Sarah Darville The empty Milavec Hakimi Gallery space.There’s one less gallery along the Bowery.
After opening in September, the Milavec Hakimi Gallery has closed for good, leaving a darkened corner in Cooper Union’s imposing new academic building.
The gallery shared the ground floor of 51 Cooper Square with two other newcomers, Au Breve Espresso and the Preschool of the Arts, which may take over the space.
“We couldn’t really manage the rent,” said Karen Hakimi. “I think it was a little tough for a gallery, since it’s separate from all the other galleries. A lot of people thought it was a part of the school, and didn’t understand it was an independent gallery, not student work.” Read more…
From first to last: Gallery exterior, Nikki Milavec, Karen Hakimi, cafe, and art.
The New Museum recently announced a spin-off gallery at 231 Bowery, and now a pair of pop-up curators have opened the strip’s latest – just a little above the Bowery, actually, in the iconic Cooper Union New Academic Building at 41 Cooper Square. The Milavec Hakimi Gallery opened with a group show, “Hello World!” last Thursday. In two or three weeks, it will be joined by an adjacent cafe selling espresso, pastries, and tea.
The gallery’s founders, Nikki Milavec and Karen Hakimi, both 29, previously worked together at a pop-up gallery, Volume Black (before that, Ms. Milavec, a graduate of the Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London, ran another pop-up, Milavec Green, with a partner Adam Green). During the course of their two-plus years as colleagues, they decided to collaborate on a permanent space – preferably on the Bowery. Read more…
