In New York, artists have taken over empty windows and the premises of stores that have closed due to the pandemic, in order to gain visibility while revitalizing abandoned shopping streets. This initiative also echoes to that of confined London artists, exhibiting their works in the windows of their homes. “Sometimes it is said that tragedy gives birth to an opportunity”, explains designer Sir Shadow, who is currently creating his works in a former furniture store in Manhattan.
The septuagenarian is helped by the association Chashama who, for 25 years, has persuaded owners to temporarily offer their vacant premises to artists in difficulty to use it as a studio and exhibition space. The closure of thousands of businesses and restaurants this year due to the virus, combined with the difficulty owners have in renting these vacant places, allowed the organization to broaden its scope of action.
Chashama, which already has 150 studios, plans to occupy 100 new spaces by next year. “There are more places available and a lot more places people are willing to give us right now”, confirms to AFP Anita Durst, founder and artistic director of the association. The artists take possession of the space for free and benefit from the totality of the proceeds from the sales, a godsend in a city like New York, where the rent of commercial spaces is exorbitant and where galleries usually take a commission.
The owners also gain by the change in this device which sees the artists leaving the premises once the space has been rented. “We make the place look beautiful. We’re here to open the doors for real estate agents. In a sense, we’re trying to help with the rental of the space.”, emphasizes Ms. Durst.
Boost morale
A similar initiative has seen the light of day in the upscale Upper West Side, where the facades of the Columbus Avenue commercial strip now display the work of local artists. Oil paintings, acrylic canvases and photographs adorn store windows alongside “Commercial Space Available” signs, as part of the “Art on the Ave” exhibition, which will end on January 31, 2021 The idea germinated in June in the heads of three teachers, including Barbara Anderson, who could not stand the sad sight of shops closing one after another as the pandemic engulfed New York.
“I said to myself that we should be able to do something better, something more dynamic”, tells AFP Ms. Anderson, who lives in this neighborhood. “I hope this will bring customers to the area and help retailers who are having a hard time paying rent”, she adds.
Lance Johnson is one of forty artists featured in the exhibition. Passers-by stop to take a picture of his brightly colored canvas, We the People, estimated at $ 3,500, and press their noses against the glass to read the accompanying leaflet. “Instead of brown paper lining the windows, you see exceptional art. It lifts your spirits.”, lance M. Johnson.
For the 45-year-old painter, it is all the more important since it is a question of fighting against the idea that “New York is dead”. “This is not true. We are still here, we are fighting and it is important to let it be known”, he adds. For Sir Shadow, who illegally hung his paintings on the railings of public gardens before joining Chashama’s program, this type of initiative will bring lasting visibility to artists. “Once people get used to seeing these occupied spaces, understand the interest and see the beauty of it, you can’t go back”, he concludes.
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