No Longer Empty was created in March 2009 by Manon Slome and I in response to a historical moment in which the booming metropolis of New York was deeply affected by the global recession. It was a time in which an over abundance of premium commercial real estate spaces were lingering empty; something not seen since the 1980’s when the city went bankrupt.
After its first exhibition in June 2009 at the Chelsea Hotel, the group began to organize monthly exhibitions in empty commercial spaces in New York, such as the old Tower Records store and Governors Island. No Longer Empty quickly became an international model for re-inventing the way art exhibitions were approached, especially in times of crisis, becoming an inspiration to people around the world.
The exhibitions that take place in these empty spaces contain thoughtful art that relates to the history of the space or the neighborhood. No Longer Empty also provides opportunities for artists to find venues where they can create installations without the constrictions that an art gallery space can present. In addition, No Longer Empty serves as a platform for recently graduated students from art, business, marketing and other fields to practice and acquire skills and prepare for the job market.
I was strongly involved with the organization from its conception until the exhibition on Governors Island in the summer of 2010. As co-creator, I was a very active member of No Longer Empty, particularly in regards to finding artists, developing the curatorial ideas and programs, providing funding, and bringing new financial supporters. The highlighted exhibitions here are some of the projects I was instrumental in developing.
How it all began…..
It was February 2009, I had just come back to New York after spending two years traveling through Asia, where I had been exploring the art market, particularly in China. On my return I met with Manon Slome, an old friend, and we exchanged notes. I told her about an interesting exhibition I saw in Hong Kong at the architectural Biennial in March 2008 that was housed in a disused Police Building in the centre of the city; I was taken by how the artists covered the ghostly prison cells with disposable and found objects, and how they transformed each corner and room, accentuating the claustrophobic spaces, activating the ghosts of the prison.
I realized in this exhibition in Hong Kong that the visual power of the white gallery space had, for me, diminished almost completely. I was similarly inspired by another exhibition, called the Angel Project, curated by Deborah Warner in 2004. She created haunting installations in empty buildings all over Manhattan, through which the audience was directed from place to place by means of a guidebook. Both of these exhibitions shaped my decision and my goal to work with public art, and to bring exhibitions to unexpected spaces and in contact with non-traditional audiences.
Walking down Madison Avenue, Manon mentioned she couldn’t help but notice the abundance of empty spaces, and that perhaps we could use those spaces to create installations like the ones that inspired me. I suggested to her that she quit her job at the Chelsea Museum, where she was unhappy and unsatisfied, especially after the problems caused by her great but controversial exhibition The Aesthetics of Terror, and that we should join ventures to create site-specific installations; she agreed and after leaving her job couple weeks later, we went on to create a partnership called Manash (Manon-Asher) and No Longer Empty was born as its D.B.A. Though Manash LLC was dissolved in early 2011 in order to give way to the new non for profit status, No Longer Empty continues to revitalize gaps left by the real estate crisis.
