PROGRAMS
When AAI envisioned an art gallery in the historic Essex Street Market in 2001, the mission was born from the conviction that art matters in society; that art can facilitate intersection; and that galleries can serve as inclusive civic space. Deeply embedded within the new Essex Crossing market space, Cuchifritos Gallery makes contemporary art more accessible to the public, including those who are not accustomed to the experience of viewing art, may not have the time to visit museums and galleries, or cannot afford the rising cost of admission. Cuchifritos relieves the distance between art and audience, defying the common belief that the aesthetic experience is separate from the everyday. The exhibition program demonstrates the connections between art and life; addresses financial and perceptual barriers to art access; comments on the production and distribution of knowledge; and reflects on the circumstances that shape it. For those artists who make a practice of mining daily life, the gallery provides a fundamental connection to something expansive and alive.
Formed in 2003 by AAI’s 40 founding members inside of The Clemente (a multi-generational arts center on the LES), the LES Studio Program (LES-SP) directly addresses the diminishing resources available to NY-based artists. Providing free workspace, exhibition opportunities, and professional development in Lower Manhattan, where space for visual artists is limited and rent prohibitive, the LES-SP offers artists a rare opportunity to delve deeper into process and challenge the scope of their existing practice away from the expectations of the marketplace and academia.
Public Works programming deepens AAI’s organizational partnerships within and outside of the art world through commissioned projects presented in nontraditional settings. The program prioritizes the relationship between contemporary art and the social context in which it exists, extending the mission AAI established at its founding: to integrate contemporary art with diverse social interaction to emphasize the role that art plays in illuminating common spaces with new perspectives.
HISTORY
Founded in 1999 by a group of artists living and working in the neighborhood (originally as a membership organization), AAI was established around the belief that the arts and individual artists are essential elements of the culture, history, and future of the Lower East Side.
From the first days working in their studios located in the former PS 160 school building on Suffolk Street between Rivington and Delancey streets (now The Clemente), member artists worked tirelessly to preserve the landmarked building from private development and advocated on behalf of visual artists in New York City making art a direct and vital part of the lives of many throughout New York City. Establishing one of the largest long-term studio programs in the City of New York, AAI’s founders were dedicated advocates of sustainability for New York-based artists focusing on the conservation and development of affordable workspace throughout the city.
Drawn from the legacy of artist-run galleries of the previous several decades, AAI’s founders established alternative spaces that could support experimental production, collaboration, and display. As the organization matured this philosophy was advanced by nurturing, supporting, and exhibiting the work of under-recognized and emerging artists and curators and building community across cultures, generations and socio-economic strata.
