brooklyn artists gym

ESTATE ART
When an artist passes away they leave behind an important body of work. The issue for the estate executors soon become what to do with a lifetime's worth of work. The BAG Fund's mission is to assist with the body of work of a deceased artist by curating, cataloguing, storing, showing and renting or selling work.

SUPPORT
The BAG Fund supports single parent artists and promising young artists by offering financial assistance towards BAG Artist-in Residencies, which offer artists studio space and an opportunity to exhibit work. Both single parents and young artists face limited funds and opportunities to pursue their art and the BAG Fund works towards supporting both demographics.

CONTRIBUTIONS AND NOMINATIONS
Contributions to The BAG Fund are tax-deductible. Please call Peter Wallace at 718.858.9069 or email bagfund@brooklynartistsgym.com. The Fifth Avenue Committee, a Brooklyn community development organization, is our fiscal sponsor.

If you would like to apply for one of our sponsored Residencies in Brooklyn Artists Gym, or have someone you'd like to nominate, please call or email bagfund@brooklynartistsgym.com.

HISTORY
The BAG Fund came into existence in the first place to support single-parent artists and promising young artists by giving them residencies in the Brooklyn Artists Gym, which allows them studio space and the opportunity to show their work. This is especially hard for artists who already have significant financial burdens and time constraints, such as a parent. We reasoned that since being a single parent is one of the most difficult things in the world to do, being a single-parent artist must be even harder. Why not give these people a gift? We also wanted to help young artists be taken seriously in their endeavors in an ongoing way, not just having a show or getting a little prize.

Then, just as we were incorporating as a non-profit, one of our board members, Stuart Shedletsky, passed away. Stuart was an incredible and widely respected painter, who had taught at Parsons School of Design for over 30 years, and had had exhibitions all over the country. In 1993, he organized and curated a seminal show entitled “Still Working” that featured the work of artists who were getting along in years. Many of them were still creating beautiful and important work, but the art establishment had generally ignored their more recent work. Stuart’s show brought them some well-deserved attention.

When Stuart died, he left an important body of work. The issue for his family became, What do you do with a lifetime’s worth of work? This inspired us at The BAG Fund to take it on as part of our mission: To assist families with the body of work of a deceased artist by curating, cataloguing, storing, showing and renting or selling work. We intend to develop a library from which people and organizations can lease or buy works of art, to put on shows in the Brooklyn Artists Gym Gallery, and to create an online presence for these artists.

Make more art, and keep it alive.