A local's guide to art life in downtown NYC.

Our list/map of the coolest art spaces with the warmest welcomes. Plus the neighborhood places where art locals go to eat, drink, shop, and relax.

Art SpacesLower East Side

www.willshott

Meet the art dealer whose jewelry has been worn by hip-hop legends and is now collaborating with wave-making contemporary artists.

ShopLower East Side

Aeon Books

Get lost in thought - and play your favourite vinyls - at this dream bookstore. Sift through the smart and soulful collections of art, spirituality, philosophy, fiction.

Art SpacesLower East Side

Olfactory Art Keller

Immerse yourself in scented objects, olfactory experiences and smell performances, in this innovative Lower East Side (LES) gallery directed by neurologist-philosopher Andreas Keller.

ShopLower East Side

Atelier Jolie

As in, Angelina. A creative hub bringing together fashion designers and art people in a historic two-storey building on Great Jones, where Warhol and Basquiat once worked.

Eat & DrinkLower East Side

Patacon Pisao

Locals flock to the sky-blue doors of this Venezuelan street food spot. Join them for Patacón sandwiches and arepas washed down with cold passion fruit juice.

Art SpacesEast Village

MARCH

East Village vibes meet Southern warmth inside this double-wide storefront on Avenue A where you can expect a mix of up-and-coming NYC painters and artists exploring Black craft traditions.

Eat & DrinkEast Village

Lucien

A longtime French friend of the neighborhood. Lucien is the place to come for Parisian bistro specialities like Escargots de Bourgogne and Moules Marinière.

Art SpacesNoLita

Company Gallery

Get immersed in utopian futures with feminist and queer art and artists at this graffiti-covered street-level gallery with subterranean speakeasy.

Art SpacesLower East Side

Blade Study

Internet explorers, anime theorists, and memetic mythmakers are looking to escape the algorithm inside this tiny, but mighty, storefront gallery.

Art SpacesLower East Side

Below Grand

In a display window and closet in a Chinese kitchen supply store on Orchard Street and a storefront on Allen Street, artist-and-curator rebels stage experimental shows that stretch art world rules.

ShopLower East Side

Montana Shop NYC

The flagship of this sprawling art supply store. They’ve been selling art supplies for over 20 years. This is where the best graffiti artists come to get their cans.

Art SpacesLower East Side

LAAMS

Books, clothes, records, and art span floor to ceiling to the soundtrack of DJ-spun records at this graffiti and skater-vibe Orchard Street gallery. By the neighborhood, for the neighborhood.

Art SpacesLower East Side

Magenta Plains

High-concept, anti-establishment art fills a three-story building just off the Gilded Age gateway to the historic Manhattan Bridge.

Art SpacesEast Village

Grey Art Museum

NYU shows us how a university museum is done, with superbly-curated, context-driven shows right in the middle of historic Cooper Square.

Eat & DrinkLower East Side

Little Canal

Catch a little whiff of California in the center of Dimes Square. Locals flock to this corner spot for coffee, cocktails, and Hangover Wraps before (or after) hitting the galleries of Henry Street.

ShopLower East Side

Only New York

The brainchild of NYC skateboarders. Pick up a piece of cult memorabilia. The kind of souvenirs you want on your desk - MTA desk light? Garbage can for your pens? Plus the latest apparel collections, special collabs, and in-store exclusives.

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