Celebrating 10 years, Gallery 151 is a premier contemporary art gallery situated in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City, along with multiple annex locations. The first show at the gallery was hosted by Fab 5 Freddy in December of 2007. This exhibit unveiled a collaborative wall of graffiti discovered during the renovation of 151 Wooster by Michael Namer, downtown developer and owner of the building at the time. One of the former residents of the building was Edit DeAK, who in the late 70’s and early 80’s allowed young artists to “tag” a wall in her loft – some of these “young artists” were Jean-Michel Basquiat, Fab 5 Freddy, Francesco Clemente, Futura 2000, Ero, Nesto, Koor and Johnny Dynell (among others). This graffiti wall was preserved over decades and finally uncovered during construction.

The mission of Gallery 151 is to support emerging New York-based artists and provide a platform for their talent to be recognized by the public. In 2009, Gallery 151 expanded its vernacular to include issues of sustainability and environmental responsibility. The Urban Green Initiative at the gallery was a series of exhibits, charity events, and performances through 2009 and 2010 that used art to encourage the discussion of these issues.

Through a continued partnership with Alfa Development’s Gallery 151, HGU New York Hotel, an Alfa property has been offering a new venue for emerging New York City artists. To celebrate these artists, we created a series of videos and podcasts highlighting their medium.

The myME project is collective of human rights activists, educators, business people, academics, writers and artists who passionately believe that true reform for Myanmar starts with education.

MyME’s mission is to provide education via mobile classrooms to children in Myanmar who have been compelled into indentured servitude at teashop restaurants where they’re forced to work long hours every day in order to sustain their families. The mobile classrooms provide these children an opportunity to learn basic literacy, math and computer skills in a safe environment where they can gain self-confidence and develop critical thinking skills through innovative, interactive instruction.