ll create for yourselves and your community.