Despite rumors on the internets, Galapagos Art Space is not closing. (See comment 9 in the link by director Robert Elmes.)

By the way, Galapagos has one of the most awesome mission statements ever:

The most basic function of the arts is to be relevant in the advancement of society.

Galapagos does not accept government grants or public funding of any kind. We believe that if the work we present is strong, communicative, and effective, we will survive.

If we don't produce strong, communicative and effective work then we won't survive - we're not feeding the hungry: we make art. If we can't be grown-up about that and stand up on our own, then we don't think we'd have anything interesting to tell you anyway.

This is New York City. One of the greatest cultural cities to have ever risen; perhaps the greatest. We're not sitting around dreaming of the grant we applied for.

We have our whole lives to live and that is terribly important.

Culture should reflect that clearly.

Related on a personal note: This seems like ages ago due to the extreme ups and downs of the past four years, but it also seems more familiar than it has in a long time. Back in '02 some good friends and colleagues came to see me speak in New York. Through some combination of fate, determination and dumb luck, we now get to make art together every day, which is pretty awesome.