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As the new year unfolded in 2025, I embarked on an exciting new journey, joining Crossing Art gallery in Chelsea and ChaShaMa organization in Midtown. This dual role has created a fascinating inter/transdisciplinary dynamic, blending the worlds of art curation, gallery management, marketing, graphic arts, community engagement, and creative innovation. The work environment at both places has been high paced but incredibly stimulating, both bouncing off of each other in parallel ways offering me opportunities to collaborate with amazing artists, creatives and creators from various fields while contributing to the vibrant cultural fabric of New York City.

Crossing Art

Crossing Art was established by Catherine Lee, a New York/Shanghai based art patron and collector with the opening of the original gallery in Queens, New York. It was founded with the belief that Contemporary art can broaden dialogues among cultures and discourses and should be shared with communities not limited to certain locale or audiences.   

From 2014 to 2016, the gallery shifted its focused on to curating public art projects in New York and China. The gallery subsequently moved to Chelsea in 2018, sharing a space with its subsidiary company, Crossing Collective. With representative offices in Shanghai, Crossing Art’s ethos is to promote innovative artists and to nurture the best talent from a select group of contemporary artists whose work or roots lie in the tradition and heritage from Asia. Offering a unique perspective on the contemporary art world, its mission is to forge closer ties between the East and West, and to inspire the appreciation and understanding of art and design and its role in society.

Currently at Crossing Art, we have NYC artist Christopher Hart Chambers solo exhibition “Passages” on view until March 11th. Well-known as the founder of Avant, an artist collective in 1980s New York City that championed art as a dynamic motion rather than a fixed style, Chambers profoundly influenced the evolution of street art. He reframed it as a theoretical and aesthetic choice, moving beyond perceptions of it as merely graphic or cartoonish. Chambers transformed the traditional context of fine art by installing his painted abstractions in unconventional urban spaces, from the streets of Soho to the Upper East Side.

Chambers’ works in “Passages” challenge conventional storytelling by placing the viewer at the heart of an abstract narrative. By incorporating motifs of landscapes and emblematic botanical elements—simplified depictions of flowers, trees, and leaves—the artist creates a stage for universal experiences. Inspired by the phenomenon of synesthesia, Chambers describes his work as a “smelling of colors, hearing of shapes” experience. Drawing from a rich tapestry of art history and global traditions, Chambers seamlessly weaves elements from medieval illuminated manuscripts, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and African, Asian, and South American folk arts into his distinctive works.

Crossing Space

Below Crossing Art gallery is our sister company Crossing Space, a contemporary custom furniture design company where artists collaborate with designers around the world to create one of a kind customized luxury furnitures for clients. Crossing Space facilitates partnerships and projects between a select group of artists, galleries, and designers that bridge the East and the West. We recently had a soft concept launch event for Crossing Space featuring eclectic mix of avant chairs set within Chamber’s exhibition.

ChaShaMa

As a performance artist, it continues to be an honor to work alongside Ms.Anita Durst at her organization Chashama. Chashama was founded in 1995 by Anita Durst to celebrate the legacy of theatre visionary Reza Abdoh. Chashama’s initial focus was on the production and presentation of new theatre. Recognizing that a lack of affordable space was the biggest threat to sustaining a diverse cultural environment in New York City, we began to work toward securing studio and presentation space in Midtown Manhattan for struggling artists by partnering with Property Owners that provide unused space to Chashama.

In the first decade, Chashama secured seven locations on 42nd street between 6th and Broadway, presenting over 700 shows. Since then, Chashama moved from midtown Manhattan to the 5 boroughs and beyond, giving artists work and presentation spaces, as well as providing free art workshops in under served communities. Currently, Chashama presents 150 events a year, have workspace for 120 artists, and having developed 80 workshops in underserved communities.

At Chashama, we’re busy preparing for our annual gala this June, and this year is especially meaningful as we celebrate the organization’s 30th anniversary. I had the privilege of collaborating with the Creative Manager to design the logo and gala invites for this year’s event. My journey with Chashama began when I moved to NYC in the summer of 2023, and I had the opportunity to attend their groundbreaking, three-day avant-garde gala performance art event. The experience left me in awe—the talent, creativity, and freedom of expression from the artists was truly inspiring. I knew I had to get involved. Ms. Anita Durst, with her visionary leadership, generosity, and unwavering support for young artists, continues to inspire me in profound ways.