In New York, artists have invested shop windows and premises in stores closed following the pandemic, to gain visibility while revitalizing abandoned shopping streets.
Association Chashama persuades owners to temporarily offer their empty premises to artists in difficulty to serve as studios and exhibition spaces. The closure of thousands of businesses due to the virus and the difficulty of renting these places have enabled the organization to broaden its scope.
Chashama already has 150 studios and plans to occupy 100 more by 2021.
There are more places available and a lot more places people are willing to give us right now
confirms Anita Durst, founder of the association.
The artists take possession of the space for free and benefit from the totality of the proceeds from the sales, a gift in a city where the rents are exorbitant and where the galleries take a commission.
We make the place beautiful. We’re here to open the doors to real estate agents. In a way we’re trying to help rent the space
On the Upper West Side, facades now exhibit local artists alongside signs “Commercial space available“as part of the exhibition Art on the Ave.
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 told myself that we had to be able to do something better, something more dynamic. Hope this will bring customers to the area and help retailers who are having a hard time paying rent
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