Lease Agreement - Artist-Run Alliance

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Lease Agreement is an artist-run and sometimes nomadic curatorial project by Adam Farcus. The gallery programing continues in the tradition of alternative art spaces by organizing conceptually rigorous, engaging work for exhibitions, screenings, performances, and art events. Lease Agreement partners with galleries, organizations, and utilizes public spaces to bring contemporary art to viewers.

Currently based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lease Agreement’s programing is a continuation of the previous iteration of the space which spanned from October 2013 to August 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. Co-founded by Adam Farcus and Allison Yasukawa, Lease Agreement Baltimore was a residential art space and curatorial project set in the front rooms of a row house.

: installation by Linda Yun, from “wanting/waiting” 2014 (Lease Agreement Baltimore)

: detail of work by Claire Arctander and Latham Zearfoss, from “Bruising Darkness” 2014 (Lease Agreement Baltimore)

: detail of work by Jennifer Gustavson, from “One Day This Will All Be Yours” 2013 (Lease Agreement Baltimore)

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Not for Profit

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Adam Farcus

We Are Artists For Ukraine

Dublin, Ireland,

MATCA artspace is an artist-run space managed by three local artists (Alexandru Muraru, Matei Toșa and Alexandra Mocan) that emerged in Cluj-Napoca at the beginning of 2017. Since then it has been following a mindset of shaping its know-how along with its collaborations, most of them being presented in the form of group shows. Underlying the necessity of being in touch with the conscious form of artistic practice and research, the space is coagulating its purposes by drawing a thin border between aesthetics and content, usually choosing to bring out raw forms of expression. The space is meant as a tool for research into local (or nearby) contemporary art, in order to establish connections with minds that have something relevant to say about the world. Wishing to step more off the walls, MATCA prioritizes alternative forms of expression which mix mediums outside the canvas/frame, not as a form of denying traditional practices, but as a form of getting out of the comfort zone and being open to experimentation and various ways of shaping meaning. Set up to be a welcoming environment, MATCA`s aim is to fuse what could be meant under the terms of emergent and established into parallel, non-hierarchical […]

Artist Community

Curator-Run Space

Exhibition Space

MATCA artspace

Cluj-Napoca, Romania,

SPACE is a multi-disciplinary art center that promotes the arts and humanities through advocacy, programming, commissioning, statewide grantmaking, resource-sharing, and community collaboration. We work inside our home at 534-538 Congress Street, outside with public art and programming initiatives, statewide with our grant programs, and (inter)nationally within our professional and artistic networks. Founded in 2002, SPACE is a multi-disciplinary launchpad for ideas, an ever-evolving creative resource, and a coalition of values-based artists building a safe(r) space, performing arts venue, gallery, and maker hub in southern Maine. We envision our organization as a bridge: between artist-led and curatorial presentation practices, connecting disparate geographies and audiences, and as a pathway to new conversations. SPACE’s mission is to supports contemporary arts projects, champions artists, and encourages an open exchange of ideas.

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SPACE Gallery

Arts. Artists. Ideas.

Portland, United States,

VT Artsalon was found by a team of curators and artists, including Jui-Chong Yao, Wen-Chi Chen, Wei-Cheng Tu, Chun-Hao Chen, Sean C. S. Hu, Dar-Kuen Wu, Hui-Yu Su, and Isa Ho. They orientate VT towards transdisciplinary performance, exhibition and exchange, and devote their energies to promoting arts outside the mainstream. With the spirit of local touch and innovation, VT has made several adjustments to its space in the following years. It made a new start after moving to its new home on Xin-Sheng North Road in 2012. Since then, it has re-orientated itself towards holding professional exhibitions and developing various interlinking art projects.

Art Center

Exhibition Space

VT Artsalon

Taipei, Taiwan,

Potential Project is an independent artist-run initiative in Athens. It was born out of the need for dialogue among artists and art professionals about contemporary art, exhibition practices, the adventure of the idea, the relationship of the work with the viewer and the personal obsessions that run through and characterize the work of art. For the time being, its exhibition program is a result of a year long process of round table discussions among 28 artists and theorists of different disciplines, all looking to understand what potentiality is and how to grasp it.

Artist Community

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Exhibition Space

Potential Project

Artist Run Initiative

Athens, Greece,

Drogerie is located in Berliner Strasse 99, in the east of Braunschweig. It is an autonomous and independet platform which is mainly used as a studio for currently two artists. It also provides the opportunity for concerts, exhibitions, lectures, screenings and more.

Art Studios

Digital Platform

Exhibition Space

Drogerie

since 1923

Braunschweig, Germany,

sluice is an artist/curator-run initiative for similar. Sluice was founded in 2011 by art historian Ben Street and artist Karl England. Our focus is transnationally local, i.e we’re focused on the local – globally. Sluice is concerned with applied theory, both in regards of the impact of the societal and economic environment on the arts but also how the arts can in turn impact our societal and economic environment. Sluice has staged art fairs and biennials in London and expos in New York and Berlin. Sluice strategically adopts structures in order to showcase artist, curator and emergent discourse, projects and galleries. Sluice magazine grew out of these initiatives and is now independently published by Sluice Art twice a year.

Artist Community

Curator-Run Space

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Sluice

artist-led for artist-led

London, United Kingdom,

Yarra Sculpture Gallery was established in 1997 in order to provide a large space for sculpture. YSG is an Artist Run Initiative and it is managed by members of the Contemporary Sculpture Association (CSA), and supported by the City of Yarra it is located at the site of 117 Vere Street, Abbotsford. Mission statement YSG aims to provide a versatile exhibition space at minimal cost for the members of the CSA and to encourage and support our artists to develop new works in spatial arts practice (3D) and exhibit to local audiences. Since 2012, YSG Residencies have provided a versatile venue to support artists to make and explore new art projects in a collegial setting. During approximately eight weeks of summer and winter artists are provided with the opportunity to experiment, research, develop and create new works before delivering an artist talk to the public gallery floor plan

Artist Community

Exhibition Space

Residency

Yarra Sculpture Gallery

Abbotsford, Australia,

ARTIST FOUND COMPANY Founded by artist Soon(aka Niña), our puzzles have a focus on original art by the artists of today. As an independent artist, Soon has been struggling to find a way to keep creating full-time, as there were barriers like money, exposure, and finding the right community for support. In her journey of searching ways to keep create, SOONNESS was born. Throughout the first year of the business in 2021, Soon created 6 artworks that would be made into puzzles and learned about manufacturing, marketing, and all things business. With lots of love from the puzzle community, we are able to collaborate with artists starting 2022 and build premium quality puzzles. We have one goal: Let the artists create, and make the world a colorful one. As Soon knows how important it is for talented artists to be exposed, she wanted to create a platform to introduce artists through an affordable art. Puzzles not only give us time to play & destress, but also a great medium for everyone to enjoy art by up & coming artists of this time. Artists get a cut of every sale, so we can support artists while you enjoy your peaceful time. Our puzzles […]

Artist Community

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SOONNESS

Beautiful Art in Pieces

Canada, Niagara Falls,

Automat is an independently curated space for contemporary art and an open platform for exploratory discourse. Collaborations and spontaneous uses for knowledge transfer and cultural initiatives are as much part of the program as bringing together visual arts with other forms of expression. Founded in Saarbrücken in 2019.

Exhibition Space

Automat Artspace

Germany, Saarbrücken,

PROSPECT ART is a forward-thinking, Los Angeles-based artist-run not-for-profit 501c3 organization that fosters artists’ careers by providing exposure through open dialogues, critical writing, project grants, and exhibitions. The organization was conceived during the 2020 pandemic. Prospect Art is looking towards a world of representation and equality by creating new opportunities for local, national, and international artists. The organization is structured as an agile, responsive entity to serve artists, the local Los Angeles community, and beyond, by supporting existing and new works to be presented to the public. We’re interested in breaking down silos and sharing information and knowledge to further the careers of artists and forge new alliances with the community.

Artist Community

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Pop-Up Gallery

Prospect Art

Los Angeles-based not-for-profit

Los Angeles, United States,

Canada’s leading contemporary outdoor art fair is celebrating 60 years of launching artists’ careers this July 2-11, 2021 Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (TOAF) is the charitable non-profit organization behind Canada’s largest and longest-running annual contemporary art fair, showcasing 350+ curated visual artists & makers at Nathan Phillips Square every July. In 2021, TOAF celebrates 60 years of influencing the accessibility and growth of appreciation and participation in the arts in Canada. For this milestone event, TOAF presents a curated showcase of over 400 contemporary emerging and seasoned visual artists and makers from across Canada on TOAF’s digital platform.

Festival / Art Fair

Toronto Outdoor Art Fair

Celebrating 60 years

Canada, Toronto,

De Structura is a non-profit that will look into the structures of the art world from the perspective of young professionals and will strive to give young Europeans the tools to be successful in pursuing a meaningful career in the arts and bringing innovation to the culture sector. De Structura project will gather 150 young aspiring professionals in the fields of visual and performing arts. They will join the project from different countries of the European continent to communicate with experts and their peers in order to realise 25 cross-border projects and discover the institutional politics of art. Putting an emphasis on nature, society and technology – the 3 clusters to be explored in relation to the art practice and art system – De Structura will provide an opportunity to strengthen the understanding of contemporary art for different spheres of life. The project aims to provide: – an analysis of the current institutional, legal, and political frameworks governing the fields of visual and performing arts, – a series of realistic collaborative projects based on individual artistic practices carried out by groups of 3-6 young individuals from different European countries, – public dissemination of the results using various platforms, in order […]

Artist Community

Festival / Art Fair

Performing Arts

De Structura

Estonia, Tartu,

Pigeons exist all over the world yet they are often overlooked. Like artists and writers, they are beautiful, iridescent, quirky, and resourceful. Some birds find more fame than others, but we see the pigeons in all their glory. Of course, pigeons might not be as majestic or smart as their feathered friends, and they fly headfirst into a window. But how else can we find the barriers in our own world except by running into them headfirst, over and over again, waiting for them to break? Pigeon Review was started by an artist and a writer looking to make a home for artists and their art. From a cluttered room or a cup of coffee to an inquisitive face, we like art that tells a story.

Digital Platform

Pigeon Review

An art and literary journal

Independence, United States,

PigPrints is printmaking studio with facilities in Milan, Italy. Founded by artist and printmaker Guido Pigni, PigPrints specializes in intaglio techniques, and focuses on creating and promoting works achieved through printmaking by emerging and established contemporary artists. The prints are made by the artists working independently or in close collaboration with the studio staff and are hand-printed on our etching presses. In addition to collaborations with artists, PigPrints offers contract printing services. PigPrints’ founder Guido Pigni, who is also a painter and a multidisciplinary artist, has extensive experience in the field of printmaking. PigPrints operates on different levels: it’s a collaborative print workshop where artists can work independently on their personal projects, profiting from the quality professional equipment as well as the tranquility and inspiring atmosphere of the place. it’s a place where invited artists can work alongside the studio staff and benefit of their assistance to create shared projects. Prints and editions produced over such collaborations can be exhibited in the in-house gallery space. It’s a venue open for residencies where artists, primarily but not only printmakers, can experience a period of work in an intimate and fully equipped printshop and enjoy a private studio/bedroom 24/7 […]

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Pigprints

contemporary printmaking

Italy, Milano,

Commenced in 2019, Read the Room is an expanded literary practice space that encourages experimental writing, both on and off the page. Co-directed by Melbourne based visual artist Carmen-S Keiso and writer Kat Capel, Read the Room functions as a liaising hub for various practitioners interested in pursuing the literary form, particularly those working on the fringe of the artistic industry. We host ongoing writing workshops, experimental lectures, exhibitions and reading events independently and in collaboration with other artist-bodies. We are dedicated to both challenging and fostering a community of expanded-literary-practice within Melbourne. We are best reached via our email address [email protected] or via our instagram @readtheroom_

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Read The Room

Expanded literary practice

Australia, Melbourne,

Espai sant marc AIR is a residency programme in Sineu which offers accommodation and studio space for visual artists, and facilitates meetings with the local community. Sant marc organises public presentations and open studios in the residency space and produces group exhibitions in collaboration with other institutional spaces and festivals. Most of the projects are done on-site, sometimes graphic art editions are made in the graphic art atelier. The aim of sant marc is to support contemporary creation and develop collaborative networks. There is no open call, but proposals from artists and curators are accepted on an ongoing basis, together with exchanging collaborations with other artists’ initiatives.

Pop-Up Gallery

Residency

Workshop

Espai Sant Marc AIR

pop up gallery, residence and graphic art atelier

Mallorca, Spain,

STROBOSKOP (est. 2016) is an independent, artist-run site for experimentation and risk-taking. Our mission is to promote new and challenging projects, and to initiate cooperation with other exploratory spaces+projects, both within Poland and abroad. Stroboskop is first and foremost concerned with being an opportunity for all individuals with whom we collaborate.

Artist Community

Exhibition Space

Performing Arts

Stroboskop

Poland, Warsaw,

The purpose of creation is to outline creative autonomy. The Institute of Automation directs its activities in search of forms and means of artistic expression in the field of contemporary art. The art space was created on the basis of “Art Workshops of the Kyiv Institute of Automation”. (Spontaneously created art center in Kyiv at 22 Nagirna Street in the building of the Kyiv Institute of Automation. The number is about 60 artists). Date of creation – 20.07.2020

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Institute of Automation

An alternative to art presentation

Kyiv, Ukraine,

Field Projects is an artist-run project space and online venue dedicated to emerging and mid-career artists. Centered on long-term curatorial projects, Field Projects presents monthly exhibitions at their Chelsea location in addition to participating in pop-up exhibitions in and around New York as well art fairs around the world. The gallery invites artists to submit their work for consideration twice a year through an open call submission process. We discover about 80% of the artist we show through our open call submission process. We also have a artist residency, and publish self-identified ethnic and gender charts of artist we have shown and worked with.

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Field Projects

Artist-Run Project Space #diy

New York, NY, United States,

Commons, cocreate, collaborations, classes, cultural preservation, events, gather, synergies, philanthropy & ecosocial actions/projects. Based on a solidarity-social economy model and with a philanthropy channel towards Arts, Cultures & Community/Climate Actions. + info https://ataec.wordpress.com/2021/04/04/whats-ataec-que-es-ataec-quest-ce-que-ataec/

Artist Community

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Ataec

Artists & Community/Climate Act…

Barcelona, Spain,

126 was set up in response to the lack of spaces in Galway, Ireland in November 2005. In 2007 it modeled itself after Transmission Gallery in Glasgow with a rotating Board of Directors.

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126

Artist-run Gallery

Galway, Ireland,

Viafarini is a creative incubator and a hub for visual arts located at Fabbrica del Vapore, collaborating with other renowned organizations in Milan, in Italy and abroad. Viafarini has been founded in 1991 as a non-profit organization for contemporary art, when this concept was new to Italy. Nowadays Viafarini is renovating its mission: starting from the idea of a creative incubator aiming at the professional training of emerging artists within the art system, it is shifting toward the idea of an agency for the creation of networks of collaboration between artistic research, private commission, entrepreneurship and the social environment. Viafarini’s know-how about documentation, art consultancy, production, residency, education, communication and exhibition services are put at disposal for interdisciplinary collaboration projects. The benefits guaranteed by this innovative approach reverberates not only on the single artist’s career, but on the society itself. Thanks to this hybrid, participative and multidisciplinary approach Viafarini innovates its cultural offer in order to understand the implications of the great change under way: from an artistic as well as social, political and anthropological point of view.

Art Center

Art Studios

Residency

Viafarini

Italy, Milano,

The Wandering Room is an artist-run initiative. Since 2007 the members of The Wandering Room have collaborated as artists and curated exhibitions in temporary spaces. They are currently situated on the corner of Victoria and Elizabeth St, Brunswick, Melbourne. The Wandering Room have also exhibited at Testing Grounds, Melbourne, 2018; KickArts Contemporary Arts, Cairns, 2016; The Laundry, Brisbane, 2016; Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, 2013; Griffith University Art Gallery, 2013 and Brisbane Festival, 2012. They have undertaken residencies at Development AIR, New Zealand, 2013; Fish Lane Studios, 2013 and Grey Street, South Bank, Brisbane, 2012. They have twice been recipients of grants from Arts Queensland. Current Directors: David Creed, Joseph Breikers, Angela Rossitto, Amanda Wolf The Wandering Room acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we are situated.

Art Center

The Wandering Room

Artist-run space in Brunswick

Australia, Brunswick,

PROGRAMMING ATHICA: Athens Institute for Contemporary Art is an independent, non-profit gallery promoting and supporting innovative contemporary art and artists through exhibitions, education, and events. ATHICA is committed to the local art community and to bringing in national and international contemporary artists of all media. The programming features rotating exhibitions of various themes and affiliated events (such as performances, music, panel discussions, screenings, lectures, workshops, children’s events, tours, and more). Over the past decade, ATHICA has presented over 1200 regional, national, and international artists in over 60 exhibitions and hundreds of affiliated events. ATHICA features up to seven formal exhibitions yearly, including an annual juried exhibition which has featured jurors such as Michael Rooks of Atlanta’s High Musuem, Harry DeLorme of Savannah’s Telfair Museum, and Teresa Reeves of the Zuckerman Museum. Specific programs include: Exhibitions Performances/Events Artists-in-ATHICA Residency Internship Education – Adult Education – Youth Membership Community Access Volunteer 100% VOLUNTEER / ARTIST-LED ATHICA is an all-volunteer organization, with a working board of directors that contributes a minimum of 10 hours a month, interns that contribute a minimum of 70 hours a semester, artists, curators, docents, event staff, preparators, installers, graphic designers, programmers, carpenters, cooks, educators and faculty, […]

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ATHICA: Athens Institute for Contemporary Art

100% Volunteer Non-Profit MIracle

Athens, United States,

We are an international arts group initiated, supported and run by artists. Our programs and projects started in June 2020 and connect artists around the world. Please visit our website

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An Artist a Day…

New York, United States,

Vestige Concept Gallery is an art display space and store located within the gallery district of Lawrenceville-Pittsburgh Pennsylvania’s most vibrant and exciting neighborhood. The gallery exists to promote emerging and mid-career artists through sales, and special events. The Gallery also features some of the most up-and-coming avant-garde performances in today’s music. The name “Vestige” was chosen as a harkening to things from our collective past, while “Concept” lends itself to a future of endless possibilities. In addition to works for sale, our shop features fun, vintage, and retro/chic, art and other items reasonably priced for the budget-minded consumer. We feel that quality art is something that every person should be able to afford and enjoy, and Vestige Concept Gallery wants to help you find art that fits your lifestyle needs. Vestige Concept Gallery also works with customers to create custom works of art.

Curator-Run Space

Exhibition Space

Vestige Concept Gallery

Pittsburgh, United States,

Dimensions Variable (DV) is a nonprofit led by artists committed to the education, presentation, and support of contemporary art in Miami. Through a supportive community, DV provides studios, curates exhibitions, produces external projects, publishes content, hosts discussions, develops education, and organizes events that engage the community and support challenging and experimental art practices.

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Artist Community

Dimensions Variable

Miami, United States,

127 garage is a space for cultural initiatives from artists and for artists. We, the artist Anton Tkachenko and the curator Nastia Khlestova, opened a space for exhibitions, lectures, shows, meetings, discussions, and, most importantly, experiments in our garage. Our main goal and mission are to create a space comfortable for work and interaction, supporting young artists. We want to make art accessible and popular, therefore, locating in a residential complex, we are open to communication and work with the local community. 127 garage’s work is centered on different formats of knowledge exchange and developing new tools for understanding the condition today for a queerer tomorrow. 127 garage opens up new discursive lines, by involving different actors into challenging spatial narratives. 127 garage strives for a world of horizontal hegemonies, borderlessness, and borderlands, guided by our curiosity and urgency.

Artist Community

Curator-Run Space

Exhibition Space

127 garage

from artists and for artists

Kharkiv, Ukraine,

From May 1 to 31, Madrid’s Urban Digital Art Festival unfolds around the city with exhibitions on urban screens such as the Roca Madrid Gallery or JCDecaux’s digital marquees; immersive experiences on the giant screen of Taller de Ideas and the dome of DOMO360; online conferences and workshops at La Casa Encendida; an international call for AR art on Instagram filters; and online programming broadcast by Twitch, and many other things.

Festival / Art Fair

MMMAD Festival

Madrid's Urban Digital Art Fe…

Madrid, Spain,

Studio Faire is a contemporary art space in South West France, owned and run by Scottish couple, Colin Usher and Julia Douglas. Studio Faire provides residencies for writers, screenwriters, artists and musicians from within it’s *private 1830’s maison de maître. In addition to running Studio Faire, Colin and Julia are both creative practitioners in their own right, with Colin specializing in photography, digital media and drumming and Julia in mixed-media visual art and web design. At Studio Faire, Colin and Julia offer their residents a change of pace and the space to explore ideas, create a new body of work or develop an existing project. *Studio Faire is a private space, only open to its residents by application.

Residency

Studio Faire

Residencies for Artists & Write…

France, Nérac,

VOX is an artist-run centre founded in 1985. Its mission is to support research and presentation initiatives as well as enable artists, exhibition curators and other researchers to contribute to art experimentation, to reflection and to development of multiple forms of critical discourse around image-making and exhibition practices from the 1960s to the present day. Its main activity is exhibitions, most often complemented by publications, documentation spaces, film screenings, conferences and online projects. The exhibitions and other artistic events that the centre produces are grounded in long-term work with artists, and often designed as collective projects that encourage discussions and debates about art and contemporary society as well as public meetings with diverse audiences. VOX is a non-profit organization and a member of the RCAAQ as well as Art actuel 2-22.

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VOX, centre de l’image contemporaine

Canada, Montréal,

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Initiative Definition

N.G.O

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Alliance

Foundation

Association

Guild

Institute

Academy

Think Tank

Members

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We Are Artists For Ukraine

MATCA artspace

SPACE Gallery

VT Artsalon

Potential Project

Drogerie

Sluice

Yarra Sculpture Gallery

SOONNESS

Automat Artspace

Prospect Art

Toronto Outdoor Art Fair

De Structura

Pigeon Review

Pigprints

Read The Room

Espai Sant Marc AIR

Stroboskop

Institute of Automation

Field Projects

Ataec

126

Viafarini

The Wandering Room

ATHICA: Athens Institute for Contemporary Art

An Artist a Day…

Vestige Concept Gallery

Dimensions Variable

127 garage

MMMAD Festival

Studio Faire

VOX, centre de l’image contemporaine

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