Join artist collective and AAI’s LES Studio Program alum Shanzhai Lyric, on the mezzanine of Essex Market, for a panel discussion examining the intertwined histories of unofficial street vending and city-subsidized indoor markets in New York City—from the past to the present.

Presented in response to the current exhibition Canal Street Research Association (market) at Cuchifritos Gallery inside Essex Market, this conversation brings together artists, historians, and advocates to explore how local government initiatives, public policy, and grassroots organizing have shaped street life and systems of exchange across NYC’s marketplaces for nearly a century.

Located inside Essex Market on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the exhibition transforms the gallery into a hybrid research site and storefront, foregrounding questions of visibility, commerce, and belonging. Building on these themes, the panel will look to the past to examine former policies and sites of exchange, and will consider current possibilities for creating a more just, equitable, and affordable New York—from city-subsidized grocery models to permits, protections, and pathways forward for immigrant street vendors.

Shanzhai Lyric will facilitate the discussion with prepared prompts for the panelists, followed by an open Q&A with attendees. Panelists include: Robert LaValva, Nina LoSchiavo, and Mohamed Attia.