Art in General records
name: label: Creator
content: Art in General, Inc
label: Names
content: Block, Holly
topic: label: Occupation
content: Video artists
label: Occupation
content: Installation artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The records were donated by Art in General via Irene Shum, Executive Director, in 2020.
creator: label: Creator
content: Art in General, Inc
setName: label: See more items in
content: Art in General records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The records of Art in General, 1977-2019, measure 83.8 linear feet and comprehensively chronicle Art in General's exhibitions, programs, and long-standing commitment to diversity and equity in the arts. The collection includes administrative and board of director files, Holly Block Director files, exhibition and installation files, commission program files, artists in residence and fellowship files, public programming and event files, education program files, printed material, photographic material, and extensive sound and video recordings and born digital material.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Art in General (1981-2020) was a nonprofit arts organization in New York City that supported the creation and presentation of new work by local and international artists. Founded in 1981 by artists Martin Weinstein and Teresa Liszka, AIG organized more than 2,000 exhibitions and installations during its nearly 40 years in operation. The name of the organization stemmed from their original space in New York at the General Hardware Building at the heart of the Downtown art scene. In 2015, they relocated to Dumbo in Brooklyn, then to Long Island City in 2019, ultimately closing its doors on October 31, 2020. The organization focused on presenting art that was underrepresented in museums and commercial art galleries. A revolving advisory panel made up of artists selected future arts programming for Art in General each year. Artists who exhibited with AIG include Kay Walking Stick, Glenn Ligon, Patty Change, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Dorthea Rockburne, Gabriel Orzoco, and Godzilla Asian American Arts Network collective, among many others.
function: label: Function
content: Arts organizations -- New York (State)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 83.8 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1977-2019
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.artingen
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 11 series.

Series 1: Administrative Files and Board of Director Files, 1982-2015 (5.7 linear feet: Boxes 1-6, 78, OV 96)

Series 2: Holly Block Director Files, 1987-2006 (4.6 linear feet: Boxes 6-10)

Series 3: Exhibition and Installation Files, 1980-2015 (36.8 linear feet: Boxes 11-47, 77-78)

Series 4: Commission Program Files, 1992-2017 (5.4 linear feet: Boxes 47-51, 94-95)

Series 5: Artists in Residence and Fellowship Files, 1988-2000 (4.5 linear feet: Boxes 52-56, 77)

Series 6: Public Programming and Event Files, 1981-2017 (2.5 linear feet: Boxes 56-58)

Series 7: Education Program Files, 1977-2006 (2.2 linear feet: Boxes 59-61, 77)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1983-2019 (3.9 linear feet: Boxes 61-65, 77)

Series 9: Photographic Material, 1980-circa 2012 (11.5 linear feet: Boxes 65-77)

Series 10: Sound and Video Recordings, circa 1990s-circa 2005 (3.2 linear feet: Boxes 79-86)

Series 11: Born Digital Material, circa 1980s-circa 2019 (3.5 linear feet: Boxes 87-93)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection received a preliminarily level of arrangement after donation in 2022 by Jennifer Neal. The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Anna Rimel in 2024.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The records of Art in General, 1977-2019, measure 83.8 linear feet and comprehensively chronicle Art in General's exhibitions, programs, and long-standing commitment to diversity and equity in the arts. The collection includes administrative and board of director files, Holly Block Director files, exhibition and installation files, commission program files, artists in residence and fellowship files, public programming and event files, education program files, printed material, photographic material, and extensive sound and video recordings and born digital material.

Administrative files document the daily operations of Art in General, and Board of Director files include meeting minutes and board books, as well as Board communications. Research, programming, and projects related to the history of Art in General are found among the Art in General 25th Anniversary Files, and Holly Block's 18 years as director of Art in General, from 1988 to 2006, are documented through her files. The New Commission Program was established at AIG to allow artists to apply for temporary commission projects for a range of installations, which are documented in the Commission Program administrative and artist files. Other AIG programming supporting artists included the Artist in Residence Program and the Bloomberg Curatorial Fellowship Program, and files document artist projects, installations, and exhibitions, as well as guest curator projects for exhibitions and installations at Bloomberg Tower in New York. Other public programming and event files include panels, talks, tours, dinners, and receptions. The Education Program at AIG supported art-related work with public schools in New York City as well as arts work as a member of the Art Benefits All Coalition Alternative (ABACA), a partnership of downtown New York not-for-profit visual and performing arts organizations that also included Artists Space, Franklin Furnace Archive, The Drawing Center, and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and files reflect these projects as well as others, such as Project Reach. 

Exhibition and installation files make up a large part of the collection, and document special installation programs, such as the "Audio in the Elevator" sound installations in Art in General's elevators; window installations in Art in General's gallery windows; video installations and video projects; and general exhibitions that were local, touring, and internationally based. Exhibitions and installations were generally applied for by artists, reviewed by peer review panels, then underwent extensive budget considerations. 

Extensive sound and video recordings, as well as born digital files, are included in the collection, as well as a range of printed and photographic material.