Galleries are businesses.  Except when they’re not.  Of New York’s 600 galleries, 15 or so are legally non-profit entities, and 7 of them reside in Soho, making that neighborhood the go-to destination for non-commercial gallery art.  And since there are only about 25 galleries left in Soho, there is a reasonable chance that one of these non-profit galleries would be included on any given Soho/ Lower East side gallery tour that I lead, the next one taking place Sat. Oct. 30.

The main difference between a commercial gallery and a non-profit gallery is that non-profit spaces don’t sell the art they exhibit, much the same as museums. These galleries are governed by a board of directors and survive financially through grants and donations.  If a visitor expresses an interest in purchasing artwork that they see, they are likely given the contact information for the artist and told to make their own arrangements.  In contrast, for-profit gallery enterprises, which comprise 97% of the New York gallery scene, are owned by a single person or by business partners, and they sell everything they can that is on display.  Typically the artist gets half of the money on each sale, while the gallery keeps the rest, from which it pays rent or mortgage, salaries, health benefits, installation costs, utilities, publicity, etc..  Whatever is left over is the profit.

Almost all of the 7 non-profit Soho spaces have been in their current location for 20 years or more.  And when dozens of their commercial brethren made their mass migration to Chelsea in the 1990s, for one reason or another the non-profits stayed put.  Not that they haven’t been tempted to move.  A few years ago it was formally announced that The Drawing Center would relocate from their Wooster Street space to a new home in the re-built World Trade Center, becoming the lynchpin of a new cultural center in the Freedom Tower.  But then a controversy erupted when it was revealed that a couple of The Drawing Center’s past exhibits included works that “patriotic” Americans would object to, including an organizational chart fancifully linking George W. Bush to Osama Bin Laden and other Saudi Arabian principals, and a hooded Abu Ghraib figure with wires falling from his wrists to arrange themselves into the word “Liberty.”  That was enough to scuttle The Drawing Center’s plans, and I must admit I’m glad.  I never thought that the Freedom Center was ever going to be hospitable to freedom of artistic expression, and I like The Drawing Center exactly where it is, on a charming row of buildings facing a cobblestone street.

Other than The Drawing Center, Artists Space is the best known of Soho’s non-profit galleries.  Established in 1972, this gallery puts on mostly groups shows that are of a decidedly intellectual, rather than aesthetic, bent.  They’re about juxtaposing works by contemporary artists who want to push the envelope when it comes to the materialization of ideas.  Sometimes their exhibits leave me cold, and other times I glean a certain brilliance.  One recent move of theirs I hardily applaud is their decision to tear down all internal walls in their space, thereby restoring their gallery to its original loft-like magnificence.

I’d say my personal favorite of the non-profit Soho spaces is Location One.  Their artist residency program introduces dozens of emerging artists to the art scene every year, many of them foreign-born.  They’re more likely than the other non-profits to display video and computer art, and while their exhibits are wildly uneven, I always look forward to what this gallery has in store.

Two Soho non-profits on Broadway are of note.  ISE Cultural Foundation, established in 1984, specializes in promoting Asian artists, though their shows are not limited to this one continent.  They are currently displaying a sound art piece by a Japanese artist.  Swiss Institute, founded in 1986, is partly supported financially by the Swiss government.  While originally established as a means to promote Swiss artists in the U.S., it now showcases artists from all over the world.

The newest non-profit gallery in Soho is Recess, and this gallery is weird even by my standards.  Their goal is to showcase art as it is being built, and they give less regard to any final product.  Therefore, if you visit this gallery near the beginning of any run, all you will see is a lot of messy construction going on.  It feels more like an artist’s studio than a gallery, with one major perk being that you are likely to meet and interact with the artist creating his or her work.  In this gallery, the closing day party is way more important than the opening.

So, where is the art better: in non-profit galleries or in for-profit spaces?  I’d say it depends completely on the specific artist and artwork.  Non-profit galleries are a bit “scruffier” than their for-profit counterparts, and the artwork they show is often less immediately gratifying aesthetically.  On the other hand, artists who aren’t pressured to sell their work—the non-profits often give them grants during their residencies—sometimes come up with experimental work that is truly innovative and original.  When I visit galleries in preparing for a tour, I give the for-profit and not-profit spaces equal consideration, and I judge each according to their own merits.  If you attend enough of my Soho/ Lower East Side gallery tours, you will eventually see your share of interesting and expressive works in non-profit spaces.

Rafael Risemberg, Ph.D.
Founder and Director
New York Gallery Tours