Landmark Gallery Turns Non-Profit, Takes New Start

On a windy Wednesday night, Tatyana Okshteyn, Black and White Gallery’s founding director, was dreaming of new starts. Since the beginning of October, she turned the commercial exhibition space she carved out of a neglected garage on Driggs Ave. and N. 10th St. in 2002 into a non-profit entity called the Black and White Project Space. “No matter how strong commercial galleries try, they have no room to play. The economics dictate what they show,” said Okshteyn. “I wanted to take that part out of the equation.”

While the Gallery housed both site-specific installations and traditional exhibits, the Project Space will be mostly dedicated to the emerging field of site-specific installations – pieces of visual art adapted to the exhibit space – by established and emerging artists. Black & White Project Space will present two exhibitions per season, one in the fall and one in the spring spotlighting a single artist or an artist collective, and will function as a live/work space for an artist-in-residency program during winter and summer months. “Artists have an idea in their head or in their computer. But often they have no space to put them to the test,” she explained. “The artist will be able to use the space as a studio and feel the space.”

The inaugural exhibit, slated to open in Spring 2009, will feature the work of Alina and Jeff Bilumis, “Casual Conversations in Brooklyn,” an installation based on a series of public dialogues, interactions, and conversations staged in the Brighton Beach community in Brooklyn.

Okshteyn’s decision to turn the landmark gallery into a non-profit entity was prompted by the real estate boom that has been pricing many artists and exhibition spaces out of the neighborhood since the beginning of the decade. “When I first arrived in Williamsburg, I liked its bohemian and creative feel. But it is moving away,” she claimed. “I want to keep the neighborhood full of creative energy.”

Okshteyn believes that the 2,500 square foot surface equally divided between an indoor space and an outdoor courtyard will inspire artists to come up with innovative ideas. “The most interesting things are done in the outdoor space,” Okshteyn said. “The artists have to deal with Mother Nature, the wind, the rain and the snow. One artist even told me that it contributed to his artistic growth.”

Turning non-profit required a few organizational changes, Okshteyn said. “A lot of people asked me: you are turning non-profit, why? There is so much paperwork,” she said. “But in fact, it’s not difficult.” She added: “In the commercial world, you’re dependant on collectors. In the non-profit world, it’s the donors. The goal is not the same: it’s not about selling but explaining our work and why we do it.”

A former investment banker who moved to Williamsburg after 9/11, Okshteyn has grown up surrounded by artists. She said that she enjoyed witnessing the creative process that artists engage in as they create a piece of art or an installation. “We always see the final product on the wall and think that anyone can do it. But I can tell you it’s difficult,” she said. “The most exciting for me is witnessing the creative process: when something turns from nothing to something exciting. That’s what art is all about.”
The opening show, she said, will evolve over the three months that it is on display. Passersby will be allowed to interact with artists throughout the creation of the installation, as artists adapt their work to the space, indoor and outdoor. “The space is a white canvass. It’s organic. Artists can do anything they want to it,” Okshteyn smiled. “Except tearing the walls down.”
Black and White Project Space has already received the support of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). The inaugural auction on Oct. 18th raised $10,000, despite the sluggish economy. “I never worry about the big picture because I can’t do anything about it. Good ideas will always have supporters,” she said. “It was probably the worst time to have an auction. Still, we raised $10,000.”

In an effort to involve the community, the Project space has also partnered with local high schools to offer a community internship program allowing students to become artist assistants. “We want to open their eyes,” she said. “They will remember it for the rest of their life.”