East Window Gallery opened up as the world was shutting down in March 2020. Founder and director Todd Edward Herman had just rented a studio space where he planned to create his own work. Herman is an artist of many trades – filmmaker, photographer, painter and teacher – and he moved to Boulder seven years ago from San Francisco. He spent much of his formative years in California, where he became involved with the intersection of art and disability justice, co-founding Sins Invalid in Berkeley.
His new studio space in Boulder was small but contained a large, east-facing window. When the pandemic hit one week into his lease, he started to hear from colleagues that they had bodies of work ready for display but nowhere to show them. “I asked folks to hang their work in the window and we invited people to view it outside,” said Herman. “From there, I started doing outdoor film screenings and invited artists from all over to show their work in the window.” Out of the pandemic, the East Window Gallery was born.
Two years ago, Herman moved into a larger space on Broadway in the burgeoning North Boulder Arts District. The new studio has an indoor gallery but still contains an east-facing window exhibit as well as a patio exhibit space. Every part of the studio is designed to hold artwork, including the bathroom. “East Window Gallery offers its space to many different artists. Our curatorial choices showcase our solidarity for facilitating critical thought and action within local communities. The work chosen to be displayed invites us to look at difficult subject matter, accept discomfort and to celebrate its revelations.”
During this year’s Boulder Arts Week, East Window Gallery is hosting several unique events including premier short film screenings by Usama Alshaibi and an exhibition exploring the relationships between artificial intelligence and cultural erasure by Nouf Alijowaysir. If you are thinking about applying for a Boulder Arts Commission Cultural Grant, Herman advises to continue to create work that is important to you. “It’s essential to be honest with what you are trying to create – whether or not that fits into a funding cycle. Follow what excites you, regardless of whether it gets funded. That doesn’t mean your work is not worth paying attention to.”
For more information about East Window Gallery and upcoming exhibitions and opportunities, visit their website at EastWindow.org and follow them on Instagram @eastwindow1.