When in 2008 MINI partnered up with the Goethe-Institut to make Ludlow 38 part of our cultural engagement program, we were thrilled from the get-go. Rightfully so. For over a decade, this tiny space in Manhattan’s Lower East Side would prove to be the ideal location for a transcontinental incubator exploring the multiple facets of contemporary art. Ludlow 38 was there for artists and curators alike—for the uninitiated as well as for those in the know. 

We are very pleased that this website now allows you, the visitor, to browse through and reflect on the joint effort of dozens, if not hundreds, who were involved in what was Ludlow 38.

It is with a tinge of nostalgia and a bit of sadness that we look back on those years during which Ludlow 38 thrived. “Dawn goes down to day / Nothing gold can stay,” wrote Robert Frost. “All good things come to an end,” Nelly Furtado once sang. Ten years is a very successful run for a partnership between a cultural institution and a company. The BMW Group has engaged with hundreds of initiatives worldwide for the past fifty years. We believe in the complete freedom of the creative process and therefore never interfere with the vision of our partners. At Ludlow 38, the BMW Group was nowhere near the table when the next curator was chosen by a professional jury.

Although Ludlow 38 came to an end, we remain a committed partner to the Goethe-Institut on an international level. Our global networks can benefit from each other greatly. Culture is one amazing, complex beehive of activity and beauty which only humankind is able to realize. Culture is what remains. And culture is what sets us apart in times of increased tension among people. Culture is the hope for a better world. This visionary hope was translated into multiple forms and shapes at Ludlow 38—take your time to browse and dive into them in digital form.

Thomas Girst
Head of Cultural Engagement, BMW Group