Steep rent increases within Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood forced the independent Cinders Gallery to find a new home – and fast. The cooperatively run space on Havemeyer Street was recently informed that its rent would increase an astounding $1,000 this January. But those familiar with the neighborhood know that rent in Williamsburg – as well as other less-hyped areas of Brooklyn – has been skyrocketing non-stop for the past decade.
Such real-estate increases have posed continuous problems as well as displacement for apartment residents, studio occupants, and small-business owners. As the buildings surrounding Cinders Gallery slowly filled with upper-tier restaurants, it became impossible for the gallery to keep up with what property owners viewed as acceptable rent.
Cinders Gallery has operated its small space for more than six years, and although owners Kelie Bowman and Sto are disappointed to say goodbye to their home, they also are “excited…and looking to the future and all its possibilities.”
During the past six years, Cinders has made progressive steps within the Brooklyn arts community and has amassed a huge following of art lovers and party-goers. In fact, in 2009, Cinders was voted by The Village Voice as Brooklyn’s best art gallery, and due to the gallery’s storefront-level entrance, the space always attracts a diverse array of visitors.
Aside from the 70+ gallery exhibits that Cinders has hosted since 2004, the space also holds concerts, readings, performances, community events such as BBQs, and various DIY projects. The gallery also runs an artists’ book, record, and zine shop (many of the publications also can be bought via the Cinders website).
“The idea for Cinders began from a desire to create our own model for what an art gallery could be like,” Sto says. “Replacing the often cold and intimidating atmosphere of normal galleries, we decided to make a space that was more inviting and accessible to everyone.” Cinders accomplished what it set out to create – a gallery that was both run by and catered to artists, art lovers, and community members alike.
The gallery deals with traditional media such as illustration, drawing, painting, and print media but also specializes in displaying experimental work that integrates found objects and the techniques of papier-mâché, sewing, woodworking, collage, sound, and video art. Cinder’s current exhibit Plain Air features a collection of art presented by publishing duo Apenest. This exhibit “explores the theme of landscape as the space we inhabit, falling somewhere between reality and fantasy.”
Although Cinders Gallery has not made formal moving plans yet, the gallery plans to continue with its artistic and community mission wherever its new home may be. The gallery will be relocated to a “new secret location,” although the owners have revealed that they hope to stay in Williamsburg, or nearby Greenpoint, and do not plan to move west to the post-industrial area of Bushwick. Along with its new physical home, Cinders hopes to gain status as a not-for-profit organization. This change will hopefully provide Cinders with broader funding opportunities and thereby enable the gallery to continue helping under-represented and emerging artists.