Art in General

MISSION
Art in General is a nonprofit organization that assists artists with the production and presentation of new work. It changes in response to the needs of artists and informs and engages the public about their work.

Art in General currently supports the production of new work by local and international artists through its New Commissions Program and its International Collaborations program with numerous arts organizations around the world. It also produces an annual symposium What Now? on critical and timely issues in artistic and curatorial practice.

ABOUT ART IN GENERAL
For more than 30 years, Art in General has provided two of the scarcest resources to artists – space and funding. In a city teeming with creativity, it helps local and international artists produce major groundbreaking projects that would otherwise not be realized.

Art in General was founded in 1981 by two artists, Martin Weinstein and Teresa Liszka, in the General Hardware building as a space for artists to inspire, meet, and exhibit. A pioneering force since the 1980s, it has grown into a New York institution unlike any other in the city, supporting thousands of local and international artists through deep personal connections and direct funding.

Art in General has a long history of supporting artists early in their careers. From Glenn Ligon in 1991, to Marina Abramović in 1993, to Gabriel Orozco in 1994, Art in General is often at the forefront of giving artists their first New York exhibitions. Most recently, New Commissions artists have gone on to be included in the Whitney Biennial, documenta, Istanbul Biennial, and the Venice Biennale, among others, as well as in exhibitions at major institutions in New York abroad, such as MoMA, the New Museum, and the Tate Modern.

NEW COMMISSIONS PROGRAM
Since its launch in 2005, the New Commissions Program has formed the core of Art in General’s programming, and was designed in direct response to feedback from artists who expressed a need for more in-depth support for the production of new work. Art in General gives selected artists the opportunity to create and present new work by providing them with a high level of organizational and conceptual support including artist fees, production fees, exhibition space, a solo exhibition, promotion, and opportunities to engage with audiences through free online and public programs.

NEW COMMISSIONS ARTISTS
Sharon Hayes, Melissa Martin, Lee Walton, Alejandro Cesarco, Xaviera Simmons, Jihyun Park, Adam Simon, eteam, Ayreen Anastas & Rene Gabri, Alejandro Almanza Pereda, Melanie Crean, Andrea Geyer, Bernadette Corporation, Judi Werthein, Fawn Krieger, Little & Fergason, Chris Moukarbel, Carlos Motta, Carla Herrera-Prats, Jan Baracz, Dave Hardy, Josh Melnick, Julia Oldham, Guy Benfield, Chuck Yatsuck & Justin Rancourt, Shana Moulton, Kambui Olujimi, Redmond Entwistle, Isola & Norzi, Ohad Meromi, Brendan Fernandes, Jason Bailer Losh, AUDiNT, Zefrey Throwell, Mounira Al Solh, Rob Carter, Katrin Sigurdardottir, robbinschilds, Mounira Al Solh, Christopher Duffy, Kimberlee Venable, Anetta Mona Chişa & Lucia Tkáčová, Meriç Algün Ringborg, Letha Wilson, Ola Vasiljeva, The Still House Group, Alex Ito, Lisa Oppenheim & Lisa Tan, Jill Magid, Halsey Rodman, Lisi Raskin, Mika Tajima, Daphne Fitzpatrick, Zachary Fabri, Basim Magdy, Lea Cetera, Marwa Arsanios, Matt Lips, Halmos, Andrea Galvani, Lior Shvil, Nino Chubinishvili (Chubika), Donna Huanca, Alison O’Daniel, Ieva Epnere, David Kennedy Cutler, Juntae Teejay Hwang, Dineo Seshee Bopape, Sara Magenheimer, Rachel Rossin, Juanli Carrión, Freya Powell, Postcommodity, Danilo Correale..

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS PROGRAM
While firmly rooted in New York City, Art in General has a long history of working internationally, and in 2013 it launched a new International Collaborations Program that encompassed existing partners from its Eastern European Residency Exchange Program (EERE) and new partners into one larger collaborations program. Art in General currently has partnerships with organizations in Australia, Egypt, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.

WHAT NOW? SYMPOSIUM
What Now?, a two day annual symposium that investigates critical and timely issues in contemporary art and curatorial practice, was launched in 2014. Presented in collaboration with the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, New York, its first iterations were on the topics of Collaboration and Collectivity in 2014, with a keynote presentation by Charles Esche; The Politics of Listening in 2015, with a keynote presentation by Lawrence Abu Hamdan and On Future Identities in 2016, with a keynote presentation by Dr. micha cárdenas.

FACILITIES
As of January 2016, Art in General’s gallery relocated to Dumbo at 145 Plymouth Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, with the main offices in the same building at 20 Jay Street, Suite 210A, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (see our Visit page for full address details). With the generous support of General Hardware Manufacturing Inc. (formerly General Tools & Instruments LLC), from 1981 to 2015, Art in General was housed in a six-floor building that was located at the intersection of three neighborhoods in New York City (Tribeca, SoHo, and Chinatown). The gallery was located in the building’s 6th floor, and underwent a major renovation by Steven Learner Studios in 2006 and was re-opened in January 2007. Within the 6th floor gallery space, Art in General’s Musée Minuscule, created in honor of New Langton Arts’ former space of the same name, acted as the organization’s smallest exhibition space. Art in General’s second gallery at that location was a storefront space located at street-level. This was kindly donated by Gerry Weinstein, CEO of General Tools & Instruments LLC, in the fall of 2003.