A platform for artists to manifest their dreams
The Living Gallery Outpost celebrates a year of commitment, passion
BY PUMA PERL
Last August, I was encouraged by a
friend to attend the grand opening of The
Living Gallery Outpost. People spilled out
of the 250-square-foot space, shared food
and songs on the bench outside, and gathered
around the hand-created artwork
(by building owner Antonio Echeverri)
that surrounded a tree. Everywhere there
was color and a sense of camaraderie,
refl ecting a foundation of friendship,
community, and love — with a shot of
serendipity. The BYO Art (Bring Your
Own Art) exhibition demonstrated the
commitment to providing space for experienced
and emerging artists to share,
devoid of competition or hierarchy.
The space, at 246 E. Fourth St.
(btw. Aves. B & C), is the second location
of The Living Gallery, founded in
Bushwick six years ago by visual and
performance artist Nyssa Frank. She
had initially been looking for a studio.
“I had always wanted a multifaceted
space,” Frank explained. “Growing up,
I didn’t realize that you could be an artist
and a teacher, for example. I always
thought it was one or the other.”
Her sensibility, from the start, was
to involve the community, and “bring
positive energy while taking gentrifi cation
into perspective.” To that end, she
worked actively with the community,
which is how she met and befriended
Alexandria Hodgkins, a youth and arts
specialist who was volunteering some
of her time at Arts in Bushwick. At that
gallery, Hodgkins also met Lower East
Side native Joseph Meloy, an artist and
muralist who later became her husband.
The two were walking through Soho one
day last June and spotted a hand-written
sign for an “East Village storefront.”
They followed up, called Frank, and the
Outpost was born, co-founded by the
three. Community events during the past
year have included BYO Art, potlucks,
monthly open mics, classes, and an artist
residency program. Many neighborhood
residents, attracted to the spirit of inclusiveness,
have become involved.
Frank noted that she “hated galleries
as a child when my mother, who is
an artist, used to take me. There was
so much elite pretension, the second
OUTPOST continued on p. 17
Photo by Bob Krasner
L to R, The Living Gallery Outpost’s co-founders Alexandria Hodgkins, Nyssa Frank, and Joseph Meloy at the opening day party.
On the bench behind them, Gina Healy and Angello Olivieri make music.
Courtesy of the artist
Actor and musician Luigi Scorcia’s “Decayed Sunset” — from “The Artist Behind the Lens,” a Dec. 2017 show featuring photographers
known for their expertise in other areas.
TheVillager.com August 3, 2018 15
/TheVillager.com