Paul Salvatore Mercurio, MLA, ASLA, APA

Esteemed educators,

First, I would like to say thank you for everything you do
in improving Syracuse. Your energy and talents are helping to make
Syracuse a desirable community for many different types of people.
However, as the subject line indicated, I'm writing to share my
disappointment in the removal of Astria as curator for the Warehouse
Gallery.

Having encountered Astria in various venues for nearly a
year now, I wish to share how impressed I have been with her
dedication to art, creativity and urbanity. She has been very active
in the Tomorrow's Neighborhoods Today group for Downtown. Her input
has consistently questioned the status quo, and forced many of us in
the community to reevaluate our priorities and how we see the world.
Her activism with TNT is symptomatic of a larger push with Astria to
make the public at large look at the world around us with new vision.

Attending Astria's shows at the Warehouse Gallery have
consistently challenged me to think. They remind me of shows I would
attend when I lived in Boston, Seattle and New York City. At these
showings, art is not some history test of famous names, or a
collection that demonstrates some obscure "great school" of technique.
The art at these shows have been visceral and uncomfortable. They
have made me reevaluate industrial life, my relationship to people, my
relationship to the weather and even my sexuality. Astria's shows
have been beautiful and terrifyingly sublime.

Please keep Astria as curator of the Warehouse Gallery.
She is not conventional, she does not pander to the status quo, and
she is exactly what Syracuse needs.

Thank you for your time.


Sincerely,

PSM

Paul Salvatore Mercurio, MLA, ASLA, APA

Division of Neighborhood Planning
Department of Community Development
City Hall Commons, Suite 412
201 East Washington Street
Syracuse, NY 13202
315-448-8758
City of Syracuse: Community Development