Hallwalls

[2] Hallwalls was established by Charles Clough, Robert Longo, Diane Bertolo, Nancy Dwyer, Larry Lundy, Cindy Sherman and Michael Zwack in 1974 in a converted ice packing warehouse, the Essex Art Center, which had been converted into studios for artists.

Works from varying mediums, which include film, video, performance art, music, painting, photography, and sculpture, have come together since the beginning, to confront the prevailing social issues of contemporary culture.

During this time, the curators found it increasingly difficult to counterbalance the initial intentions of the founders, which were to create a space where artists could freely show works that were not creations sponsored or funded by corporate interests, and grow as an arts institution that could serve the largest possible audience.

In January 2006, Hallwalls moved into its new home, which it shares with Righteous Babe Records, at 341 Delaware Ave., in a former Asbury Methodist Church, purchased by Ani DiFranco.

The annual literary festival, Babel, which Hallwalls co-sponsors, featured a reading by Michael Ondaatje, the winner of the 1992 Man Booker Prize for The English Patient, in 2008.