On 10th and A, Deer Gallery debuts with some 'Crispy Critters'

EVG photo from early 2023 

On Tuesday, we gave you a look inside The Joyce Theater's new arts venue on the NW corner of Avenue A and 10th Street. 

As noted, The Joyce has made available a handful of studios at subsidized rates for dance artists. There are also studios open for local dance companies and businesses to hold rehearsals, auditions classes, workshops ... or other gallery-arts uses. 

And one of these studios is now home to Deer Gallery, whose inaugural exhibit debuts this evening (May 25!) from 6-8 with "Steven Hirsch: Crispy Critters." 

The show features nearly 40 paintings and drawings that Hirsch, a longtime  East Village resident, created from 2020-2023. (We got a sneak preview of some of these here.) 

Per the gallery:

In frenzied images that illustrate dreamlike escapades, coupled with memories of waking hours witnessing the violence and antisocial behavior of our times, Steven Hirsch renders his biography and life's experiences in high color and surreal compositions.

The exhibit is up through July 1. After tonight's opening, hours are Saturday 12-5 p.m. and by appointment. 

Find the gallery's website at this link. 

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Steven Hirsch's CoronaLand

Inside the new home of The Joyce, which aims to be a hub for the performing arts in the East Village

Photos by Stacie Joy 

News arrived in February that the Chelsea-based Joyce Theater signed a one-year lease for the former Boys' Club of New York, the 7-story building at 287 E. 10th St. and Avenue A. 

The nonprofit organization was soon in a soft-open mode. The Joyce has made available a handful of studios at subsidized rates for dance artists, including space specifically for tap and percussive artists. There are also studios open for local dance companies and businesses to hold rehearsals, auditions classes, workshops ... or other gallery-arts uses. (Deer Gallery unveils its inaugural exhibit on Thursday featuring work by East Village-based photographer-artist Steven Hirsch.) 

As Joyce Foundation officials announced in February:

The Joyce aims to continue offering community services and amenities with an emphasis on the performing arts and especially dance. Eventually, The Joyce Theater Foundation hopes to make the Tompkins Square Park-adjacent building a hub for local and international artists and companies alike as they create works that will reach audiences across the city and around the world.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy recently toured the 58,000-square-foot building ...

... with Lou Albruzzese, director of operations at The Joyce...

Here's a look inside, starting in a Joyce office... 

... Stacie also had permission to visit a few of the rehearsal spaces ...

After this first-year lease, The Joyce "intends to purchase the building to share this valuable arts-community resource on a permanent basis." 

According to a statement earlier this year from Joyce officials: 

The purchase, facilitated by real-estate adviser Paul Wolf of Denham Wolf Real Estate Services, is contingent upon the success of fundraising efforts over the course of the coming year. These additional funds are vital in supporting the renovation of the building, completing its transformation into an extraordinary — and much-needed — destination for the performing arts.

After 121 years on the corner, the Boys' Club moved out of the Harriman Clubhouse this past summer.

As we first reported in June 2018, the Boys' Club put the building on the sales market. At the time, Stephen Tosh, BCNY's executive director and CEO, said the sale of the East Village building would allow the organization to start new programs in other neighborhoods needing its services. 

In August 2019, Crain's first reported that Aaron Sosnick, an East Village resident and founder of the investment fund A.R.T. Advisors LLC, was the new owner of the Harriman Clubhouse. He bought it for $31.725 million and reportedly planned to sell the property, "potentially at a substantial loss," to a nonprofit that would maintain its civic use.

E.H. Harriman founded the Boy's Club in 1876. The Harriman Clubhouse on 10th Street and Avenue A opened in 1901.

Let's dance: The Joyce Theater is the new tenant for the former Boys' Club on 10th and A

You could lay to rest for now any concerns that the former Boys' Club of New York will become condos. 

As The New York Times first reported, the Joyce Theater, which debuted in 1982, has signed a lease with plans to purchase the 7-story building at 287 E. 10th St. and Avenue A. 

Per the Times:

The sale is contingent upon the Joyce being able to raise the $21 million needed to secure funding for the first phase of the renovation. A renovation is projected to cost from $50 million to $55 million and to take about three years to complete.

Officials from the Joyce Foundation posted this statement on Instagram: 

We hope the acquisition of this space will forward our commitment to artists, beyond the work taking place on our Chelsea stage. In our mission to serve the dance community, we envision this new building will offer essential studio space, fostering ideation and the creation of movement. 

Our plans for the 58,000-square-foot (and column-free!) building include rehearsal studios and small-scale performance spaces. 

Officials said that they will also rent out space to other dance-theater companies. 

After 121 years on the corner, the Boys' Club moved out of the Harriman Clubhouse this past summer.

As we first reported in June 2018, the Boys' Club put the building on the sales market. At the time, Stephen Tosh, BCNY's executive director and CEO, said the sale of the East Village building would allow the organization the opportunity to start new programs in other neighborhoods in need of its services. (To be clear, the Boys' Club decided to sell their building — they were not forced out. The building was pitched for educational purposes as well as residential conversion.)

In August 2019, Crain's first reported that Aaron Sosnick, an East Village resident and founder of the investment fund A.R.T. Advisors LLC, was the new owner of the Harriman Clubhouse. He bought it for $31.725 million and reportedly planned to sell the property, "potentially at a substantial loss," to a nonprofit that would maintain its civic use.

E.H. Harriman founded the Boy's Club in 1876. The Harriman Clubhouse on 10th Street and Avenue A opened in 1901.