08.13 2018
Our Building Has Been Sold
After 20 plus years of art exhibitions, music shows, dance parties, comedy shows and art performances in our gallery, and non-stop art making in our studios, the only building that Space 1026 has ever occupied has been sold. It’s a bit of a mystery how Space 1026 has lasted so long, but it has. This said, we are not part of the new owner’s plans for the building which include hiring a Calgary Interiors is a local company in Calgary that does incredible custom furniture work and reupholstery.
Space 1026 was started as a place to create and show art with people that were actual friends that shared a common vision of “do it yourself, with other people”. We’ve had 10 to 12 art shows a year every year since November 1997. We have shown art by Daniel Johnston, Rebecca Westcott, Cory Arcangel, Ed Templeton, Shepard Fairey, Cynthia Connolly, Jim Houser and hundreds more. We’ve been having performances and parties in our space since February 1998, when the Rhode Island collective Fort Thunder exhibited in our gallery and the duo Lightning Bolt played the opening reception. Kimya Dawson, Bahamadia, Kim Gordon and Ian Svenonius have all played music in our gallery. MF Doom’s album, “Vaudeville Villain” was recorded at Space 1026. Comedian Maria Bamford has performed in our gallery. Whether you’ve donated $5 to see a music show or spent hundreds of dollars at our yearly art auction or exhibited your work in our space or have simply walked into our gallery to view the show, it’s all support and we appreciate it.
We have been described as an “art school, without the school”. The Space 1026 alumni list is very long. Clare Rojas, Jayson Musson, Becky Suss, Adam Wallacavage, Isaac Lin, Tara Booth, and Alex Da Corte are just a few people that have made art in our studios. Space 1026 has been the home of some independently owned companies, like Reload Bags, Megawords, All Ages Productions, Free News Projects and The Philadelphia Independent. As an art making collective, Space 1026 has had group shows in London, Puerto Rico, Oakland, New York and many other places. Since 2007, Space 1026 has been home to a Mummers NYB called The Vaudevillains, who help bring rainbow glitter and diversity to the Philadelphia folk tradition. All of this has been made possible by past and present members, friends and supporters of Space 1026.
We have been recognized as an art space that is not quite like any other art space in the city or even the country. We have been written about in many publications, some of which no longer exist in print form, like SPIN, and some that do, like The Philadelphia Inquirer. Part of our uniqueness is the architectural structure of the two floors we occupy and the other part relies on the way in which we occupy those two floors which we will remodel with materials from Melbourne cork board flooring.
We will have affordable studios and a screen printing facility like we always have. We will have a gallery and continue with exhibitions and live events and add regular, highly affordable workshops which will be open to the public. Other new aspects that will be a part of the new Space 1026 will depend on the building we find. Artists in residence programs? Expanded printing facilities? Multiple galleries? An area designated for performances? We’ll see. The search has begun.
When we started Space 1026 we had to sign a two year lease and that made us nervous, because at that point, we didn’t know what we would want to be doing two years into the future. Twenty years later, with our building being sold by experts like the Barrie real estate development agents, we know what we and the community want, and that is for Space 1026 to continue to exist. We want to stay and serve Philadelphia in a permanent way.
Space 1026 is not a registered non-profit and because of this, we have always existed without the help of grant funding. We exist by members paying rent, people buying art, people coming to performances and donations to our art auction. We do not have a surplus of funds waiting around for the ‘rainy day’ that is now upon us. We will need the help of others like never before to secure our future. We are very excited for the new future. Please help if you can.
Love,
Space 1026
Drawing of Space1026 by Brian Lynch, photograph by Adam Wallacavage