Nexus has a very interesting show that be will be up until February 6. We were there yesterday and the live broadcast was in full swing, the antique radios were lined up and Nick Cassway was refreshing a keg of beer. Nexus is an artist-run, non-profit, gallery space that has been around forever and is now located in the Crane Building. Visit this link for all the details.
Nexus keeps regular hours and you don't have to worry about whether someone will be there. But, that is not the case with many galleries, especially some of the newer spaces. The plan was to visit a number of spaces yesterday, but by the end of the day we were pretty disappointed. I did do some homework beforehand and wrote email to a few galleries to check their hours. In at least three cases they wrote back saying they were "re-organizing" or closed. While driving through Northern Liberties, we tried a few spaces that I didn't write and some of those were also closed. A few were open too, but the point is, call or write before you go. I have also noticed that some sources that list shows still have galleries posted that are closed. In fact, I know of one that has numerous galleries that have been out of business, some for over a year.
It is always a big loss when a gallery closes, there are not enough places for artists to show as it is, galleries help bring life to neighborhoods, and they add to the cultural fabric of the greater Philadelphia area. Hopefully these spaces will be back and the remaining galleries will stay afloat in these tough times.
