Good Art: ChaShaMa is an Art Charity Transforming Vacant Spaces

Access to the vacant venues may only be available for a few months, but Chashama wastes no time bringing in artists who use the spaces as studios, to host performances, to offer free workshops, and as fine art galleries. There are currently forty Chashama locations across the five boroughs, and the organization hopes to expand to 100 venues in the near future.

For Chashama and the artists and communities it serves, the pitfalls of the COVID-19 pandemic have also created opportunity. As offices have shifted to working from home and abandoned or down-sized their in-person locations, new spaces are created for Chashama to leverage. And while too many small businesses have sadly shuttered since early 2020, the organization is working to breathe new life into their empty storefronts and usher in a new generation of businesses.

Storefront Startup is the organization’s new partnership with New York City’s Department of Small Business Services. The program is offering rent-free brick-and-mortar locations for small business owners, many of whom are artisans and makers. In the same way it has helped budding artists, Chashama is working to help budding entrepreneurs.

Durst envisions the program as a major force in post-pandemic recovery in New York. "With all these empty storefronts, we are a connection between the property owner, the artist, and the small businesses,” she says. “We could help reignite the economy of New York and bring it back through the mom and pop shops." There are currently twenty businesses using Storefront Startup locations, with fifty additional companies poised to open in the near future.

You can support Chashama, the artists and businesses it serves, at one of its dozens of venues across the city and enjoy a workshop or exhibition, or patronize a small business. Or mark your calendar for Chashama’s annual gala on November 4, 6 p.m. to midnight, where you can experience over 300 installations and performers.