50+ Years of A.I.R. Gallery

Organized as an alternative non-profit space but designed like a white-box gallery with work available for sale, Artists in Residence Inc (A.I.R. Gallery), one of the first all-women’s galleries in the US, began its legendary course in Soho, New York in 1972. Initially, spearheaded by Barbara Zucker and Susan Williams and comprising twenty dues-paying artists, this feminist collective sought to combat gender discrimination through the promotion of innovative work by women artists at a time when 96.4% of artists represented by New York galleries were men and only 18% of US galleries had exhibited a female artist.

For over 50 years, A.I.R. has not only participated in changing the status of women in the arts through exhibitions, public programming and community-building but has offered an influential model for galleries nationally and internationally. Through hybrid fundraising and changing strategies of support and affiliation (such as international exchange exhibitions, DIY workshops and professional development programming and a formative emerging/re-emerging artist fellowship) A.I.R., which today welcomes nonbinary artists and administrators, continues to evolve, succeeding in outliving most alternative spaces of the era, while remaining expansive and artist-run.

Initiating a series of projects leading to a publication that critically celebrate A.I.R.’s legacy, this session invites papers that focus on aspects of the gallery’s history, including exhibitions, programming, reception, governance and related spheres of influence, collaboration, and engagement. Proposals that explore A.I.R.’s connections with other alternative spaces, activist organizations and artistic movements are encouraged. Papers on A.I.R. members or affiliated artists will be also considered.