Twenty-four galleries on the Lower East Side in Manhattan have teamed up to launch the inaugural L.E.S Art Week, taking place from October 17 to October 21. Among the galleries participating are Brennan & Griffin, Foley Gallery, James Cohan, and Thierry Goldberg. Organized by Lesley Heller, founder of the eponymous gallery at 54 Orchard Street, and Bart Keijsers Koning, co-owner of LMAKgallery at 298 Grand Street, the event aims to boost gallery attendance and present programming—artist talks, tours, performances, and panel discussions—that will expand the visitors’ understanding of each individual gallery within the larger context of the Lower East Side.
“We came together as a group of galleries to create L.E.S Art Week motivated by our desire to share our unique gallery platforms and show off the Lower East Side as a cultural destination,” Heller and Keijsers Koning said in a statement. For the first iteration of the event, each gallery was asked to present themed exhibitions featuring the work of both emerging and established female artists. Gallery-goers will be able to see solo shows by Jill Baroff, Coady Brown, Rachel Monosov, Jessie Edelman, and Barb Smith, among others.
L.E.S Art Week has also partnered with the Two Percent, an audio-guide developer, and will offer a two-hour tour of the participating galleries and their histories. The audio guide will be available for purchase from Lesley Heller Gallery for $15. The initiative follows the inaugural edition of the Chelsea Art Walk, which was held earlier this year.