GLORIA’S

GLORIA’S is a space for art & people.

Lauren Wolchik (b. 1986, Arizona) is an independent curator, producer, and the founder & director of GLORIA’S, a project space in lower Manhattan that showcases work by underrepresented artists in New York City and beyond. Wolchik has previously acted as the Exhibitions & Production Manager at David Zwirner Gallery; managed the studios of David Byrne and Lawrence Weiner; and worked as a Production Office Manager across New York City venues including Central Park Summerstage, Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, and Carnegie Hall. She has produced events at institutions including MoMA PS1 and Pioneer Works, and was a Guest Curator at the Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency in 2019 and an Artist-in-Residence at Silent Barn in 2015. Additionally, she was an artist for the Biden for President Campaign and performed in the Performa 19 Biennial. Wolchik lives and works in New York City. You can reach her at lauren.wolchik@gmail.com.

Interview with Lauren Wolchik

Interview by Andreana Donahue

Can you tell us a bit about your background, and how you got interested in running a space?

I grew up in the suburbs of Phoenix with cool parents, a late curfew, and a fake ID and, as such, often found myself at alternative spaces and clubs during my formative years. After graduating high school I went to Wesleyan University for a couple of years and was a member of the Eclectic Society—essentially a gender—inclusive frat—where about twenty of us lived in a huge Greek revival building. We threw shows and parties in the ballroom on the first floor (including our annual sex party during which a penis balloon popped in my eye, landing me in a very cool eye patch for the rest of the night.) I lived on the second floor, just above the stage, so I was always kind of “at the show” whether I liked it or not.

I dropped out of Wesleyan after my sophomore year, moved back home to Arizona where I worked as a concert production manager and graduated from ASU, and then made my way to New York. In what was likely a backlash to the monotonous suburban landscape of my upbringing, I moved into a series of the weirdest spaces I could find, including but not limited to: a former gallery space above a tire repair shop on Atlantic Avenue; a floor—through loft in Williamsburg with two kitchens, three full bathrooms, and sixteen roommates; an old elementary classroom with access to a deconsecrated church but no shower, the reno of which is now the most expensive apartment in Bushwick; Gitana Rosa Williamsburg Project Space that had a shower but no kitchen; the artist collective and concert venue Silent Barn; a storefront—turned—artist—studio in Ridgewood, Queens, with a shower in the kitchen; and, finally, for now, a long—vacant former employment agency in Chinatown.

You used to manage studios for Lawrence Weiner and David Byrne—how have those experiences impacted your perspective on running a space?

Both positions provided me invaluable work experience, of course, but I think the most inspiring part of the roles was just being around artists who were just that—artists. Lawrence also gave me a great piece of advice that has very much influenced my practice: If it looks real people will think it’s real.

When we spoke on the phone, I was so intrigued by the history of spaces and projects that you have spearheaded and run over the years. Your latest project is Gloria’s, which was located in Ridgewood, but recently relocated to Chinatown during the pandemic. Can you give us some insight into the many projects and spaces you have run over the years?

I would consider Eclectic to be the first space I ran, albeit in conjunction with many other people. Upon moving to New York, I threw events at a number of different spaces around the city, the first of which was a group show I put together as an excuse for all of my friends to meet. Because I had no idea what I was doing, the show featured twenty artists and four performers for one night on my birthday during Bushwick Armory Week, which is something I’d like to think I’ll never do again.

A couple of years later I met Vanessa Liberati of Gitana Rosa Gallery and took over her Williamsburg project space as the Associate Director when she moved the gallery to Chelsea. That was my first opportunity to consistently program the same space, which was a blast. The gallery itself was fairly small but the freight elevator opened onto the street and was perfect for performances—a highlight was Azikiwe Mohammed’s Oh Fo Sho Pizza Sto, a pop—up pizza parlor where we melted the cheese with a blow torch. As with many places in Williamsburg at the time, the building was eventually purchased by The Man who promptly evicted us.

Following that, I was an artist—in—residence at the Silent Barn in Bushwick, which functioned as a concert & performance venue, bar, studio space, theater, gallery, recording studio, residency program, library—more or less whatever you needed it or wanted it to be. As luck would have it, a fire broke out during the first event I organized and all residents were forced to move out that night. As the old Silent Barn adage goes, “spaces are temporary but people are forever.”

My next space was GLORIA’S at its original location as a storefront in Ridgewood, Queens. During our two years there we partnered with over sixty artists and organizations on exhibitions, pop—up installations, artist and curator talks, film screenings, magazine launches, dinner parties, drag shows, and, well, parties. Lots of parties.

Live/work spaces around NYC have been a really big part of your life during your time in the city. Can you tell us a bit more about your experience operating a space which is also your home? 

I prefer to live communally and love to host so I really like being the place where people come to party. My (kind of) joke is that I turn my homes into galleries because I like hanging out with artists and good art on my walls. 

When reviewing all of the images you shared with me, were the amazing variety of events, people, food, art, music and more that you have put together over time. Can you tell us a bit about a few of your favorite events from the last few years?

It’s hard to pick any favorites, of course, but a lot of GLORIA’S events took place at The Footlight, a bar and venue across the street from our space in Ridgewood. The proximity to each other was amazing because the gallery couldn’t hold that many people and the bar was such a great place for people to hang before, during, and/or after seeing a show. In addition to hosting all of the opening after parties, The Footlight was home to our artists talks, drag show, panel discussions, zine—making night, screenings, and even our evening of speed dating. They recently moved out of their space on Seneca Avenue but are now doing really great programming at The Windjammer, also in Ridgewood.

One detail I noticed from some of the images, was the changing hand—painted on the front of the building that said Gloria’s in many different colors and lettering styles. Can you tell us the story of these changes?

GLORIA’S signage is done by the artist and our sign—painter—in—residence Carlos Rosales—Silva. I was first introduced to Carlos when Azikiwe Mohammed curated him into GLORIA’S first show and he has since become a good friend and collaborator. The signs were repainted for every exhibition, which really kept the neighborhood guessing about what was going on inside of the weird space with frosted windows on Seneca Avenue.

What type of work are you most excited to show?

I’m really excited for California—based artist Yoshie Sakai’s forthcoming exhibition curated by Azikiwe Mohammed, opening early next year. Yoshie was initially scheduled to fly into New York for the opening on March 23, 2020, but, of course, things changed when the city went into lockdown on March 14th. Needless to say the show has been a long time coming! The exhibition is a part of Sakai’s KOKO’s Love soap opera series, an ongoing site—specific, multi—channel video installation based on her life as a 1.5 generation Japanese American woman and the challenges that come with being an Asian American woman caught in between two generations.

How are ideas sparked for shows and events at your spaces? Do you collaborate with others on curatorial vision or is this a primarily one—woman show?

While I manage the administrative and operations side of GLORIA’S, our  programming develops organically through conversation within and beyond members of the GLORIA’S community. As a space that aims to promote the work of underrepresented artists including women, people of color, and folks in the LGBTQ+ community, it’s important for those voices to lead the way.

What prompted the move to Chinatown, and what is next on the horizon for Gloria’s? When will you reopen?

At the end of last summer I called my good friend and Beverly’s co—founder Leah Dixon in tears because it felt as though everyone was moving out of the city (for context, Beverly’s had recently shuttered their bar on Essex Street due to the pandemic and were actively looking for a new space). In response to my anxieties Leah said to me, “We’re not going anywhere. I’m looking at a building on Eldridge tomorrow morning, be there at 11am”—and thus GLORIA’S 2.0 was born. As for the future, we have a ton of postponed exhibitions and programming on the docket that I’m really looking forward to realizing. We’re still very much in the throes of building out the space but we’ll reopen with a group show (and huge party, obviously) this fall.

What were some of the biggest challenges posed by the pandemic? Were there any unexpected silver linings?

I really struggled with losing the ability to throw in—person events. GLORIA’S is a very socially—driven venture, the success of which depends on having people around, so not being able to gather was really hard. As to a silver lining, the pandemic required me to think about new ways of displaying art that don’t require indoor or even in—person attendance. For example, last summer we used our frosted front windows to project a series of the reported 100 black Americans murdered by police in the time between the deaths of Eric Garner and George Floyd. The project was also posted daily on our Instagram page.

How do you see the future of curator—run and artist—run spaces in the city? Other changes that you foresee post—pandemic?

GLORIA’S, Beverly’s, and Azikiwe Mohammed’s Black Painters Academy now occupy the same building as a consequence of the pandemic and I’d be excited to see similar partnerships forming elsewhere. I really believe in creating new models that suit our current needs rather than trying to retrofit our ideas into structures that were never built for us in the first place—so I’m hoping that’s a trend.

What motivates you to stay in NYC, when so many people have decided to leave recently?

Well, New York City is my home. As someone who likes to live in weird spaces, meet weird people, and talk about weird things, I’ve found New York is a pretty easy place to do that.

Are there any other artist—run type spaces in the city or around the US that inspire you?

There are, of course, so many special spaces around the world so I’ll keep it hyper—local—my building mates Beverly’s and Azikiwe Mohammed’s Black Painters Academy are constant sources of inspiration. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to collaborate with people who are working to change the world.

Is there anything else you would like to include?

Thank You, Emily! 

To find out more about GLORIA’S, check them out on Instagram or on their website.