First Come the Artists

The block of Broadway between 13th and 12th is mostly known for the famous Strand Bookstore and a Pret A Manger. There's not much else going on — but nestled between a boutique and a Chase Bank is 831 Broadway. It's now a Halstead Property office, with photos of luxurious New York apartments on the windows, but in 1960, the top floor of this building was home to the studio of prolific painter Willem de Kooning.

Up the street from de Kooning's studio at 860 Broadway, was the second location of Andy Warhol's Factory. It's now a Petco. The famed concert venue, the Palladium Ballroom is long gone and in its place is an NYU dorm.

It's not a stretch to say, things have changed.  Spaces for artists in downtown New York are limited, and artists have been slowly priced out of the Village for decades. Now they are moving to Brooklyn and other boroughs just to find an affordable place to live and create work.

It's been years that people have been trying to proclaim the death of the Village art scene, but what's really going on here?

To the passing eye, the art scene in the Village doesn't seem to be at risk, with large galleries all over the streets, it's hard to imagine the art scene is really dying. These large galleries however, are signs of the widespread gentrification that is fundamentally changing the demographics of the Village and its art scene.

Yadira Perez, oral historian at the New York Tenement Museum and professor at the Borough of Manhattan Community College says that while the Lower East Side may still have spaces for artists, they don’t necessarily meet the needs of those living in the neighborhood.

"In the Lower East Side, there's a term, the ABC's of gentrification," Perez said. "First you see the art galleries, then you see bars, and then you see cafes. And it's not because there's not artists who are there. We're talking about a particular kind of art gallery that does not fit the local community."

The addition of these galleries, cafes and bars inevitably raises the price of space in these now highly desired neighborhoods. The effects of gentrification have been felt all over Manhattan especially in the average rental price — so much in fact that former presidential candidate Jimmy McMillan ran on a "the rent is too damn high" platform. For context, according to Curbed NY, the average rental price in 1960 for a Manhattan apartment was $200. One ad listed a four bedroom on E 8th St. and Ave. B for a mere $90. Flash forward to the 1990s, the rent prices boomed and the average rent soared to $3,200. Today the average rent is $3,800.

With this kind of rent increase, it's easy to see how artists could easily priced out of the Village, it's simply not affordable. Perez explains that because of these dramatic price increases, the artist community in the Village is undergoing a tremendous change.

"There are many artists who have been pushed out, but there are also many artists who have a home here," Perez said.  "There is a demographic shift, many artists not working class any more, there are artists who may or may not work, they have significant resources to fund their art."

Artists in the NYU MFA program for example, benefit from the kind of "significant resources" Perez is talking about, they have the backing of an institution and studio space in the Lower East Side, an impossible luxury for artists outside the program. Aside from that however, most of these young artists still find themselves moving to Brooklyn or Queens for affordable apartments.

"Only one person in our program even lives in Manhattan," said Gabrielle Vitollo, an NYU MFA candidate. "I commute from East New York because rent is cheaper out there, I just spend the entire day in my studio and sometimes sleep in my studio to create as much artwork as I possibly can."

Another MFA candidate, Shana Solley, agreed that the village is no longer a nurturing space for artists.

"It's really no secret that New York is crushing its artist community," Solley said. "I plan to stay in New York, It's tough, but I'll try for at least a couple of years."

Perez warns the narrative of a completely gentrified Lower East Side is a double edged sword. On one hand it negates the fact that there are a large number of working class artists who still live there, and on the other, it creates a sense of agency in these artist to fight for their community to stay alive and to form collectives to support each other.

Local artist Willard Morgan, owner of Ideal Glass Gallery, is just one artist who is trying to save the artist community in the Village by using his resources to create a space of collaboration.

Morgan, inherited the space Ideal Glass is housed in from his uncle, so the burden of rent increases or having to sell art to stay open don't really apply to the gallery. Over the years, Morgan met artists at home and abroad, and decided to use the space to create a coalition for artists to produce socially conscious work — without financial burden.

"It's kind of like a safe-space,"Morgan said. "We try to present significant work that’s socially relevant. I feel the city is dying as far as maintaining  a vital  demographic, there's no longer a diverse demographic in the Village."

Morgan frequently speaks out against the institutions he believes are ruining the Village, but he while admits the fight could be futile, for him it's worth it to try to save the "life giving" streets of the Village.

“Death is always looking over my shoulder,” Morgan said. "I'm always aware that we have a limited time on the planet and I want to do work that's significant in this awful situation we find ourselves in."