Christina Cook was thinking the other day about her beginnings in the Martha’s Vineyard art scene.

She was 13 years old when she conspired with her father to find a way to exhibit his collection of vintage photographs. Her parents had inherited the artwork unknowingly after purchasing a building in Oak Bluffs. There in the attic, they found antique cameras and glass negatives dating back to the 1800s, left behind by a previous owner. Ms. Cook and her father used the prints from those negatives to fill the walls of the Christina Gallery, formerly located next door to its current Edgartown location on North Water street.

“We’ve been here in town with our business for 33 years now,” said Ms. Cook. “The years pass and you forget things, and then all of a sudden you have to start thinking of when it all started. . . .”

The Island art scene was quieter then. Today, the Vineyard is known as a destination that caters to a variety of art lovers — those who create it; those who admire it; and those who sell it.

In Edgartown, as the number of galleries has grown, so too has the number of women managing the business of art. As the town prepares for the annual Edgartown gallery stroll on Thursday evening, several of these women took time to reflect on their experiences in the business.

“Edgartown has evolved into a wonderful art community,” said Ms. Cook. She works together with her mother, Liz, to operate Christina Gallery. “It’s one of the few family businesses that really still exists here,” she said. Through their three decades in business, the gallery has veered away from its original photography and now primarily features oil paintings.

Ms. Cook believes that the diversity of gallery offerings in Edgartown contributes to the success of all the galleries in town.

Debra Gaines agreed. “The more the merrier,” she said. “I think it’s great that there are a lot of galleries, because then people will come for the art.”

Mrs. Gaines operates Debra M. Gaines Fine Art, a gallery that features her photography and her husband’s oil paintings. She is pleased that the art scene in Edgartown boasts a heavy concentration of female gallery owners, though she can’t quite pinpoint the reason for the trend. “I think to run a gallery, you really have to have an edge to you,” she said. “And I don’t know how many men have that edge.”

Mrs. Gaines is a relative newcomer to the Edgartown art scene, but in the year since her gallery opened, she’s learned how to maintain a certain determination. “I’ve finally learned that everything doesn’t have to be perfect,” she said. “It can’t be. I think the evolution of a business is that you’re never perfect. You’re always going to learn as you go.”

Carlin Eliot was a veteran gallery worker when she opened Carlin Fine Art on South Water street in Edgartown 20 years ago. In her tenure as gallery owner, she’s observed the strength of her compatriots. She does not believe the concentration women art dealers in Edgartown is purely by chance. “Their success is strictly achieved through hard work and dedication.... It takes guts to be in this business.”

Ms. Eliot is familiar with the challenge of the business. When she opened Carlin Fine Art, she did so with some reluctance. She was in her 60s and knew that the lifestyle would not be easy.

“My passion for art took over,” she explained. Now she is proud of the business she built, and of the “amazing array of fine art” displayed in her gallery. “I love and am passionate about what I do — and it shows.”

While courage and confidence are important elements of success in the art world, Mrs. Gaines believes acceptance is also essential. “Last year I wanted to be the fancy gallery owner, but the reality is that I bike to work.... So we’re more working artists,” she said in reference to her role and to her artist husband.

“I try to stay focused on what we are doing in here,” said Ms. Cook. “I don’t find myself getting distracted by what the other galleries are doing.” Their attitudes leave little room for competition among galleries. In fact, the women running these galleries feel a strong sense of camaraderie.

“We all do get along, and we are respectful,” said Ms. Cook. “And each time another gallery comes into town, it motivates us to look and do something different.”

“The women who own galleries in Edgartown are very strong women with drive, and that is not random,” said Ms. Eliot. “The gallery stroll is a great way to bring galleries together as a unit in town and a chance to casually show the individual work of the artists that we represent.”

The Edgartown Gallery Stroll takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday. Participants include Christina Gallery, Debra M. Gaines Fine Art Gallery, Carlin Fine Art, Eisenhauer Gallery, Willoughby Fine Art Gallery, North Water Gallery, Forsythe Studio Gallery, and Belushi Pisano Gallery.