Founder Paul Hill experienced the barriers to entering the fine art world, and immediately began tearing them down with the first art “ecosystem”.
At Strada World, a NYC-based art “ecosystem,” transparency and equal opportunity take precedence. Creative virtuoso Paul Hill founded Strada World in 2021 at age 21, and the ecosystem is already the fastest-growing community of emerging artists, galleries, and collectors.
Born in New York and spending most of his life in Harlem, Hill was always art-oriented. He has spent most of his life occupied by various creative endeavors, from taking apart and putting back together robotics as a kid to working on Netflix documentaries in high school. He notes that the “peak” of his photography career was traveling through Perú for six months, exchanging photos of hotel spaces for room and board. Hill studied computer science and art history at Grinnell College in Iowa. He inevitably returned to his Harlem roots, transferring to Columbia University to study the same subjects.
Hill developed Strada World shortly after selling prints for the first time. His early experiences as an artist came with abundant hurdles. “After deeper exploration, I started to notice how antiquated the art world is and how many emerging galleries struggle to build networks and expand beyond a local setting that brick and mortar often restrict most businesses to,” said Hill.
Thus, Hill took on the challenge of redesigning the art world for a new generation. He sought to revolutionize art sales, art news, and community-building. “We’re motivated to create community-centered and tech-backed solutions to the high barriers of entry in the art world and the lack of support for emerging artists and galleries to grow their careers,” said Hill. “We have a gallery, but we’re much more than that.”
The sizable gallery in Manhattan’s Lower East Side opened in early September. It is a full-circle moment, as the space was the same space where Strada World held its first pop-up in 2021. Hill worked 15-hour days, pouring himself into composing the messy, graffiti-covered space into a home for Strada World in time for their grand opening.
“As a self-taught curator, I have the privilege to break traditional rules both intentionally and unintentionally.”
“As a self-taught curator, I have the privilege to break traditional rules both intentionally and unintentionally,” said Hill. Embodied Spaces: The Body as Architecture is the first exhibit to inhabit the gallery. The two-part exhibition invites viewers to examine how the human body, clothing, movement, and the built environment interact. Hill was eager to combine elements that people typically see in museums, like fashion and architecture, with traditional gallery works, like paintings and sculptures. “I’m personally exploring how to push the concept of organized chaos further in the curatorial sense,” he said.
The exhibition’s first part, which took place in September, featured the work of one fashion designer and fixated on clothing as a form of expression. A diverse selection of artists delved into how fashion, the human body, space, and movement liberate oneself through the frameworks of identity and subcultures.
“We are in real-time creating the infrastructure for the future of the art world, leading how artists, galleries and art fairs will operate on a more effective and wider scale.”
The second part, showing this October, transforms the gallery space into a study of the distinctions between body and structure. One architect and a group of artists challenge conventional ideas of form and movement. The artworks and sculptures are experiential and illuminate the body’s connection to the architectural realm.
Hill is now remarkably NYC’s youngest gallerist but doesn’t feel the pressure. “The nerves are gone; I’m just excited now,” said Hill. Since Strada World is the first true art ecosystem, it is in a lane of its own. The lack of competition is comforting for Hill.
“We are in real-time creating the infrastructure for the future of the art world, leading how artists, galleries and art fairs will operate on a more effective and wider scale,” said Hill.
As they expand, Hill is enthusiastic to bring some of the most iconic emerging NYC galleries under Strada World’s umbrella, such as Hannah Traore Gallery, Swivel Gallery, and Cierra Britton Gallery.
Hill has big plans for Strada World. “You’ll see us working with more artists, galleries, and art fairs internationally and across the US,” he shared. He has his sights set on Miami Art Week as the grand finale for Strada World year two as they enter year three in 2024.
Strada World’s core purpose is to build a support system for people from marginalized communities to gain footing in the fine art world.
All images courtesy of Strada World.
