Arts Organization Chashama and NY City Council Member Kallos To Celebrate Immigrant Artists and their works of Art
New York, NY - Chashama and New York City Council Member Ben Kallos will celebrate the opening of the art nonprofit’s new gallery featuring four shows by immigrant 
“To me, art is simple, it is filling a space with something beautiful. And that is exactly what ChaShama has once again managed to do here; display great artwork for people to see. I am proud to have partnered with ChaShaMa to cut the ribbon at this location. The Upper East Side welcomes the installation and appreciates the dedication it took for the artists to complete it. The community and I are grateful for the art and are looking forward to many more works of art that will be displayed at this space as time goes on, said Council Member Ben Kallos.
“We’re thrilled to present the works of these diverse artists,” said Chashama Founder and Artistic Director Anita Durst. “This gallery is a beautiful example of what happens when we elevate and celebrate the art of the immigrants who live in our city.”
The gallery, donated to Chashama generously through St. Tropez and renovated into a presentation space by the nonprofit, boasts window fronts privy to highly-trafficked streets in the Lenox Hill neighborhood of Manhattan Upper East Side, giving coveted space to the artists to present and engage with the community.
Chashama supports artists by partnering with property owners to transform unused real estate into spaces for artists to create, present, and connect. In the last year, the organization awarded $8.6 million worth of real estate to artists and gave 150 artists free space to present. Immigrant artists presenting at 340 East 64th St. are part of Chashama’s Space to Connect program, which partners with artists to provide free community public art classes and is funded in part through a Cultural Immigrant Initiative grant from Council Member Kallos.
Donso and De Los Angeles exhibition investigates systemic problems in immigration and explores how conversations surrounding the issues are intertwined with racism, xenophobia, and classism. Rivas and Vasquez’s Stories of our Ancestors looks to explores the role of family and the strong value it plays in Latin American cultures. The group shows WhereElse? explores the role of diversity and being an immigrant artist in the present political climate in the US through a variety of mediums, such as painting, sculpture, installation, video, digital animation, and performance.
For more information about Chashama, visit www.chashama.org, and to see upcoming events organized by Council Member Ben Kallos, visit BenKallos.com/Events.