East 4th Street Cultural District
Downtown Art is a founding member of the East 4th Street Cultural District and of Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc), the leadership organization for the arts and community groups located within the one-block district, the only officially recognized cultural district in Manhattan.
Ryan Gilliam, Downtown Art's Artistic/Executive Director, has served on FAB's Executive Committee for the past ten years. Together with the leadership of other arts and community groups on the block, Ryan was deeply involved in the creation of the cultural district, and the process through which the city sold 7 buildings and 2 vacant lots to local arts groups for $1 each, with deed restrictions that they be nonprofit cultural buildings in perpetuity.
Today, FAB works to support the cultural vitality of the entire Lower East Side - earning recognition for their innovative programs for connecting communities and the arts.