The Book: ABC No Rio Dinero

The online version of the 1985 book ABC No Rio Dinero: The Story of A Lower East Side Art Gallery, a much cited source about the New York art scene of the 1980s.

Back on Bowery, 1981-85, ABC No Rio DineroMarc H. MillerMay 30, 2017Chapter 5, Return to the Bowery, Back on Bowery, ABC No Rio Dinero

Acknowledgements, Foreword and Preface

An introduction to the story of ABC No Rio an artist run gallery on the Lower East Side that found inspiration in its Hispanic neighborhood, the politics of the 1980s, and in the emerging East Village music and art scene.

Back on Bowery, 1981-85, ABC No Rio DineroMarc H. MillerMay 28, 2017Return to the Bowery, Back on Bowery, ABC No Rio Dinero

Introduction

An introduction to the story of ABC No Rio an artist run gallery on the Lower East Side that found inspiration in its Hispanic neighborhood, the politics of the 1980s, and in the emerging East Village music and art scene.

Back on Bowery, 1981-85, ABC No Rio DineroMarc H. MillerMay 26, 2017Return to the Bowery, Back on Bowery, ABC No Rio Dinero

Colab

Many of the artist connected with ABC No Rio were affiliated with Collaborative Project Inc. (Colab), a loosely organized artist group with innovative ideas about what art should be and how it should be exhibited and distributed.

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Related Groups

Like the South Bronx art space Fashion/Moda, ABC No Rio was located in an urban slum. Artists connected to the gallery were committed to an interactive art reflecting political concerns. In this respect ABC No Rio paralleled other artist groups like Group Material and PADD.

Back on Bowery, 1981-85, ABC No Rio DineroMarc H. MillerMay 20, 2017Return to the Bowery, Back on Bowery, ABC No Rio Dinero

The Neighborhood

ABC No Rio was located in the Lower East Side, a famous slum that in 1980 was on the brink of gentrification. The gallery found inspiration in both its Hispanic neighborhood and in the emerging East Village music and art scene.

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The Real Estate Show

Real Estate Show, 125 Delancey Street, 1980, Lehmann Weichselbaum, Alan Moore, Becky Howland, Peter Moennig, Colen Fitzgibbon, Andy Baird, Mike Glier, Peggy Katz, Scott Miller, Edit deAk, Jane Dickson, Cara Perlman, Joseph Beuys, Ann Messner, cops, police, manifesto, eviction, artists, landlords

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Welcome To No Rio

From its inception in 1980, ABC No Rio attracted a degree of attention that greatly exceeded what one might expect of a dilapidated, cash-strapped, off-the-beaten track, artist-run gallery.

Back on Bowery, 1981-85Marc MillerMay 5, 2017Return to the Bowery, Back on Bowery, ABC No Rio Dinero

Exhibitions 1980-81

ABC No Rio had almost nothing to offer artists, not even "clean white walls," but at a time when there were few other options, many artists were happy to have access even to a raw, dilapidated space.

Back on Bowery, 1981-85Marc MillerMay 1, 2017Return to the Bowery, Back on Bowery, ABC No Rio Dinero

Exhibitions 1981-82

The art world in the 1980s witnessed a revival of painting and sculpture of which ABC No Rio proved to be an early indicator. Exhibitions at the gallery included young, up-and-coming artists like Kiki Smith.

Back on Bowery, 1981-85, ABC No Rio DineroMarc H. MillerApril 25, 2017Return to the Bowery, Back on Bowery, ABC No Rio Dinero

Exhibitions 1982-83

Many of the artists who showed at ABC No Rio had a political agenda and wanted to promote the improvement of social conditions with their art. Artists worked with children from local schools and created themed shows around political issues.

Back on Bowery, 1981-85, ABC No Rio DineroMarc H. MillerApril 20, 2017Return to the Bowery, Back on Bowery, ABC No Rio Dinero

Exhibitions 1983-84

The year 1983 saw a shift at ABC No Rio as the volunteer artist administrator who had started and still ran the gallery passed the baton to a new group of artists who were primarily committed to performance and multi-media.

Back on Bowery, 1981-85, ABC No Rio DineroMarc H. MillerApril 15, 2017Return to the Bowery, Back on Bowery, ABC No Rio Dinero

Poetry

Through an ongoing series of poetry readings ABC No Rio helped continue the bohemian, multi-cultural and impassioned spirit that characterizes the Lower East Side's rich poetry tradition.

Back on Bowery, 1981-85, ABC No Rio DineroMarc H. MillerApril 10, 2017Return to the Bowery, Back on Bowery, ABC No Rio Dinero

The Advertisements

Today, the advertisements gathered in 1985 to pay for the printing of the ABC No Rio book are a time capsule of the first moments in the careers of up-and-coming artists and of early hot spots of the East Village art scene.

Back on Bowery, 1981-85, ABC No Rio DineroMarc H. MillerApril 5, 2017Return to the Bowery, Back on Bowery, ABC No Rio Dinero

Addendum

"ABC No Rio Dinero is in large measure a conventional victory story. A militant polemic and direct action are rewarded with an accommodation by power, then the fun begins." From the "Afterward" by Alan W. Moore for the book ABC No Rio Dinero; the Story of A Lower East Side Art Gallery.

Back on Bowery, 1981-85, ABC No Rio DineroMarc H. MillerApril 1, 2017Return to the Bowery, Back on Bowery, ABC No Rio Dinero

Artists' Links & Credits

Most of the artists that were featured in the book ABC No Rio Dinero: The Story of A Lower East Side Art Gallery are still active today. Learn more about how their art evolved over the last 25 years through these website links.

Back on Bowery, 1981-85, ABC No Rio DineroMarc H. MillerMarch 25, 2017Return to the Bowery, Back on Bowery, ABC No Rio Dinero

BACK ON BOWERY, 1981-85