Seth Tobocman’s Space, How-U-Get-it (1998), tells the story of how the art space ABC No Rio was the unplanned byproduct of the Real Estate Show, an illegally mounted exhibition in a city owned building. Tobocman’s freestanding kiosk, shaped like a giant bolt cutter, is a highlight in the current exhibition ABC No Rio 45 Years at the Emily Harvey Foundation at 537 Broadway. Photo by Katherine Jánszky Michaelsen
Breaking into an abandoned city-owned building and mounting an exhibition about real estate abuses, might not seem to be the best way to get city support, but it certainly worked for the art space ABC No Rio. Although the artists who seized the building were quickly evicted, the city was ready to compromise and offered them a rundown space at 156 Rivington St. When this arrangement was made in 1980, everyone thought that it was temporary. But the artists held on, brought the building up to code, and over the years raised enough money for a completely new building. Construction of the new ABC No Rio began in July 2024 with Department of Cultural Affairs commissioner Laurie Cumbo attending the groundbreaking ceremony. The new building is expected to open in early 2026.
As its origin story demonstrates, ABC No Rio is not your typical art space. Founded by artists connected with the politicized artist group Collaborative Projects Inc (aka Colab), the space has been run since the late-1990s by a collective of punks, anarchists, squatters and artists, and is now known internationally as a venue for oppositional culture that caters to disaffected youth and marginalized subcultures.
The retrospective exhibition ABC No Rio 45 Years at the Emily Harvey Foundation (537 Broadway, 2nd Floor) includes No Rio’s entire history with sections on the Colab period: the “GayBC” years; the space’s connection to the squatting movement; its Saturday Punk and Hardcore matinees; and its evolution under director Steven Englander into a full-fledged DIY community arts center. You can learn more about the exhibition and its many special events at the ABC No Rio 45 Years website.
Marc H Miller of Gallery 98 had strong connection with ABC No Rio during its early years, and is the co-editor with Alan W. Moore (the driving force behind this retrospective exhibition) of the book ABC No Rio Dinero: The Story of a Lower East Side Art Gallery (1985). To learn more about No Rio and to purchase original vintage ephemera visit Gallery 98’s No Rio page and Real Estate Show page.
The groundbreaking at the site of the proposed new ABC No Rio arts center. From the article “How the Anarchists at ABC No Rio Got the City to Build Them an Arts Center on the Lower East Side.” From the online publication Hell Gate (owned and run by journalists covering New York City).
Kiki Smith, ABC No Rio The Island of Negative Utopia, Silkscreen Print on Cloth, Signed & Numbered (51/70), 1984. Size: 20 x 26 inches — Available
Kiki Smith, an early ABC No Rio regular, created this limited edition print in 1985 to help raise money for the printing of Alan Moore and Marc Miller’s ABC No Rio Dinero: The Story of a Lower East Side Art Gallery. Joseph Nechvatal’s phrase “Island of Negative Utopia” captures the irony of a creative renaissance emerging in a rundown, slum-like neighborhood.
Alan Moore and Marc Miller, ABC No Rio Dinero: The Story of a Lower East Side Art Gallery, Cover bv Joseph Nechvatal, 220-Page Book, 1985. Size: 9 x 11.5 inches — Available
This independently published book includes a full collection of pictures and articles covering the first five years of ABC No Rio. The first part of the book provides a context for the gallery and includes sections on Collaborative Projects Inc (Colab), Fashion/Moda, Group Material, PADD, and the emergence of the East Village as an art center. The second part of the book is a catalogue featuring all of the exhibitions and performances that took place at ABC No Rio during its first years. An abridged version of the book is online at 98bowery.com.
Alan Moore and Marc Miller, ABC No Rio Dinero: The Story of a Lower East Side Art Gallery, promotional poster/flyer, 1985. Size: 14 x 18 inches — Available
This poster/flyer promoting the ABC No Rio book includes artwork by John Morton, Tom Warren, Kiki Smith, Becky Howland, Paulette Nenner, Bobby G, and the ABC No Rio Cardboard Band. There is also a list of the names of people featured in the book that includes Leonard Abrams, John Ahearn, Amiri Baraka, Martha Cooper, Diego Cortez, Edit deAk, Jane Dickson, Richard Hambleton, Lucy Lippard, Carlo McCormick, Tom Otterness, Cara Perlman, Judy Rifka, Bimbo Rivas, Walter Robinson, Tim Rollins, Christy Rupp, and Robin Winters.
ABC No Rio Dinero: Ephemera from the Gallery’s First Five Years
