How An Upper West Side Kiosk Became A Neighborhood Art Gallery

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — There aren't many old-fashioned kiosks in New York City — let alone ones that serve as a rotating art gallery — but that is exactly what exists on the Upper West Side.

The "Cylindrical Art Gallery" is located at West 83rd Street between West End and Broadway and is currently highlighting the work of students with disabilities from the Mickey Mantle School at West 82nd Street and West End Avenue.

"My students are a neuro-diverse group of kids with special needs that come from all over the city," Emily Gearhart, the art teacher at the UWS school writes in a message posted to the kiosk about the show. "They may have autism, developmental delays, learning disabilities, or emotional disturbance. No one is exactly alike and are all bright and vibrant learners."

"They bring joy to those that work with them, who delight in seeing their progress," she added.

The show is called "The Heart of A Child."

The artists range from three to 15 years old.

The show was inspired by multiple lessons: drawing a bouquet of flowers, focusing on organic shapes, working from photos of tigers and jaguars to study symmetry and learn about nature, and also from a self-portrait unit.

The kiosk was originally built in 1970 by architect Roger Bartels of the West 83rd Street Block Association.

The kiosk then lived a tumultuous life, when a truck hits its roof in 1992, only to be knocked over by a paving machine a year later.

It was repaired multiple times over the years, before getting turned into a gallery for local artists in 2017 by G. Augustine Lynas.

Lynas' studio overlooks the kiosk and he still curates it today.

TimeOut New York dubbed it the smallest art gallery in New York City.

"I create art at every opportunity," Lynas told TimeOut New York. "So it was natural for me to make the kiosk into something artistic and to give other local artists an opportunity to shine for three months."

Since 2017, the gallery has shown the work of artists for rotating periods of three months each.

The work of the students from the Mickey Mantle School is the 15th collection to grace the Upper West Side kiosk.