For young Dutch lawyer Emmelie Koster, creating a fictional gallery online was her way of selling her own artworks - hence, the pun "No Man's Art Gallery". What she could not have predicted was that young artists would soon contact her to display their works. Five years later, No Man's Art has traveled to nine different destinations worldwide, reaching out to upcoming local artists in each country and adapting itself to the culture and art scene of each location:
Mumbai, India
Copenhagen, Denmark
Shanghai, China
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Tehran, Iran
The venue for each location is only revealed to guests on the night of the opening. It is not only secretive, but unconventional: places such as an abandoned house, a bomb shelter, a church, and Amsterdam's infamous Red Light District have been transformed into temporary art galleries by No Man's Art.
Now, the playful name of the gallery has taken a deeper meaning, relating to the idea of a "no man's land": it has no set laws or boundaries. Turning our generation's globalized and digitalized society in their favor, this rebellious young gallery seeks to turn art into an accessible platform for cultural exchange, rather than sticking to current trends in the art market dictated by upscale galleries and auction houses.
No Man's Art headquarters are now located at the Nieuwe Herengracht 123, Amsterdam, where the gallery will soon be hosting a group exhibition of 23 young artists found in their latest venture in Tehran.
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