Participant Inc

Though Chelsea may be the heavy hitter when it comes to the New York art gallery scene, the LES has its very own collection of about a dozen quality showplaces, thank you very much. Some have actually relocated here from Chelsea in recent years, and all are now anchored by the New Museum. Participant Inc, showcasing emerging talent and hosting varied performances, was one of the places hailed as jump-­starting the gallery trend here when it opened several years ago. Other popular, contemporary spaces include Gallery Onetwentyeight, Reena Spaulings Fine Art, Lehmann Maupin and the new Angel Orensanz Foundation gallery, housed in a soaring, gorgeous former synagogue that also hosts a slew of special events. But the biggest news of late is that of the new Sperone Westwater gallery, relocated from the West Village to the Bowery, right near the New Museum, in what was promising to be, at the time of writing, a startling, eight-story sliver sheathed in milled glass, with bright-red elevator doors and entire exhibits visible from out on the street. The gallery represents heavy hitters like William Wegman and Richard Long, and its new home is being designed by the famed Norman Foster, who’s already made a big impact on NYC with the Hearst Building and his plans for the new Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center.