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Sculptor lost her studio 9.9.17

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SCULPTOR  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS  and MALCOLM X  LOST   HER  STUDIO, SHE IS ASKING FOR HELP TO RENT A WORKSPACE    
9.9.  2017

Dear Friends and Supporters

Since 1982  I have devoted my life to creating public sculptures of great men and women of African American history .
My public sculptures in NYC :
Malcolm X  (Shabazz Center NYC) and  
Frederick Douglass (Frederick Douglass  Circle NYC) You can see some  of my work and my Resume  on my website ,  here 



​​IN JULY 2O17 ​I MOVED OUT OF MY SCULPTURE STUDIO ​ because I was not able to find a sculpture job and I was not able to pay my rent.

​Since this day ​I am trying to organize my new
life ​without a work space , and without a computer.
I can not use my big desktop computer (which is in storage) because I share my very small​ East Village ​ apartment , and my room is only 9' x 6.5'​ . In this little room I can only sleep, and there is no room for a desktop computer . For the last 40 years since I am living in NYC this is the first time  I do not have a sculpture studio.I can    not work and earn aliving without a workspace.

All my sculptures are in a temporary storage in a wet basement in Brooklyn where they are not safe at all​.​
1.
If an other hurricane comes like the one we had before: all my painted plaster sculptures all my tools and all my paper documents  will be under water. 
2.
​If I do not move my sculptures out of this temporary storage in a few months​ ​all my work will be​ thrown to the dumpsters or ​ disposed in a way so I will not be able to have them again.I can not talk about this any more.
I​ am terrified of the possibility of loosing all my sculptures if I do not move out from the wet basement in time. (about 6 mo.)​

It is the first time in 40 years that I am looking for  r a sculpture commission without a sculpture studio.
It will be very difficult to find sculpture work without a studio, but I do not have a choice, I ​am trying it anyway.​
​​​​I am looking for work as ​ a​ free lance ​ "ghost sculptor "​. ​I can work for professional sculptors who have​ a ​ public or private sculpture commission​ and a big sculpture studio​ where I can work on the sculpture of my client under his or her direction.
This way I ​will ​ be able to earn a living and save  money to rent my own sculpture studio again. I would greatly appreciate if you could recommend me to other sculptors who could benefit from my experience, expertise, and knowledge.

First time I lost  my studio in April 20​1​6 after 19 years in Brooklyn as a result of gentrification. My rent was doubled to $3,000.00 a month, and after paying this rent for ten months while I was not able to work and earn a living,​ ​I ran out of all my money.​ ​The only reason I was able to move​ was​ because I got a loan from ​ a couple of friends.​

​​Second time I lost my sculpture studio​ was​ in July 2017 ​ because ​​ ​I was not able to find any work ​, ​ loan or any grant after applying ​many ​different emergency grants in 2017.​ I became totally impoverished and without any work or any income​.​​

The only reason I was able to eat and pay for my minimum expenses ​was​ because sometimes people sent me ​a ​little money through ​this GoFundMe fundraising website.​ ​I am very grateful for these life saving donations , but they are unpredictable and I am looking for work​ right now​​​

​​After I moved to a new studio in Brooklyn​ (April 2016)​, I was not able to find work for 6 months, and when I found a permanent ​source of public art commissions (for all over the USA) I was not able to apply because I did not have the money in the bank to pay for my minimum expenses during the time I need to work on these public art commissions​.​

​​Dear Friends, 

I am looking for work as ​ a​ free lance ​ "ghost sculptor "​. ​I can work for professional sculptors who have​ a ​ public or private sculpture commission​ and a big sculpture studio​ where I can work on the sculpture of my client under his or her direction.
This way I ​will ​ be able to earn a living and save enough money to rent my own sculpture studio again. I would greatly appreciate if you could recommend me to other sculptors who could benefit from my experience, expertise, and knowledge.​

TOTAL ESTIMATED COST OF RENTING A SCULPTURE  STUDIO IN NYC  July 2017

Three Mo. rent deposit :                                      $ 6,000.00 
Three Mo   rent                                                          $ 6,000.00
Three Mo. min. living, working expenses  $ 3,000.00
(until I find a job)
Moving expenses                                                      $ 3,000.00

 Total                                                                                 $ 18, 000.00

 When  I have a studio, my monthly expenses are
$  3,000.00 including food. After I found  a studio  and a sculpture commission I will ask $ 3-6,000.00 less because I will be able to pay for my minimum living and working expenses and for the rent of my sculpture studio..

Thank you very much for your help.
Gabriel Koren sculptor    

“She is one of a kind...Very few have the talent and commitment this type of work requires.”
Reina Shibata, Deputy Director of NYC Department of Cultural Affairs 2017

"The importance of Gabriel's work to the people of Harlem and our City proper cannot be overstated."
New York State Senator Bill Perkins

Here is a link to the NY Times article Aug. 15. 15 
http://nyti.ms/1LfpxPC
which describes the reasons I was evicted from my sculpture studio in April 2016







































 

Donations 

  • Laura Fiore
    • $100 
    • 6 yrs

Organizer

Gabriel Koren
Organizer
New York, NY

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