Gay art is going above ground. LLGAF is busy preparing our move to 26 Wooster St. in Soho. We have successfully leaped the lion’s share of the hurdles for all our permits. We have approval from the Landmarks Commission and the coop also located in the building at 26 Wooster. Our plans are with the NYC Department of Buildings and all permits should be in our hands by the time these words are in print.
Anthony Pellino ASID and Charles Leslie have been feverishly working out the details of the overall renovation (see Anthony’s article Queer Space in The Archive Number 16, Spring 2005.) The space may look pristine in the photo above but what it does not show is that the floor is as wavy as the ocean. We were advised from the beginning to do the renovation right or we would forever be renovating piecemeal when we are in the space and conducting business.
A first thought on the floor was to shim up the supporting beams below. The truth of the matter is that these huge old timbers from the early 1860s would sooner snap than bend. So the existing floor
is being stripped out, and a level subfloor installed and sheathed in quarter sawed wide plank oak flooring. In one area the flooring will sweep up one wall to meet the ceiling.
The ceiling is another nightmarish antiquity and needs to be entirely skim-coated to become perfectly level and smooth as glass.
The walls are being clad in 1-inch plywood before being sheet rocked. This will allow for secure hanging of large artwork, some pieces never shown in our 127-B Prince St. location. Wall-size panels are being designed which can swing out for added exhibition footage when required.
An elliptical sweeping reception desk will be placed in the front of the space with much needed workspaces and art storage beyond the gallery space.
And for any of you who have ever attended an LLGAF opening, you will be pleased to know that central air is being installed.
Schedule permitting we will open in the Spring of 2006. We are looking forward to a flurry of activity once demolition begins.
NB: 9/26/05. Work has begun on the space -- walls are down and the floor is being dismantled. Let's hope construction remains on schedule.
