To artists just starting out, the gallery world can seem intimidating and impenetrable. So, after years of working in photography and practicing at different photo studios (including her own, The Atrium), artist, founder, and curator Atarah Atkinson decided to take the leap and pursue her own art gallery — Gallery ATARAH, which opened in Williamsburg at 35 Meadow Street last month.
“Photo and art, they’re cousins, but they’re definitely still different families. And it was hard to get those families to happen in the same room. So eventually I knew that it was time to not only invest in my own [art] practice, but to invest in that dream and goal of ‘How can I create a space where I can show my own work, but also show the work of other people that I believe in and that are my peers that I’m committed to and excited to share and celebrate as much as my own?'” Atkinson explained.
The inaugural exhibition at ATARAH is Atkinson’s own Bright Ruin, a collection of photography, sculpture, and mixed-media works inspired by ruins, art, and architecture of Rome created out of Atkinson’s desire to process the emotions around breaking down and rebuilding in her personal life. Bright Ruin is on display until November 2.
More than just a gallery, Atkinson’s goal is to create an accessible cultural community hub that welcomes and encourages people to interact with and discuss art in ways you may not experience in Chelsea galleries or major museums.
“With the programming, I’m really looking forward to offering a few different kind of pockets of connection. I want to do events that entail things like workshops of showing, sharing, and learning different types of creative skills,” Atkinson said. “In the space, we’ll have about 10 guests that can do the workshop, and it’ll have a thematic connection to the body of work on display, as well as an interactive experience, inviting and inciting dialogue of reflection and creativity and self-process.”
The first workshop of this type will be centered around flowers and the juxtaposition of blossoms and decay on November 9, led by floral designer Tawhida Rahman. There will also be artist talks (the first being photographer Frankie Alduino, who has photographed for The New York Times and Vanity Fair, among most other major NYC pubs), and interactive, conversational Salon Nights, an updated and more approachable version of the concept from the art scene in 17th and 18th century Europe.
“We’re not here to just clout and be like, ‘Look at my beautiful work.’ It’s meant to have people come together and talk about why they like it and maybe don’t like it. It will be regular more casual, intimate, relaxing way to bring people together,” she said. “I feel like there’s so many gatekeeping aspects of the gallery reality that I’m trying to break away from. The white wall, white cube, hushed voices environment is not at all what I’m producing.”
And part of that means creating a warm and inviting place where artists feel like they can show their art, even if they’re not pre-established in the scene.
“I want people to feel welcomed and at home, feel like it’s warm and there’s energy in there that invites them to bring their own energy into this space, too,” she noted. “How can any artist break into anything if they need to go from nothing to everything all at once? I want to be a space where people feel safe and comfortable enough to say, ‘Hey, can I show my work here?'”
Atkinson also fosters that environment through transparency, noting that she works hard to be honest and upfront about costs and making sure artists get paid for their work. And because it’s a learning experience for her, too, Atkinson appreciates artists who she sees working hard and doing what they can to share their passion, even if it’s not through traditional avenues.
“The artists that I aim to connect with are people who are working through their own experiences through their art. Their most impactful form of self-expression is the work that they’re creating. Those are the people I want to be talking to
— the ones that are feeling, crying, loving, hating, laughing through what they’re making, they’re processing their experiences, they’re exploring their own ideas,” she said.
The gallery’s next solo exhibition will kick off in January, spotlighting work from Brooklyn-based mixed-media (including makeup!) artist Clara Rae and her collection featuring ceramics, textiles, and oil paints.