Ruby/Dakota opens on 2nd Street: Gallery is a tribute to family legacy and personal healing

Photos by Stacie Joy

Ruby/Dakota debuted late last month at 155 E. Second St., just east of Avenue A.

Hannah Studnick operates the gallery and performance space.

"It has been a lifelong dream of mine to open a gallery in Alphabet City, the neighborhood my maternal grandfather was born in, the same place where my first cousin returned many years later and founded C-Squat," Studnick told EVG. "After my twin sister Emma's untimely passing in 2018, my whole world broke open. I slowly started moving toward this physical and emotional space of 'Gallerist.'"

The retail space, whose tenants have included the previous home of School for the Dogs, was the lone storefront that Studnick saw on her EV retail tour.

"In the end, the gallery found me. It was the only space I looked at," she said. "I knew from the moment I walked in this was Ruby/Dakota, a name that manifested from a distant memory — the names my mother would have given us if she had chosen more wisely."

The gallery's first group show, "Home is You, Right Now," is up through Sept. 6. 

Here's a look at opening night back on July 25.

Featured works include "East Village Date Night" by Lee Smith...

Other artists in the show include Kate Awalt-Conley ...

... Sacha Alexandra ...

... and Julia Justo ...

Ruby/Dakota is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays and Mondays are by appointment. The gallery's website has contact information and details on other events in the space. (If you're on Instagram, you can find updates here.)

"I do this for my twin sister Emma, my family, myself, and most importantly, the living artists of New York City, who do deserve our support, who make this place alive, and the greatest city on earth, naturally," Studnick said. "Through this room of my own, I am able to tell the truth as I see it and allow so many wonderful artists to share theirs, too. It is an honor and a privilege. I am so grateful to be here. "