The Ghost Gallery (Image: Ghost Gallery)

Kearney (Image: CHS)

Art space Ghost Gallery is trying to crowdfund its online expansion.

The Capitol Hill gallery, located at 504 E Denny Way, announced an Indiegogo campaign with a target of $10,000 by early July to fund the completion of the online expansion by fall 2016.

Gallery founder Laurie Kearney says she is expanding her online store to keep up with the an increasingly digital market, both for art collectors and more run-of-the-mill shoppers looking for handmade items. “Taking the website to the next level will enable the gallery to reach a wider national/global audience, which in turn will of course create a positive impact on the artists and makers I work with,” said Kearney. “More people shop online out of convenience, and it’s time for the gallery to embrace that.”

Backers receive a thank you card, an original piece of art, a voucher or a lifetime gallery membership depending on the size of their donation. Kearney said that crowdfunding was the most appealing option because she saw it as a way to get the neighborhood involved in the project.

Right now Ghost Gallery places its main exhibit online every month, as well as an array of handmade jewelry, prints, and original art. Kearney says the online expansion will involve updating those elements and adding an artist Q&A section, a submissions-based New Media page featuring video and performance art, and, in the long term, archiving every show Ghost Gallery has ever hosted in Seattle.

Kearney started Ghost Gallery in 2006 as a name under which she curated and hosted artistic events at “non-traditional art venues.” The gallery, which tries to feature local artists, got its own physical space on Capitol Hill in April 2010 and Kearney says it has been going strong since.

“Back in 2006 I had only been in Seattle for a year, so I was just starting to meet local artists through friends, attending a ton of art openings…I was able to steadily grow a network of artists,” she said. “Once the physical gallery opened in 2010, that network exploded and has been growing ever since!”

In 2015, Ghost Gallery celebrated its fifth birthday.

Ghost Gallery keeps its mix of art and retail visible with five years on E Olive Way

The push to expand the online presence is not a sign that Ghost Gallery is throwing in the towel with the physical space; Kearney says that they will be keeping the brick and mortar gallery for as long as they can and plan to add storage and streamline the venue at the same time as they complete the online expansion.

Ghost Gallery is located at 504 E Denny Way. You can learn more at ghostgalleryshop.com.