Salt Space was a wildly successful social experiment at the forefront of creativity and entrepreneurship that was designed to reimagine the urban community arts center in a city where the arts are highly valued — though support is exceptionally exclusive. We provided accessible space to multiple communities, creating a unique experience in the city that never sleeps.
They said no one would ever come north of 14th street to listen to jazz — they were wrong. In our sunny 5,750 square foot, top floor loft with roof access on the corner of 27th and Broadway, artists presented their life’s work and performed their craft; change-makers and creatives shared and debated groundbreaking ideas; poets slammed, photographers collaborated and (jazz) musicians jammed. We nurtured relationships across many categories and genres of artists, creatives, musicians, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and more.
A high frequency of recurrence is critical to establishing strong affinity with an audience. We developed a curatorial strategy across a variety of subject matter areas — poetry, visual art, performance, music, thought leaders, etc. — in order to create a high frequency of events. This accomplished two goals: draw in new audiences based on their personal areas of interest and provide ongoing events they could easily return and trust the frequency of activity. This created an environment for the community to flourish across subject matter areas.
We hosted critically acclaimed poets for recurring poetry slams. We curated a monthly jazz concert series. Simon Sinek, Scott Belsky, Viktoria Harrison and many other brilliant thought leaders spoke about their experiences, beliefs, businesses and vision. We screened feature films and documentaries, hosted non-profit fundraisers, held exhibitions for the Fashion Institute and Parsons New School, presented the artistic work of incarcerated individuals, and so much more.
By hosting a wide range events each and every week, the community began to expect there was always something happening at Salt Space — the variation, variety and frequency created a stable expectation they came to trust and engage with consistently.
M. Scott Peck
American psychiatrist & best-selling author
Countless relationships have been forged through the communal experience we created at SaltSpace. Hundreds of individuals presented their life’s work, passions, expertise and more to thousands of individuals.
Hosted 150+ events that included partnering with DJ Spooky, aka Paul Miller, to host a (controversial) debut screening of Jean-Michel Basqiat: The Radiant Child by Tamra Davis; lectures by Simon Sinek, Scott Belsky, Dr. Kyra Gaunt and Viktoria Harrison to name a few; poetry slams with Anis Mojgani, Buddy Wakefield, Mike McGee, and others; the first exhibition of artwork created by inmates of the Alabama Federal Penitentiary; senior exhibitions from students at FIT and Parsons; the NYC premier exhibition from artist Jamey Grimes; and multiple musical performances in partnership with acclaimed critics and independent record labels.
Today, jazz thrives in the space that is now The Jazz Gallery, America's premier performance venue for emerging jazz musicians. Jazz lives on — and quite strong — north of 14th St.
Artists, creatives, designers, entrepreneurs, authors, musicians, poets and so many others shape our collective culture and shared history. By providing an accessible platform for personal and artistic expression for a season, Salt Space influenced the culture of New York City.
From exhibition curator to the janitor. Porter. Doorman. Painter. Audio Engineer. Bartender. Photographer. Designer. Developer. And so many more practical areas of responsibility.
Led the development of the overall strategy brand, marketing, community outreach, and some event coordination to drive rapid growth of events and attendance.
Built a wide range of relationships across multiple communities including visual arts, design, poetry, music, performance, education, non-profit, etc.
Curated and hosted multiple categories of events from concert series to lecture series to arts exhibitions to fundraisers.
Led a volunteer team of 15+ individuals to successfully build the organization, manage events, nurture community relationships, and raise funding.
Anis Mojgani
Champion of the National Poetry Slam and winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam
People and communities need a platform for expression — to engage in culture-bending ideas — that empowers the pursuit of their passion. While we had our own core values, we were agnostic as a platform so that we could focus on the interests and desires of the individual talent and the communities interacting at Salt Space.
To be human is to long for personal connection. In a city where anonymity increases with the density of population, providing opportunities for people to connect, learn, and engage can rapidly unite relationships with staying power.
Early on we believed that frequency was greater than singular subject matter. The consistency that an increased event frequency created brought in individuals across communities repeatedly. Initially, a person was drawn to a single event and it’s subject matter, but they came to see that Salt Space was a consistent venue for learning and varied experiences. This frequency strategy drove our retention and growth over time.
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