“Make a virtue of necessity” — that’s the way it goes during these times. Shakespeare’s phrase seems to be the motto of No Longer Empty, a project started in New York involving artists and curators who share the interest in new paradigms for the presentation of contemporary art.

No Longer Empty will organize a series of exhibitions utilizing empty storefronts in Manhattan and Brooklyn. “We see an opportunity here to create something positive from the current climate. Art can thrive in this environment and lead the way towards creative ways of thinking and dealing with these changes, ” states No Longer Empty co-founder and former Chelsea Art Museum curator Manon Slome.

Inaugurating the series is a group show which opened on June 18 (until July 18) occupying two storefronts at the Chelsea Hotel featuring a mixture of established and emerging artists, including 5 Chelsea Hotel residents: Guido Albi-Marini, Joseph Aloi, Rita Barros, Sam Bassett, Michael Bevilacqua, Alina and Jeff Bliumis, Scott Campbell, Tara de la Garza, Kate Gilmore, Mia Hanson, Noel Hennessy, Michael Mandiberg, Cheonwook Park, Diana Puntar, Bruce Richards, Raimundo Rubio, Linda and Lothar Troeller, Dani Tull, Marnie Weber. The show is organized by Manon Slome, Asher Remy-Toledo, Julian Navarro, Ivan Saragusti, Nunu Hung, Felicity Faulkner, Yasaman Hoorazar and Molly Ryan.

The next three shows, already planned and scheduled between July and September, will take place respectively at the Crown Plaza Hotel — with a project by Rebecca Bray and Britta Riley —, the Caledonia Building Storefronts and finally in a former belt factory in Brooklyn.

www.nolongerempty.com