Maintaining programmatic space for visual art institutions in New York City. "Visual Art Space" is a panel discussion hosted by The Artists Alliance Inc. (AAI), in conjunction with LMCC's Swing Space Program.

When: Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Time: 7pm
Where: LMCC's SWING SPACE 15 Nassau Location

Panel Discussion with:

Holly Block - Executive Director, Art In General
Carlos (Chino) Garcia - Director, Charas (Latino community arts)
Lia Gangitano - Director, Participant, Inc.
Kathleen Gilrain - Executive Director, Smack Mellon
Robert Lee - Director, Asian American Art Centre
Norma Munn - Chairperson,  New York City Arts Coalition
Paul Wolf - Denham Wolf Real Estate Services Inc.

Hosted by Paul Clay, visual artist, and Director of Programming and Development for AAI.

We are very grateful to LMCC for the donation of space for this public discussion.

Many visual art institutions in New York City are in danger of losing their spaces, and there is also a significant exodus of artists away from the city as a result of lack of affordable studio space. The Center for an Urban Future's December 2005 report "Creative New York" lists Visual Arts as one of nine core creative industries fueling New York, and notes repeatedly that the lack of affordable and appropriate work space is one of the key challenges yet to be addressed in the city.

As Lewis Hyde says in his "Created Commons," Paper Number 8 in The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Paper Series on the Arts, Culture, and Society: "All creative people are empowered by an inheritance from the past, a gift that can only be repaid by dedicating a portion of our present labors toward the future."

All great cultural achievements come partly as a result of networks of support surrounding the person who is attempting the achievement. This comes both from institutions founded in the past and from those we create today. The achievements of future generations and even of those of us who are currently here struggling, can be measured in large part by the formal and informal networks of support we put in place to help these achievements come to be.

The visual arts will not just automatically continue to flourish in New York. Economic, political, and cultural forces converged in our city in the past historical era to produce what we know today. Rapid current changes are removing some of the key foundations on which New York City's success is based.

Buxton Midyette - Where the Rich Girls Are,Where the Rich Guys Are, house paint on wood panels, 36 x 72 inches each, 2005.

"Visual Art Space" is intended to explore the challenges faced by visual art institutions currently in danger as a result of rising real estate costs. It focuses on how art studio and gallery display space for artists in the contemporary visual art scene can be maintained in New York City, and why it is worth preserving.

Artists Alliance Inc./Alianza de Artistas (AAI) is a not-for-profit organization working in the Lower East Side and dedicated to promoting discussion and awareness of the visual arts, sharing information with the public, interaction with local communities, and providing forums for artists.  It is composed of artists from a broad spectrum of national backgrounds, working in a wide variety of different media. AAI runs a host of contemporary art based projects, including studios and galleries.

"Visual Art Space" is made possible by Swing Space, a program of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, generously supported by the September 11th Fund. Space donated by Silverstein Properties.

NOTE ON THE LOCATION:15 Nassau Street (corner of Pine Street) is 2 blocks below Liberty Street, down in the Financial District. Nassau Street runs parallel with Broadway, and is one block to the East of Broadway. 15 Nassau is two blocks north of the New York Stock Exchange.

Subway Directions: #2, 3, 4, 5 (Wall Street Stop). #J, M, Z (Broad Street Stop). #2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, J, M, Z, (Fulton Street Stop). #N, R, (Rector Street Stop).

Click here for a street map.