Exhibiting at Synagogue for the Arts

The Art Gallery at the Synagogue for the Arts is a large, well-lit multipurpose room in which shows are professionally hung and presented. It presents some unique opportunities for showing your art, as well as a few constraints.

The Gallery serves as the social hall for the Synagogue, and is a space that is used for worship on a daily basis. That means that some people will get to live with the art over a period of time, and they will experience it in a richer, more complex way than they would by seeing it a single time in a gallery. Sometimes the art may jar them into responding, and at other times it will envelop them. It means that it will work its way into the life of all of our Hebrew school children. The art will form the backdrop for simchas like weddings and b'nai mitzvot. During the High Holy Days, 200 to 500 people will see the exhibits each day.

The multipurpose nature of the space also imposes some limitations on what we can exhibit. For example, the perennial theme of the nude is not appropriate here, nor would an exhibit themed on the horrors of the Holocaust be fitting. This is in no way a judgment on these forms of art, simply recognition that not all art will be suitable for or well-served by this Gallery.

The Gallery hosts a new solo or group exhibition every six weeks throughout the year. Exhibitions are curated by the Gallery Committee. We provide free exhibition space, listing in the Tribeca section of the Gallery Guide, participation in TOAST (Tribeca Open Artists' Studio Tours), website exposure, and press releases to art critics and all local publications.

We have a curator who can be hired to help you hang your works. We contribute modestly to openings. Food and drink must be kosher.

Art works are selected without regard to the religion, ethnicity or race of the artist, through a review of slides and proposals submitted to the Gallery Committee, which has met regularly since 1994. Each show lasts five to six weeks which means that we show seven or more artists each year, depending on whether the shows are solo or group.

Although we are interested primarily in showing distinctive fine art by local emerging and under-represented mature artists, we welcome submissions from any artist in the five boroughs and beyond.

If you are interested in exhibiting, download the application from this page. For information about the Gallery, call 212-966-7141.

Application to Exhibit