Each year, more than 200 artists take over the hardware store,
interspersing affordable art objects and tiny installations among the tools on
the shelves. Even the more conventional exhibition spaces and galleries in
the area were created primarily by artists for artists.
Momenta Art, the first nonprofit alternative space in
Williamsburg, was founded in March 1995 by artists Laura Parnes and Eric Heist,
who used the space not to highlight their own works but to introduce like the
then-unknown Karen Kilmnik and Katy Schimmert. "Instead of just
complaining about the conditions for emerging artists, we wanted to actually do
something to change the situation in a small but effective way," says
Parnes.
Nevertheless, as artist-run spaces take on the accoutrements of
professionals, their focus is becoming much more market-driven. Now many
arts professionals. curators, are joining the ranks of Williamsburg dealers, and
most galleries are enjoying this moment of high
visibility.
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