What is an Art Squat and how did this journey begin?

Well, many many moons ago, circa 1999, my brother Michael Otto, who just prefers to be called Otto, was friends with a guy named Andy who lived in a fourplex on Genesee ave. just south of Melrose, across from Fairfax High school. Andy had told my brother that there was an empty two bedroom apartment on the second level across from his and that the Landlord hadn't been seen in years and nobody was paying rent. He went on to tel my brother that the empty unit was filled with junk that had to be cleared out but once that was done, the space could be used as an art gallery. So, my brother and I and a few other friends, spent a few days clearing out all the junk, and we put large locks on the doors so that nobody could enter without us. There was no power in the unit that we occupied, so, whenever we had an art opening, Andy would run power cables out his back window and into the empty unit. Collectively we came up with the name Art Squat for our new gallery and we had some crazy raging parties. This went on for several years. The Landlord was never seen or heard from. In fact, there was a garage behind the property that had a vintage car in it and boxes of newspapers from the 80's.

{Full Story about Art Squat's origins}


Johnny Otto, Art Squat Gallery, 1999





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