A depressing new development in Bushwick gentrification, Art F City reports: The loft space 1717 Troutman, which housed artist-run galleries on the border of Bushwick and Ridgewood, has asked all its tenants to leave and cease operating as galleries immediately. The space attracted attention in part because of its curation, which was a step above the usual studio/gallery spaces in the area. The many artists in the building are now searching for new spaces – no easy feat in a neighborhood that is rapidly growing too expensive for many of the artists who made it attractive to real estate developers. Whitney Kimball explains:
Even between eight artists, the collectively-run gallery Ortega y Gasset Projects is having trouble finding affordable space. Co-founder Leeza Meksin has investigated commercial property near the Morgan stop, for example; word has it, plans for the Bushwick Mall have just been approved there.
“One of the agents I was working with told me that if I’d put in the offer two weeks ago, we would have gotten the space. The owner had been desperate to get an offer. But then real estate developers got word that this big mall project is [officially] on, and prices just went crazy.”
With the exception of Regina Rex, which has already closed, the galleries will remain open for Bushwick Open Studios at the end of May, so we’ll have one last chance to say farewell to an arts building that should have lasted longer. (Photo: @hragvartanian)
