Meet Liz Lidgett - gallery owner, art advisor, and our newest interviewee for the next installment of our Women Working in the Arts series. There is so much to learn from her inspiring journey of building her own brand, networking to nurture media contacts, and becoming recognized as an industry expert. Read on to hear the story behind her career and business, then make sure to follow along with Liz Lidgett Gallery + Design on their website or Instagram.

After facilitating over 50 murals through her gallery, she’s shared all of her best tips and insight into working on these large-scale projects in an e-book. If you’ve ever had questions like: How do you find a wall? Why try a mural? How do you price such a large scale of artwork? What’s the process? - check out “How to start Muraling” for outlines of all these details as well as personal advice from successful mural artists.

Biography:

Liz Lidgett founded her business as an art advisor in 2012 after working as an in-house curator for a corporate collection. Seeing the need for corporate art advisory throughout the midwest, Liz began working with several corporate headquarters based in Des Moines, Iowa. Her business quickly expanded to work with personal collections, restaurants, hotels, and public art projects.

In 2015, Liz launched Adore Your Walls, an online art advisory product, that opened her work to a national audience. She has also worked as an art expert and stylist for several publications and online sites, and was featured on Reese Witherspoon’s site, Hello Sunshine in the Handmade *Mostly series.

2019 brought the opening of Liz Lidgett Gallery and Design, which was a natural progression of the business. She is a volunteer for many local arts and culture organizations including the Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Ballet Des Moines. She is a member of ArtTable, the leadership organization for professional women in the visual arts. She lives in Des Moines with her husband Nick Renkoski, their son Rocky, and their ever-expanding art collection.

How did you know it was time to branch out and launch "Adore Your Walls”?

As an art advisor, I was working with galleries on a regular basis. I was seeing ways that I felt a gallery could better work with clients who are not as well versed in the art world or are beginning their collection. I have a passion for helping people fall in love with art and it became clear that the way I could best do that was open my own gallery. There are things about the art world that I truly love, and things I want to change. Opening Liz Lidgett Gallery and Design was how I could make a positive impact. I can’t change the entire system but I know that I can do things “right” for my artists and clients at this gallery and make a small difference that way.

You've mentioned that in being a solopreneur you're everything from the CEO to the janitor - so true! What was the biggest challenge of running your own business when you first started?

Oh my goodness, I have learned so much having my own business over the last eight years. One of the biggest lessons was that I was most effective when I focused on the things that only I could do. By working with others such as a part time accountant, and hiring my Director of Operations, Tina Ehrlich, I have become a much more successful (and happy) business owner. Letting go of things can be difficult, especially when the business feels like your baby but ultimately that’s the only way to grow.

What do you most enjoy about art advising? What's one thing people might not guess or know about what you do?

I love helping people fall in love with art. I love talking with them about an artist’s process and giving them the backstory so they can full appreciate and understand the work. I love helping people make connections with art that are so powerful they need to take that art home and live with it. I love helping people bring beautiful artwork into their spaces so they love their home even more. It truly is a wonderful job and I feel excited to come to work every day.

One thing people might not guess is that sometimes my job turns into part art advisor/part marriage counselor. There are many times couples come in with very different opinions and it’s a fun challenge to me to find a piece that makes both people happy.

You regularly contribute to noted home and design publications. How did these connections come about and what topics are your favorites to write about and share your expertise?

I live and work in Des Moines, IA, which is also the home of Meredith Publishing with such amazing shelter magazines as Better Homes and Gardens and Traditional Home and Martha Stewart Magazine. Through networking and mutual acquaintances I was lucky enough to make great connections with some of their editors. I want to make the art world a more approachable place so working with these publications has been an incredible way to reach a large audience who is interested in design and learning more. My favorite topics are truly anything about art that helps to debunk myths about buying and collecting art.

As your business grew and evolved, you eventually decided to rebrand as Liz Lidgett Gallery + Design. What is your mission now and what services do you offer?

As I mentioned earlier, over the last two years we have tried to create our own little art world utopia. This is a place where we try to do right by our artists and clients. We are honest, and accessible, and speak about the art in an approachable way. We carry at least 50% women artists, but sit somewhere around 80% right now. We are also working to represent more BIPOC artists and other underrepresented artists. We may be based in Des Moines but we work with clients and artists from all over the world.

Congrats on recently celebrating your two-year anniversary with the gallery! Can you share some highlights in terms of projects you've worked on during this time?

Thank you so much! When the pandemic started we had only been open for 8 or 9 months so that was so much uncertainty. From the beginning, we worked hard to share what was in the gallery on our website and through social media. We have made some amazing connections through Instagram and have found a wonderful audience who love to look at art, learn about it, and talk about it.

We have loved working on some amazing projects such as the new boutique hotel, The Surety Hotel, here in Des Moines as well as large-scale mural projects and just continuing to work with clients. In 2020 we shipped art to clients in over 30 states and 5 countries. We are on track to blow past those numbers this year and I feel so thankful to have made such incredible connections with art lovers around the world.

Who are a few exciting artists that we should know about that you're currently working with? What can we expect from you and the gallery next?

Wow, it’s so hard to just pick a few. We work with over 35 artists from around the country and world. I work hard to find artists who have a unique perspective and technique. Hunt Slonem’s bunnies are iconic and have been very fun to work with. We love Angela Chrusciaki Blehm and her bold work. Karin Olah and her gentle landscapes with fabric throughout her paintings have been incredibly popular. Roma Osowo out of Dallas has such beautiful abstract work. We also love working with Fares Micue from the Canary Islands and her dramatic photography. I could go on and on and on.