Space Gallery

The history of the venue goes back to December 2005, when Jim Wintner and Richard Sack opened a photo gallery on Front Street that focused on and was inspired by the historical waterfront neighborhood (longtime site of the Fulton Fish Market) and its local craftspeople; after a year, desiring to extend their community outreach and artistic offerings, the owners helped establish the Seaport District Cultural Association, simultaneously dedicating a wing of their gallery to photographers who were living and working locally. Seeking to expand the exhibits and supplement them with live performances, they located a little-used warehouse two blocks south (at the corner of Front and Beekman Streets) and converted it into a multi-use performance space, where they have since been able to offer a variety of music -- experimental, contemporary classical, children’s programs, cabaret (courtesy of the local theater group) and original fusions (notably pianist Jocelyn Medina and guitarist Joel Newton, both regulars) -- as well as modern dance, all against a stimulating backdrop of original artwork, including sculpture, installations, photography, painting and other graphics. Imagine listening to a concert beneath a dangling abstract sculpture resembling a folded paper airplane that reads “Here’s a flight for construction instead of style” on one side, while behind the piano hangs a subtly shaded painting, reminiscent of a coral reef, with restless eye-lines that compete for your attention; this should give you an idea of the multi-media possibilities of the venue.

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The history of the venue goes back to December 2005, when Jim Wintner and Richard Sack opened a photo gallery on Front Street that focused on and was inspired by the historical waterfront neighborhood (longtime site of the Fulton Fish Market) and its local craftspeople; after a year, desiring to extend their community outreach and artistic offerings, the owners helped establish the Seaport District Cultural Association, simultaneously dedicating a wing of their gallery to photographers who were living and working locally. Seeking to expand the exhibits and supplement them with live performances, they located a little-used warehouse two blocks south (at the corner of Front and Beekman Streets) and converted it into a multi-use performance space, where they have since been able to offer a variety of music -- experimental, contemporary classical, children’s programs, cabaret (courtesy of the local theater group) and original fusions (notably pianist Jocelyn Medina and guitarist Joel Newton, both regulars) -- as well as modern dance, all against a stimulating backdrop of original artwork, including sculpture, installations, photography, painting and other graphics. Imagine listening to a concert beneath a dangling abstract sculpture resembling a folded paper airplane that reads “Here’s a flight for construction instead of style” on one side, while behind the piano hangs a subtly shaded painting, reminiscent of a coral reef, with restless eye-lines that compete for your attention; this should give you an idea of the multi-media possibilities of the venue.

Belogenis, the pulse behind the successful Friday night series and a veteran of the new music scene, has drawn on his circles of friends to create a sort of workshop-in-progress, using the creative ambiance of SPACE to support groups and projects in an artist-friendly environment: “It’s a similar concept [to] rehearsing and playing with a band and getting it tight and getting it able to play together and nurturing it.” Given the demanding financial constraints of the city, with high rents and steep competition, where most clubowners and musicians require substantial guarantees upfront, Belogenis envisions SPACE as a “safe haven” where experimental music can thrive in spite of such economic imperatives: “We’re able to present things in a different way…certain special kinds of things can happen inside this environment…where the music can develop.” Although times have changed since the loft-era workshops of Charles Mingus, the extended residencies offered by clubs like the Five Spot to musicians such as Ornette Coleman (two months) and Thelonious Monk (six months!) or the constant touring available to groups like Miles Davis’ quintets or the Jazz Messengers, Belogenis nevertheless aspires, in booking projects that don’t ordinarily work on a semi-regular basis, to provide an artistic oasis where creative musicians can develop and nurture their collective expression.

This philosophy has paid off in a number of rewarding events. For example, Wintner recalled the very first concert during which an unseasonably severe blizzard prevented all but Belogenis from making the gig, resulting in an intimate and “extraordinary” solo show. Expatriate pianist Burton Greene also came for a memorable evening of solo improvisations, in addition to a host of other ‘downtown’ improvisers (figuratively and now literally) that have passed through the gallery’s doors since they first opened. More recently, the meteorological elements impinged once again when a freak storm in August 2007 provided the ambient soundscape for a one-of-a-kind happening featuring Belogenis and pianist/philosopher Borah Bergman (see review in AAJ-NY, September 2007). This month the venue will host a rare appearance of the legendary multi-instrumentalist/producer Karl Berger, a co-founder of Woodstock’s Creative Music Studio, a seminal laboratory and think-tank for numerous musical pioneers during the ‘70s and ‘80s, and will also present pianists Angie Sanchez and Shoko Nagai.

Jazz fans from all over the city have slowly but surely been discovering the unique ambiance and superior acoustics of SPACE, trekking downtown to imbibe the vibes. With luck, more locals -- denizens of Battery Park, the financial district and the seaport area -- will catch on too.

~ Tom Greenland

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