Garages have long been used for more than sheltering our cars or storing our "stuff." They've served as affordable and convenient incubators for inventors, musicians, entrepreneurs, and of course, for artists.
The Guggenheim started out in a former car showroom, pinning the work to fabric-covered walls. And when artists and galleries were priced out of New York's SOHO art district in the 1990s, they moved en masse to the industrial garages of Chelsea, creating one of the most prominent art meccas in the world.
Today, economic forces are pushing many galleries to the fringes or into temporary locations. Some have been forced to leave the real world entirely and now exist only online. Others have disappeared altogether. To help fill the void, aspiring gallerists across the country have turned to repurposing garages and other underutilized spaces.
But affordable space isn't enough. Galleries should be able to live in the heart of the community, not just at its fringes.
Beacon NY's designation of Transition Zones in 2020 allowed galleries to open without a special permission or permit. So in a moment we hope wasn't madness, we seized the opportunity and opened GARAGE GALLERY last fall in a prime location just off Main Street.
Our traffic light, inspired by Beacon's Dummy Light, signals when the gallery is open, on break, or closed!
Garage Gallery is ½ block north of Main Street on North Elm Street.
(To use GPS, enter 11 N. Elm St., Beacon NY—the gallery is across the street.)
(To use GPS, enter 11 N. Elm St., Beacon NY—the gallery is across the street.)
