Galapagos Art Space, a Williamsburg club that regularly showcases a ukulele-quintet, a hula-hoop burlesquer and avant-garde puppeteers, is striking out into new territory.
Try Berlin, Beijing and Bombay.
In a bold new move that should further enhance its standing in the New York art scene, Galapagos plans to open outlets in those three far-flung cities and establish a rotating crop of resident-artists among all four venues.
The project will begin next summer with the opening of a 300-seat space in the eastern part of the reunified-and-hot Berlin, followed by similar spots in Beijing two years later and Bombay in 2012.
“It’s a part of our mission to bring an international element to the city,” Robert Elmes, director of Galapagos, told GO Brooklyn. “We want to take emerging artists from New York, send them on tour and bring other artists here.”
Elmes hopes this cross-pollination will enrich the arts in Brooklyn. “It’s the best thing that we can do for the borough,” he said.
Like so many things, the main reason for the expansion is rising rent, Elmes said. High overhead has hurt low-budget emerging acts, which Elmes calls “the canaries in New York City’s real estate gold mine.”
He fears the city may already be losing young artists to places with far cheaper rents, such as Austin, Portland and Chicago.
“As rents go up, it gets increasingly difficult to put music and art together in this city,” Elmes said. “So we think it’s absolutely vital and critical to create an environment that will attract artists from around the country and around the world.”
Not that opening international locations is a cheap endeavor. “We’re hoping to fund it through the revenue we’ve produced or find local partners,” Elmes said.
“In order to survive in this economic climate, we need to get bigger, and by bigger I don’t mean that we intend to be like BAM [Brooklyn Academy of Music] one day. We want to grow to be a bigger and better Galapagos.”
Adam Forest Huttler, executive director of the non-profit arts group Fractured Atlas, said the threat of a diminished arts presence in New York is very real.
“It’s already happening and we’ve got a rapidly closing window of opportunity to do something to make sure that the arts can retain a presence here,” he said.
Huttler said Galapagos was a “trailblazer” in this respect, and that Elmes has proved “there is a way to be a successful venue in this city without compromising your artistic integrity.”
It hasn’t been an easy ride for Galapagos. It took almost three years of struggling to pay rent before it could permanently open in June 1998. In December 2005, the rent on its North Sixth Street space was hiked by $10,000, a staggering amount for a small venue.
“We were able to make the jump by reinventing ourselves and doubling our programming,” said Elmes.
In the coming year, Galapagos faces an additional rent increase of 30 to 40 percent, but Elmes is confident in the space’s future.
“We’ve always tried to respond and bring great programs to our audiences,” he said.
While Galapagos doesn’t aspire to be the next BAM, Elmes credits some of its success to BAM’s paternal influence.
“BAM will be a big part of our ability to achieve our dreams,” he said. “Every venue needs a Big Sister, and we’d like to think that they’re ours. Their interest in us and their advice and the fact that they care is inspiring and comforting, and makes us braver and more confident.”
This month, Galapagos, along with several other small clubs and art spaces, is partnering with BAM in “Brooklyn Next,” a series of concerts featuring emerging and established Brooklyn artists.
“It’s absolutely imperative to partner with like-minded institutions like BAM,” Elmes said. “It reflects a necessity to bring in new audiences.”
BAM Executive Producer Joseph Melillo, the man largely responsible for “Brooklyn Next,” said Galapagos “adds authenticity” to the BAM program.
“It’s absolutely necessary,” he said. “Galapagos does a very different kind of art than BAM, and that’s exciting for us.”
Elmes returned the favor.
“What BAM is doing is visionary,” he said. “‘Brooklyn Next’ is one of the best things to happen to Brooklyn in the last five to six years. It’s a project that believes in Brooklyn and puts the best Brooklyn artists in front of the best audience in the world.”
“Galapagos Art Space Presents: A Night of Marching Bands and Circus Antics,” part of “Brooklyn Next,” will take place on Feb. 23 and “Galapagos Art Space Presents: Galapagos Art Space presents: ART JAM” will take place on Feb. 24, both at BAMCafe (30 Lafayette Ave. at Ashland Place in Fort Greene). For information call (718) 636-4100 or visit www.bam.org.
