Beginning in October, our storefront on Ludlow Street will temporarily become a pawnshop dedicated to the pawning of artworks. PAWNSHOP will open at noon on Monday, October 1st and will have regular business hours of Tuesday through Saturday, 12-6 pm. It will remain in operation through early 2008

Structurally, a pawnshop is a short-term loan business, which retains a collateral object in exchange for cash — a small fraction of the object’s value that must be repaid with interest for the item is to be re-claimed by its original owner. If, after 30 days, the item has not been claimed, the pawnbroker earns the right to sell it, and the pawned object remains on display until it is picked up or purchased by
someone else.

PAWNSHOP’s initial inventory is comprised of over 60 pawned works from a group of artists invited to participate in the project. After PAWNSHOP opens for business on October 1st, artists may walk in with a work they want to pawn — we will happily look at all submissions and, if we find any of interest, we may add them to our inventory. After the initial 30 days, on November 1st, the artworks that have not been retrieved by their original owners may become available for sale.