June 2005   

Gallery 402
19 Hudson St., NYC
212-219-9213
•
THE DRAWING SHOW
June 8–25, 2005
Hours: 2:30–5:30 pm
Wednesday - Saturday and by appointment.
•
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
July 12–August 4, 2005
Tuesday - Thursday and by appointment.
•
PRINTS
September, 2005

IN THIS ISSUE

The TriBeCa/Downtown
Gallery Association

OIA NEWS
Copyright Your Work

Members Success

OIA Sponsored Shows




OIA Staff

Director, Editor
Geraldine Cosentino
Assistant to the Director
Nora katz
Intern
Dionisios Kavvadias


OIA
Board of Directors

Chairman
Geraldine Cosentino
Treasurer
Alexandra Sheller

Erin Butler
Remo Cosentino
Dorcas Gelabert
Larry Goldblatt
Lynne Mayocole

OIA's programs are
made possible through
the generosity of the
New York
Merchantile Exchange
Charitable Foundation,
Materials for the Arts,
The New York
Law School, and the
many artists and
friends of OIA.
The TriBeCa/Downtown Gallery
Association

Geraldine Cosentino

Recently, OIA members were asked to contribute $10 each toward membership dues for theTriBeCa/Downtown Gallery Association. Many hadn’t heard about the association before, yet they responded generously, enabling OIA to join and to participate actively in this new organization. Tribeca has a number of influential galleries and nonprofit spaces hosting a wide variety of exhibitions. The Tribeca/Downtown Gallery Association was formed with the purpose of finding ways to bring more visibility to these galleries.

In early 2005, Cheryl Pelavin and Britt Ivy, Cheryl Pelavin Fine Arts, contacted art galleries and non-profit arts organizations in the TriBeCa downtown NY area. They envisioned an association that would benefit all members by joining together to exhibit, advertise and enrich the art scene in the downtown NY area that had been hard hit by the events of 9/11. They felt a need to give TriBeCa and the downtown fine arts scene “a face,” a special identity or profile.

One of the first events of this new association was Second Wednesday Nights. Each second Wednesday evening of the month all galleries stay open until 8 pm for the benefit of gallerygoers who may then tour all the shows. Each visitor is provided with a map, listings, and a brief description of each of the exhibits. This has been quite successful in attracting the public since people who visit each gallery might not be aware of all the other exhibitions without this information.

Now, after much research and preparation, the Organization’s autumn goal is to put into action marketing efforts via local advertising, a targeted mailing, press release distribution, an association website, and other special events to promote the galleries and the association.

The TriBeca/Downtown Gallery Association hopes to have a website in place by September. It is planning to purchase a domain name, find a host for the site and find a pro bono designer. In conjunction with this there will be a postcard mailing to the entire downtown area. The postcard will contain the association’s name prominently displayed, a map of the galleries, mention of the Second Wednesday nights, the new website address, and a listing of all the galleries and their contact information. Cheryl Pelavin Fine Arts will donate the use of a mailing list of households with incomes above a specified level, residing in the downtown zip code areas, to use for this postcard mailing.

Also in September, a press release will be sent to all the relevant papers and magazines with information about the member galleries as well. An ad on the TriBeCa Trib website is planned, which will appear during the fall, winter, and spring seasons. The cost is minor but the website gets many more readers than the paper, and is relevant geographically to all member organizations.

OIA and its members should benefit since many new people will learn about Gallery 402, our other exhibits, and our organization. This will encourage participation in our open and juried shows and offer many exhibition opportunities to underrepresented artists.
___________

Geraldine Cosentino is a digital artist, curator, and Director of OIA.


© JUNE 2005. All rights reserved