Empty New York office floors serve as art studios

The premises that were emptied in New York due to the pandemic are used as creative centers for artists.

The city of New York was left with millions of empty square feet due to the covid-19 crisis, however, some owners have taken advantage of these spaces for creative uses.

The real estate heiress and pioneer of the avant-garde performing arts, Anita Durst, who also founded ChaShaMa, a non-profit organization that offers rehearsal and performance space for artists in New York, has taken advantage of empty office spaces to create centers for New York artists.

The program ChaShaMa has provided spaces for more than 30,000 artists in New York, organizing 1,500 workshops and art classes in vulnerable and underserved areas of the city.

He has organized nearly 4,000 art events in public places in New York City. Right now, the organization has partnered with real estate and homeowners to provide more space for New York artists amid the COVID-19 crisis.

During the pandemic, Durst started a program called the Storefront Startup to somehow support minority-led small businesses by providing them with pop-up retail stores.

In this way, the real estate heiress provided opportunities to emerge amid the closure that the entertainment sector experienced in the Big Apple.

So far, Durst has open retailers at 25 locations across the city and has grown to 150.

“With all the empty spaces in the city, the more we can temporarily activate, it will not only help the economy but it will help our psyche and help us return to New York.”Durst said.

With all the spaces left empty last year during lockdown, Durst and some of his partners used the venues as a means to jump-start the art world and give artists the opportunity to get back to work.

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Cory Silverstein, son of Roger Silverstein of Silverstein Properties and grandson of the owner of the World Trade Center, took Durst’s initiative, and formed another artist residency program, called Silver Art Projects.

This program offers space to artists through another curated residency program at 4 World Trade Center in the city.

“We wrote a business proposal that shows that it could be of value to the community”, dijo Silverstein.

The more than 40,000 square foot space now provides 500 square feet to each of the artists, who are chosen by a jury for an eight to ten month occupancy.

“Since the space is so large, many of his works have increased in scale. It will positively impact those who can become sponsors and friends of these artists ”, added.

The large investors in the city, with this initiative, intend to promote art and entertainment in New York again, after being closed for more than a year and with restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

And although the state governor, Andrew Cuomo, has already reactivated the entertainment industry, many artists were left without their jobs and without spaces to show their art due to the economic crisis.

Silverstein commented to The New York Post, that he was convincing other real estate owners to venture into and promote the artistic medium in the Big Apple.

“Silver Arts is a role model for us and we want to encourage other real estate owners to use it as a role model for them.”, He said.

with information from The New York Post.

You can also read: New York faces a crisis of empty hotels due to the pandemic

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