Struggling Tribeca Art Gallery Turns To Crowdfunding

DATELINE, NY — A 33-year-old art New York City art gallery is turning to online crowdfunding to protect the gallery's future, which has been threatened by the current art market, its owner announced this month.

Postmasters Gallery, which first opened in the East Village in 1984, says its current funding model is unsustainable because it relies heavily on art collectors who can pay top dollar for valuable works.

"The fact is that more experimental art, and galleries that show it, are not sustainable in the current climate," gallery founder and director Magda Sawon told artnet News, which was first to report on the gallery's new funding model. "The art market is very conservative. So the no-brainer thinking on our part was to reach out to a community of supporters old and new that want spaces like Postmasters to exist."

Postmasters, which is now located in Tribeca at 54 Franklin St., has joined Patreon, the online crowdfunding community that allows supporters to give monthly contributions to artists or creators that they want to support. Now, instead of relying on the irregularities of the art market, Postmasters hopes to be supported by its community, so that even those who can't afford an expensive artwork can still contribute to the gallery with a contribution of as little as $3 a month. By Thursday, 38 people had pledged monthly contributions to Postmasters, according to Patreon.

The longtime gallery is known for its experimental exhibits that focus on new media. The Village Voice dubbed the gallery the city's best in 2014, calling it "Gotham's premier venue for art with brains."

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