We put women artists on the map.

On This Spot NYC is a nonprofit digital mapping project. We tell the stories of a diverse group of women artists’ lives through short-form documentary videos.

Join us as we explore the places where they lived and worked, ate and drank, dreamed, laughed, danced, and found the inspiration and community to create their art.

We feature many boundary-breaking women artists, the known and the unknown, who have been at the forefront of the New York art scene.

Watch the videos

These videos were produced in 2022 by On This Spot NYC, Inc. a New York 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit corporation. The copyright to these videos is held exclusively by On This Spot NYC, Inc. No reproduction of these videos, in full or in part, and no public broadcast or display of the videos, in full or in part, is allowed without the prior written authorization of On This Spot NYC, Inc. The videos were created and are being presented by On This Spot NYC, Inc. entirely for nonprofit educational purposes consistent with the terms and requirements required by the IRS.

Our vision

Motivation

Just 11% of major museum art acquisitions in the last decade were of work by women.

Mission

To help women artists claim their Spot, by telling their stories.

Values

We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Faith Ringgold in her studio, courtesy of the artist and ACA Galleries. Photograph of Lynda Benglis 1970 originally published in Life, February 1970 Photo: Henry Groskinsky. © Life Inc. Image: Courtesy the artist and Cheim & Read, New York. Lorraine O’Grady, “Art is…Nubians,” 1983/2009, courtesy of the artist and Alexander Gray Gallery.

How we work

On This Spot is organized by neighborhood, starting in the West Village and East Village, then continuing to SoHo, Lower East Side, Chelsea, TriBeCa, Midtown, Upper East Side, Upper West Side and Harlem. We move through the decades from the 1950s to the end of the 20th century.

On This Spot is web-based. Content will also be available on Facebook, Google Maps, Instagram, TikTok, Vimeo, YouTube, and other platforms.

Our audience

On This Spot’s mission combines education, arts, feminism, digital engagement, and New York City civic pride. We invite a global audience interested in these areas and their many intersections to join us. Our partners’ extensive reach provides distribution to millions of followers.

The project is designed to appeal to visitors ages 14 and up. It is free to all, and captioned for access to a wide audience, Our stories are narrated by a celebrated actress in order to broaden popular appeal.

Agnes Denes, 1982 public work, “Wheatfield — A Confrontation,” in Lower Manhattan. Courtsey Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects; John McGrall.

The Team

Our leadership team has wide expertise in art history, film production, and digital technology.

Staff

Hannah Alderfer, HHA Design; Graphic Design
Joan Allen, Voiceover Actor
Rebecca Faulkner, Senior Development Advisor
Michael Field, Director of Voiceover
Tony Ganz, Co-creator; Producer
Loretta Howard, Co-creator; Executive Director
Signe Howard, Director Archival Research
Anthony Torrano, Video Editor
John Zinsser, Scriptwriter; Content Advisor

Board of Directors and Advisory Board

Hannah Alderfer, Graphic Designer
Lorinda Ash, Ash Fine Art
Naomi Baigell, Managing Director at TPC Art Finance
Tony Ganz, Co-Creator, Art Collector, Film Producer
Sarah Greenberg Morse, Estate Advisor, Former WSJ Photo Editor
Loretta Howard, Co-Creator, Executive Director, Art Historian
Melissa Lazarov, Former Global Director Gagosian
Atreya Mathur, Of Counsel; Center for Art Law
Catherine Morris, Senior Curator, Feminist Center, Brooklyn Museum
Melissa Rachleff Burtt, NYU Professor, Author of Inventing Downtown
Beth Rudin deWoody, Art Collector, Curator and Philanthropist
Irina Tarsis, Esq., Of Counsel; Center for Art Law
Anthony Torrano, Artist, Video Editor
Esther S. Trakinski, JD, MA, Legal Counsel
Lilly Wei, Art Critic, Writer