Artists for New York

Jessica Morgan, Nathalie de Gunzburg Director, Dia Art Foundation ‘Since Dia was founded in New York City in 1974 we have worked with artists to realize ambitious projects both here in the city, around the United States, and abroad. Our mission is uniquely focused following artists’ visions through to the end, regardless of scale or scope. Today, we run five sites in New York City, all of which are free to the public. New York City is part of our DNA. From our exhibition spaces in Chelsea, to the Max Neuhaus sound installation under the grates of Times Square that surprises and delights tourists and New Yorkers alike, to our permanent Walter De Maria sites in SoHo where we started, and more, this city is intrinsic to us as an organization, and to the works our artists create here. What has struck me most of all during this time of crisis is how galleries, museums, artists, and art lovers have come together in an unprecedented way. As with all things, it is only by working together and supporting one another that we can emerge from what has been one of the most difficult years for us all.’

Sally Tallant, President and Executive Director, Queens Museum ‘The Queens Museum is located in the heart of one of the biggest of the five boroughs. There are 2.3 million people in Queens. And of that 2.3 million, 59 percent speak a language other than English as their first language. So we’re in a minority-majority borough, one of the most diverse places in the United States. We present artists at often very early stages in their careers. And we try to work closely with our communities to better understand how we can make exhibitions that are relevant and resonant and part of the ecology. We feel that we are an entry point for many people, both for an engagement with culture, but also for the cultural sector. I think our job is really to put art at the center of a conversation about how we play a role in processing what’s happened to us. Artists know how to process grief. They know how to provide care in terms of expressing our emotions and somehow collectively understanding things. And I think we understand that the museum has a role to play in that. We want to understand more about how we can be more useful to or more meaningful for our communities as the months now roll into winter.’

Jasmine Wahi, Holly Block Social Justice Curator, Bronx Museum of the Arts ‘I think cultural institutions are in a moment of dynamic shift. Everything is in a moment of shift. I think the reason that we have to support cultural institutions is not only for the spaces that they provide for communities, but also for the opportunities that they provide for artists to share their voices and their messages. I believe very strongly, at the heart of the thing, that artists are the harbingers or the catalysts for change in our society, whether it’s voting, whether it’s creating new systems. They’re the unsung or unrecognized heroes, and without them, none of these changes would happen. I think that’s why it’s really important to continue to support the arts, especially in the main art city in the world, which is New York City.’

Mary Heilmann, Artist Mary Heilmann came to New York in 1968 to be, as she has said, “a part of the group”—to join the community of artists she admired. In the fall of 2008, she had her first museum solo exhibition and retrospective in New York at the New Museum. ‘Living in Chatham Square, on the Bowery…where we all hung out, was the beginning of my having a sense that community was an important part of the work. Before, my model for being an artist was this sort of lone-person-up-in-a-garret, where you work all alone all day and then you go out to a bar and just get drunk and get in a fight and then sleep all morning and get back into it. That changed in those years.’

Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator, The Studio Museum in Harlem ‘Every cultural institution, at every scale in New York City, has been hit hard by COVID-19, each in its own way. The disruption that the pandemic has caused has been felt deeply, forcing us to temporarily pause construction on our new building, curtailing programing at our Studio 127 space, causing our artists-in-residence to relocate into separate off-site studios, and more.’

Matthew Higgs, Director and Chief Curator, White Columns ‘White Columns was founded in 1970 and was originally known as the 112 Workshop. The name came after its street address, which was 112 Green Street in Soho. It’s considered to be the first of what came to be known as ‘the alternative art spaces,’ and was really part of a larger narrative, which was about artists seeking to take control, seeking to think about the conditions in which their work was seen and to create a context for ideas that at that time, perhaps, weren’t necessarily being addressed within the mainstream. Of the thousands of artists that have shown at White Columns over the last 50 years, many of those have gone on to both national and international acclaim. Cady Noland had her first exhibition at White Columns in 1988. John Currin had his first show in 1989. Glenn Ligon had his first show in the early ’90s, along with people like Jack Pierson, Gary Simmons, and many others. Like a lot of small organizations, White Columns doesn’t have an endowment. We start every financial year on September the first with zero dollars. The organization has weathered every kind of financial and political and social crisis that New York’s had in the last five decades. The only upside to that is that I think we’re prepared for what’s been happening recently during the coronavirus. And I think we’re able to absorb some of the initial shocks to the economy, simply because we’ve always been absorbing economic shocks. But going forward, I think it’s the uncertainty about what comes in the next six months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 36 months. How does a small organization continue without using the old models of how we raise funds? It seems to me the easiest way to think about why New York’s kind of cultural life is so extraordinary is to imagine the city without these nonprofit cultural institutions—whether it’s the opera, the theater, or the visual arts—to imagine the city without them. I think it’s immediately apparent then just what an extraordinary loss it would be, not just for the city itself, but also for art and for the future development of art.’

Simon Castets, Director, Swiss Institute ‘Swiss Institute is an independent non-for-profit space for international contemporary art that was created in 1986 in New York City and is known for providing a space for emerging artists, with a program of exhibitions, public programs, education workshops, all of this free of charge to ever growing audiences in its new building in the East Village. It is part of a very dense ecosystem in New York City that I think is quite unique in the world. I can’t think of any other city in the world that has such a wide number of spaces where contemporary art is shown at the same time. There’s never enough time to see all the exhibitions. I think that’s a really key part of what makes New York City so special is the wealth of arts and cultural programming in general. We have just re-opened our doors, and from day one we welcomed about a third of the number of people that we normally welcome, which is much more than we had anticipated. And we’re very glad for that. To see that there is such a demand to see art after months of closure is quite heartwarming.’

Cecilia Alemani, Director and Chief Curator, High Line Art ‘Our mission is to reimagine the role that public spaces have in creating connected and healthy cities around the world. This has of course been a difficult time for all of us—especially during the month the park has been closed. We were lucky to be able reopen the park in July and it’s been truly wonderful to welcome back our visitors and our communities, who have the chance to spend the time outdoors, admiring our wonderful, lush nature, appreciating the incredible artworks we have on view. We like to look at The High Line as an important artery that brings oxygen to the west side of Manhattan. Now more than ever, this is a time where we need to come together as a community and find strength in one another. We like to think of The High Line as a physical connector that connects the many different realities that surround the park—including all the galleries, the non-profits, the museums, and also the community centers and the community that lives and works around The High Line park. I also like to think of The High Line as a metaphorical connector, a space where you can take a break from the noise of the city, but where you can also rewrite and reimagine the future of our city.’

Avery Singer, Artist ‘I’m a third generation native New Yorker. My family immigrated here from Eastern Europe around the turn of the century. They came through Ellis Island. They settled in the Lower East Side, the Bronx, and Queens. I personally grew up in lower Manhattan, really close to City Hall. My experience of growing up in New York was just very Bohemian, very artistic. All of my friends grew up like me. They were artists. Their parents were artists, choreographers, photographers, whatever. I mean, this is the best city to be an artist. We just have the most amazing museums, galleries, scenes. You can find anything here, any interest or path you want to take, there’s another 10,000 people that want to do it with you. I’m proud to be a New Yorker. It might look a little bit different and it might take some time, but New York, in my experience, can go through tremendous losses and tragedies and it comes back. It actually comes back stronger.’

Kyle Dancewicz, Interim Director, SculptureCenter ‘As we’ve geared up to reopen SculptureCenter with two major new exhibitions by Tishan Hsu and Jesse Wine, both of which were rescheduled from early May, each day spent in the museum has only confirmed how critical it is to make space for the way artists see and think about the world. The weird clarity of art objects feels amazing right now. That so many artists have recognized SculptureCenter and these other organizations’ roles in supporting their work and contributing to a greater art ecosystem is incredibly humbling.’