ArtistBloc

We are artists and art workers of the 99%. We are struggling to survive and sustain our creative practice in an economy that does not value us as workers, that privatizes cultural institutions and that continuously defunds art programs—from public education to government grants. We are the workers of the 99% because we are scattered, divided by the competitive nature of capitalism – a systems we did not consent to. Most of us are in debt from privately owned art institutions which churn out hundreds of professionally trained (but ultimately unprepared for the economic disillusionment of the art world) cultural workers. The same issues of bancrupcy, the average poverty, lack of employment and of government funding affect us. It is time to join hands with working class people everywhere, to BE the movement and to envision a better world for all of us.

ArtistBloc



The Book: ABC No Rio Dinero: The Story of a Lower East Side Art Gallery

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ABC No Rio Dinero: The Story of a Lower East Side Art Gallery
Edited by Alan Moore and Marc Miller
New York: ABC No Rio with Collaborative Projects, 1985

Excerpt:

ABC No Rio Dinero: The Story of a Lower East Side Art Gallery is a catalogue of the gallery's first five years as well as an exploration of the broader artistic context from which No Rio emerged. Although No Rio never followed a strict agenda, it viewed itself as an interactive space where art, politics and community mixed. As such, the gallery was linked to artist groups like Colab, Group Material, and PADD, as well as the South Bronx gallery, Fashion/Moda. No Rio found inspiration in its Hispanic neighborhood, but it also connected with the East Village's newly burgeoning music and club scene, and the wave of commercial art galleries that opened in the area soon after No Rio began. During No Rio's first years, shows were generally organized by artists, and open to all who wanted to participate. The gallery specialized in theme exhibitions and was the launching pad for new ideas as well as for the careers of many successful artists.