How a Fundraiser Transforms Dealers Back Into the Artists They Used to Be

Walk into White Columns on Horatio Street in the West Village right now and the usual power dynamics of the art world have been flipped, shaken, and left to dry on the wall. The longtime alternative nonprofit has done something faintly ridiculous and genuinely interesting: they've asked the dealers, the gallery assistants, the people who usually hang the work and handle the wire transfers, to stop selling for five minutes and make something. The result is "Art (by) Dealers," organized by Kathy Huang and Will Leung, running March 13 through April 25, 2026. Over 90 pieces. Every one priced at $500. Every one sold anonymously. All proceeds keep the lights on at a nonprofit that's been championing underrepresented artists for decades.It's a fundraiser, sure. Strip away the benefit-sale gloss and what you've got is the closest thing the art trade has produced to a punk rock open mic — a room full of people who usually stand behind the merch table grabbing the microphone and seeing if they…