Letter From The Director: NYAEA Spring Update

Dear Equity Members,

The administration and trustees hope you are staying safe and sustaining your health and spirits in these most challenging of times.  As a team charged with safeguarding the well-being of the NYAEA, please trust that we have been working diligently to insure the association is preserved for the future and will be in good working order when we turn the corner on this calamity.  We trust we will endure--changed no doubt--but ultimately unified in our commitment to art and the higher social consciousness said devotion engendered. 

Over the last few weeks, our first order of business focused on stabilizing the organization’s financial health; earned income as you can surmise has dropped substantially--a downturn largely attributed to the temporary shuttering of the gallery to comply with Covid-19 social distancing practices. The drastic drop in the stock market has also impacted upon our revenue stream.  In response to this drop in earned income, we quickly ramped up our development efforts and are happy to report to you that we have successfully secured a significant gift that will substantially reduce our exposure over the coming months.

Though our curatorial and allied programming is currently paused, we remain hopeful that we can resume gallery programming in June with “Il Paradiso” --an open call exhibition exploring  of the divinely verdant in its myriad expressions.  To scaffold an interim viewing platform for our member’s artworks, we have expanded our online presence by building out a showroom on our own site, expanding our footprint on Artsy and offering our first ever digital pop-up exhibition and sale titled “Spring Flash”.  Additionally, we are exploring digital meeting applications to deliver the artist talks and topic lectures which provide both professional-level content and opportunities for community engagement.

Lastly, the organization added two new trustees, Luciana Solano and Lindsey Schneider , who bring much needed development and institutional relations experience to the board.

We hope this update sheds a ray of sunlight on your day; we believe as an organization that even in the toughest of times we must find the faith and secure the means to move forward no matter how steep or narrow the path.  Though our committed efforts to safely shepherd said advance continues unabated, we remain ever the more dependent on your good will, active participation and financial support to sustain our work.  Becoming a member, renewing  your membership and recommending that your friends and colleagues join our community goes a long way towards ensuring our vitality. 

Stay true to your art and your strivings; in troubling times trust that it is a steady light to march toward.

On behalf of the

trustees and staff of the NYAEA, 

Michael Gormley

For more information about the Spring Flash, Click Here

For more information about the Il Paradiso Call-For-Entries, Click Here

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