About. |
Established in 2005......by Mitra Ghaffari and Mark Prior in British Columbia, Canada, Mima Fine Art Publishers was launched with the intention of bringing the finest quality of art direct to the public, believing it should be affordable and accessible to the public without compromise in quality. This joint venture combined 40 years of experience between two established artists, whose backgrounds also include publishing and gallery ownership.
This collection represents an eclectic cross-section of contemporary art that we have published from Canada, the US and (strange but true) Argentina. We have taken responsibility for every print from start to finish. All editions were created in partnership with and approved by the artists. We maintain complete records of limited edition numbering and guarantee their authenticity.
Closing Sale: Why There's So Much!In 2008 Mima became supplier of art to 'The Bay' (The Hudson Bay Company, founded 1670) in Downtown Vancouver which, thanks to our success there, was followed by the Downtown Victoria and Nanaimo stores in 2009.
Mima @ the Bay, Downtown Vancouver, 2008
People are surprised to learn that at that time approximately two thirds to three quarters of all stock inside the Bay didn't belong to the company but was 'on consignment', including ours, and they took a commission on sales. This meant a huge investment in stock to fill the walls of three entire furniture floors in the three stores, but for the first two years it seemed to be paying off, despite sales being hit by 'The Crash of 2008'.
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However, in 2009 the Bay was bought by Americans and after a year of plotting, decisions started coming top-down, local management was disempowered and we were being told what we could and could not hang. Our sales fell steadily during 2010 so we reluctantly decided that we'd have to pull out. Whilst we were thinking about it, the management brought the agenda forward by giving about 80% of all their 'Consignees', including us, 6 days to clear out!
We then concentrated on building up a network of over 30 galleries in British Columbia but this has now diminished to half a dozen as so many have been forced to close down or 'change direction' due to the continually deteriorating economic climate and the growing trend to buy art online. [So here we are...] The Closing Sale consists mostly of undamaged stock returned from the three Bay stores and numerous galleries that we invested in stocking over the years. This is quality Canadian art that we are proud to present and that you can now be proud to own! To Sum Up...Print Art Photography CA is no longer actively publishing new work by, and besides this website and associated online marketing is no longer promoting the Mima Gallery artists, except for Graham Herbert. Graham will have his own website soon but until then his prints and originals can be found here.
Prints from existing editions are still currently available from all the artists except for the following: Coral Barclay; Fernando Hocevar; Richard Hunt; Page Ough; Steve Silverman; Sharon Tenenbaum; Bill Wilkinson. (Please contact us for further details.) This new Mima Gallery website has been created mainly to sell the remaining stock from the now dissolved Mima Fine Art Publishers, 2005-2016. As such it's lifespan is finite, to be determined by how long it takes to achieve that goal. ~ PRINT ART PHOTOGRAPHY ~
Digital Printing on Aluminum, Canvas, Paper & Acrylic Face Mounting |
About Us
Studied fine art and photography, beginning as a painter, later moving to sculpture specializing in 'Land Art'. After leaving college, established a reputation as a landscape photographer with solo exhibitions across the U.K. For seventeen years, the proprietor of Priors Contemporary Fine Arts in Barnard Castle, U.K. representing over 100 artists...
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Mitra Ghaffari started her career as a publisher, at the age of 25, publishing a community newspaper and magazine in California, before gaining her Masters in Fine Art as a painter. Exhibited internationally in: Berkeley & San Francisco, California; Shanghai, China; Tokyo (1st prize, modern calligraphy, 2000), Japan; Cambridge, U.K. to name a few...
Mitra will launch her own new website in 2018, showing recent paintings and photographs for the first time. |
