Some people can’t believe that the Bushwick/Ridgewood area is turning out to be such a gallery district, but it’s true! It isn’t entirely clear how many galleries there are but some people say it’s about 50! (And we at Bushwick Daily think that sounds about right.) Charles Kessler, who runs wonderful Left Bank Art Blog, has counted 43 so far but the truth is that nobody knows for sure… Many galleries function irregularly and very independently within their own communities – hidden in warehouses, apartments, and even basements.
Some of the gallery owners aim to change the ambiguity and collaborate as a group. They have been meeting on a semi-regular basis to discuss common issues they’re facing and joint events they’re planning. The meetings have been quite fruitful. The group has jointly organized Bushwick/Ridgewood Gallery Late Night held during Armory Week, and another Late Night, which is happening on May 11 in connection with Frieze Art Fair. The group has recently agreed to create a website with a map and potentially also gallery programming. Each gallery is invited to send in an activation request, and will be included after they fill out some basic information. The website will be launched just in time for this year’s Bushwick Open Studios, and we can’t wait for it! Huge thanks here belongs to Henry Chung from Robert Henry Contemporary who volunteered his time and created the site. Cheers!