MESSAGE TO THE A.I.R. COMMUNITY

A heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who has pitched in or reached out since the sudden loss of our federal funding in May. In a time of great uncertainty, your support and solidarity have affirmed exactly why we do this work and who we do it for. We are incredibly grateful.

We’re happy to share that we have now raised nearly $25,000 of the $30,000 we lost when our 2025 NEA grant was unexpectedly withdrawn due to “misalignment” with the federal administration’s priorities. Thanks to your support, all six talented artists in the 2025 A.I.R. Fellowship Program for Emerging Artists were able to present their debut solo exhibitions as planned.

We still need to raise $5,000 by August 31 to fully replace the funds we lost and fill this urgent budget gap. And as we look forward to welcoming six new Fellows this September, we face the reality that this loss of 20% of our annual Fellowship Program budget will persist in the year to come. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the A.I.R. Fellowship Program today and empowering the next generation of women and non-binary artists.

This abrupt loss of federal support is more than a budgetary setback—it’s part of a broader attempt to silence underrepresented voices and roll back hard-fought gains. But no matter what the current powers that be might say, our mission to amplify the voices of women and non-binary artists is more a priority now than ever.

There are certainly more challenges ahead. But we take strength in knowing that we’ll meet them together.

In the Press:

“A.I.R. Gallery Seeks Community’s Help After Losing $30K NEA Grant,” Hyperallergic, May 12, 2025.

“Arts Nonprofits Struggle Amid Federal Funding Cuts,” Artforum, May 15, 2025.

“All the Arts Organizations Impacted by NEA Funding Cuts,” artnet news, May 8, 2025.

In Memory of Barbara Roux (1946–2025)

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of artist Barbara Roux.

A member of A.I.R. for over thirty years, Roux primarily dealt with issues of ecology in her work and was influenced by both conservation and natural history. She had eleven solo exhibitions at the gallery, including Fragile Area (1993), Society of Plants (2002), Growing Evidence (2013), and most recently Under Story (2021). Roux was proud of her decades of affiliation with A.I.R., first as a New York Member (1990–2009) and later as an Adjunct Member (2009–2025).

Roux's work has been featured in solo exhibitions at numerous institutions, including the Hofstra University Museum of Art, Queens College Art Center, the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, the Islip Art Museum, and the Heckscher Museum of Art, as well as in group shows in the United Kingdom, Korea, Romania, Argentina, Germany, and elsewhere.

Roux said her hope was that through her work people may become interested in the mysteries inherent in wild places. From interest, a desire to protect may follow.

To learn more about Roux's life and work, please visit www.barbararoux.com.

Located in DUMBO, Brooklyn, A.I.R. Gallery is a feminist, artist-directed, nonprofit arts organization and alternative exhibition space for women and non-binary artists. Founded in 1972, A.I.R. is the longest-running alternative space for women artists in the United States.

To learn more about our history, click here.