I’ve had a habit – for maybe 30 years now, dating back to when I lived in NYC – of seeing an empty storefront or building and wondering to myself: would that make for a good art gallery space? Considering I had a storefront gallery on East 11th Street in the late 1990s (see more here), I’m familiar with and have experience with setting one up, and I enjoyed it very much.
Plenty of friends will see posts like this and say “go for it!” I would like very much to do so, but there’s a couple issues that I’ve gained perspective on over the years. One, there’s the realistic idea that if I had a gallery again, it involves staying in it for as many open hours as one can have, and it becomes a waiting game, sitting there and hoping people will come in. That can become somewhat frustrating, feeling stuck in a space passively waiting.
Secondly, there’s the question of rent. When I had the gallery on East 11th Street, there was a kitchen and a tiny loft space for my bedroom and therefore I was able to live there. It was technically a mixed-use space and I could have both a business venture and a living space. Unless I find a new live/work space, any rent for a gallery would be extra monthly costs on top of where I live now.
But it doesn’t stop me from imagining would could be, and thinking and scheming of how I could pull it off. Or how I could make something that would be my own space to curate shows and invite the public in but in a non-traditional way. This picture below is from a property where this is the freestanding garage (with a second floor) that is separate from the main house, and the garage is big enough where one could still park a car in it but also convert part of it to an exhibition space. How cool would that be?
