Thomas Breen photo
The now-shuttered Artspace at 50 Orange St.
One of New Haven’s leading downtown art galleries has closed up shop, leaving its longtime Orange Street home less than half a year after the departure of its former executive director.
That’s the latest with Artspace, a nonprofit that has served as a hub for contemporary art and creative community building in the Ninth Square for more than 20 years.
On Friday morning, Artspace Board of Directors President Kara Straun announced in a letter posted to the organization’s website that it will be leaving its 50 Orange St. gallery space this week. A follow-up email press release sent out Friday morning by consultant Anne Coates said that Artspace has closed its venue to the public, “effective immediately.”
Looking through the front windows of 50 Orange.
In the interim, Straun wrote, Artspace will be moving its flat files of artists’ works and other organizational records to the Ely Center of Contemporary Art on Trumbull Street. Its annual four-week summer educational program in July will take place at Creative Arts Workshop on Audubon Street. And, even without its 50 Orange St. home, Artspace will continue to “operate remotely and fulfill our mission.”
“We are working to understand how we got here, tighten our operational and financial controls, raise some much-needed funds — and do the hard work of charting our course for the future,” Straun wrote. “This work will include an organizational assessment, which will look at the strategic plan passed last year, as well as board building, and how to recruit a new Executive Director, and put in place the supports necessary for them to succeed.
“It’s been a tumultuous time over the past few years, and the pandemic didn’t help. We’re all looking forward to greater stability and are prepared to do the work to get us to an organization that will thrive into the future.”
Artspace’s gallery closure announcement comes five months after its previous director, Lisa Dent, left in January for a new museum job in Massachusetts. Dent had taken over the role of Artspace’s executive director in April 2020, succeeding Artspace’s longtime former director Helen Kauder. Karen Jenkins has served as the organization’s interim director since March.
Artspace isn’t the only legacy New Haven arts institution to leave its longtime physical location in the past few years. Long Wharf Theatre also made a move into “itinerancy” after leaving its home of nearly six decades on Sargent Drive.
Read Straun’s letter in full below. Coates’s email press release stated that items that are not moving from Artspace “will be offered for sale at the store at 50 Orange Street. Planned dates and times include: June 21, 22, 12 — 6 PM; June 28, 12 — 6 PM.”
Letter From Board President Kara Straun, June 16, 2023
Dear Artspace family,
On behalf of the board and staff of Artspace, I’m writing to let you know that we will be closing our venue/gallery to the public this week. Despite this closure of our physical location, we will continue to operate remotely and fulfill our mission. While we are sad to say goodbye to our physical space as a New Haven locus of contemporary art, art making, community-building, education and discourse, fun and joy, our work will continue.
We understand that this may be upsetting to many. However, the Board and staff have carefully considered our circumstances and the significance of this decision, and believe these are prudent steps necessary to safeguard this vital organization and its bright future.
After the public departure of its Executive Director, the organization brought on an Interim Director, Karen Jenkins. Her work began immediately in March to understand and assess the condition of the organization and its obligations. As a result of this urgently needed work, Artspace has concluded that it needs to drastically reduce costs, including closing our venue which we have rented for many years.
The organization is moving its flat file of artists’ works and all organizational records this week to a secure location at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art. We are grateful to the Ely Center for extending this opportunity to store those most essential records and items for Artspace, and for the generosity of spirit extended to help Artspace during this difficult time.
In addition to Karen Jenkins, who is on board as Interim Director for 6 months, Artspace’s staff includes one full time curator, a part time finance manager, a part time fundraiser and a part time program coordinator. This core staff and a board of now 5 members have been working to understand Artspace’s condition and develop short term actions to safeguard the institution. I am so grateful to each of them for their work and steadfastness these past few months. They are crucial to what’s next for Artspace.
Programmatically, for the short term, the Summer Artspace Program (SAP), a four-week intensive led by east coast arts educators and teaching assistants for youth, which begins in July, will be located at Creative Arts Workshop at 80 Audubon Street in New Haven. Details and an announcement about that partnership will be forthcoming.
Beyond that, Artspace staff is developing plans to continue to mount exhibitions in collaboration with other venues and spaces in New Haven, much in the way it did prior to moving to its Orange Street location in 2002. Artspace will focus on local artists for these shows. These will be both partner- and funding-dependent.
In its work in the coming weeks and months, Artspace must raise funds to keep moving forward, to pay staff and mount exhibitions, and do the hard work of engineering a turnaround. It is our hope that our loyal donors and funders who believe in the importance of this organization and how it figures in the lives of individual artists and those who love visual arts here in New Haven, will continue to support Artspace through this transition time.
We are working to understand how we got here, tighten our operational and financial controls, raise some much-needed funds — and do the hard work of charting our course for the future. This work will include an organizational assessment, which will look at the strategic plan passed last year, as well as board building, and how to recruit a new Executive Director, and put in place the supports necessary for them to succeed.
It’s been a tumultuous time over the past few years, and the pandemic didn’t help. We’re all looking forward to greater stability and are prepared to do the work to get us to an organization that will thrive into the future.
Our intentions are to work with care and integrity as we move forward, being transparent and honest with artists and the arts community – and the donors which have made all of its work possible. This work will include important community conversations so that we hear and understand your concerns and aspirations for Artspace and its place in the arts ecosystem here in New Haven.
But we have to get through this critical stage first. We ask for support and patience from the community as we do that.
We have developed a couple of places on our website to continue our communications. You will find a chronological record of our communications, starting with this one, here. We’ve also developed an FAQ where we’ll post answers to the most commonly asked questions. These pages are also linked below this letter.
I’d like to thank my fellow board members who have stayed the course and join me in commitment to a thriving Artspace in the future.
Over the years, Artspace has enjoyed its relationship with all who have supported it. Thank you. I hope you will continue to support us; we cannot do it without you.
Kara Straun
President, Board of Directors
This is a big loss to the City & especially the Ninth Square area. I'm hopeful that something great can fill that space.