The Anchors
The icons of the neighborhood. Trusted, exciting, and always worth stepping into.
Last updated Oct 7, 2025
These are the art spaces with devoted followings,
that, over reams of zeitgeist-defining shows, have come to underpin the art soul of the neighborhood. Some spotlight trailblazing local artists; others have launched artists who now headline major museums. All of them draw in newcomers and keep the creative energy of the surrounding streets vibrating, and we’re grateful to them for it.
The Anchors
12 Venues
ArtEast Village
Swiss Institute
Get your brain whirring with global, intellectual art at this free museum that is smack dab in the center of St Mark’s Place.
38 St Marks Place
New York, NY 10003
ArtEast Village
Grey Art Museum
Global, diverse, and interdisciplinary exhibitions propel the conversation forward at NYU’s museum in history-drenched Cooper Square.
18 Cooper Square
New York, NY 10003
ArtEast Village
The Hole
Joyful, irreverent, and unfiltered, The Hole is where the conversations never end and the party is just getting started.
312 Bowery
New York, NY 10012
ArtLower East Side
Sperone Westwater
Bathe in the meditative light of world-celebrated artists in this breathtaking, Norman Foster-designed gallery.
257 Bowery
New York, NY 10002
ArtEast Village
Karma Gallery
This gallery, bookstore, and publishing house is pioneering a genre. Enjoy gentle, slow art that invites you to pause and step back from the fast pace of life.
188 East 2nd Street
New York, NY 10009
ArtLower East Side
Perrotin
A former fabric shop turned global art playground, Perrotin keeps Orchard Street buzzing with color, wit, and spectacle.
130 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
ArtLittle Italy
PARTICIPANT INC
A locally loved, black box (not white cube) alternative art space with superb shows of historic activist work and underground emerging artists.
116 Elizabeth Street, Floor One
New York, NY 10013
ArtLower East Side
601Artspace
Free-thinking young curators and artists light up the truth at this experimental non-profit on Eldridge Street.
88 Eldridge Street Rm 1755
New York, NY 10002
ArtLower East Side
Miguel Abreu Gallery
Poetic, philosophically-minded art in a cavernous floor-thru loft on Eldridge Street, where the ethereal light of the space meets the light behind the work.
88 Eldridge Street
New York, NY 10002
ArtLower East Side
Museum on Eldridge Street
Neighborhood history is revived in rotating exhibitions at this restored Synagogue from 1887. Don’t miss the glorious starry night rose window by contemporary artist Kiki Smith.
12 Eldridge Street
New York, NY 10002
These are the art spaces with devoted followings,
that, over reams of zeitgeist-defining shows, have come to underpin the art soul of the neighborhood. Some spotlight trailblazing local artists; others have launched artists who now headline major museums. All of them draw in newcomers and keep the creative energy of the surrounding streets vibrating, and we’re grateful to them for it.
The Anchors
12 VenuesArtEast Village
Swiss Institute
Get your brain whirring with global, intellectual art at this free museum that is smack dab in the center of St Mark’s Place.
38 St Marks Place
New York, NY 10003
ArtEast Village
Grey Art Museum
Global, diverse, and interdisciplinary exhibitions propel the conversation forward at NYU’s museum in history-drenched Cooper Square.
18 Cooper Square
New York, NY 10003
ArtEast Village
The Hole
Joyful, irreverent, and unfiltered, The Hole is where the conversations never end and the party is just getting started.
312 Bowery
New York, NY 10012
ArtLower East Side
Sperone Westwater
Bathe in the meditative light of world-celebrated artists in this breathtaking, Norman Foster-designed gallery.
257 Bowery
New York, NY 10002
ArtEast Village
Karma Gallery
This gallery, bookstore, and publishing house is pioneering a genre. Enjoy gentle, slow art that invites you to pause and step back from the fast pace of life.
188 East 2nd Street
New York, NY 10009
ArtLower East Side
Perrotin
A former fabric shop turned global art playground, Perrotin keeps Orchard Street buzzing with color, wit, and spectacle.
130 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
ArtLittle Italy
PARTICIPANT INC
A locally loved, black box (not white cube) alternative art space with superb shows of historic activist work and underground emerging artists.
116 Elizabeth Street, Floor One
New York, NY 10013
ArtLower East Side
601Artspace
Free-thinking young curators and artists light up the truth at this experimental non-profit on Eldridge Street.
88 Eldridge Street Rm 1755
New York, NY 10002
ArtLower East Side
Miguel Abreu Gallery
Poetic, philosophically-minded art in a cavernous floor-thru loft on Eldridge Street, where the ethereal light of the space meets the light behind the work.
88 Eldridge Street
New York, NY 10002
ArtLower East Side
Museum on Eldridge Street
Neighborhood history is revived in rotating exhibitions at this restored Synagogue from 1887. Don’t miss the glorious starry night rose window by contemporary artist Kiki Smith.
12 Eldridge Street
New York, NY 10002
ArtLower East Side
Reena Spaulings Fine Art
The brainchild of a real collective of artists that is every bit as glamorous and mysterious as its fictitious literary namesake.
165 East Broadway, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10002
ArtLower East Side
56 HENRY
There’s a renegade spirit at play here, a feeling that the party is just about to get started — and it's infectious.
56 Henry Street
New York, NY 10002
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