Curated by Anne-Laure Lemaitre
Featuring artist Azikiwe Mohammaed

193 Front Street

When someone buys a souvenir they are turning a memory into a physical object through monetary exchange that they can easily share with someone else. Retelling stories can be difficult but having a starting point always helps. A key-chain is a starting point. A magnet is a starting point. A postcard can be a destination unto itself. Big Apple Gifts and Souvenirs hopes to hand people objects they can put their memories into for the cost of a similar item but our items provide a different starting point than what would normally be purchased at a similar retail establishment. Our items come from here. The kind of here you won’t find on the current version of Canal Street. I grew up on the old version of Canal Street when the streets were lined with watch fragments and behind many facades were weapons stores. We won’t be selling weapons but we are looking into watches. Through the exchange of our objects for your time turned money we can hand you an object that reflects a different New York than you would normally bring back to your double-decker tour bus. A New York that speaks of workers, hot street trash and night stuff. We work here, we live here, welcome home. About Big Apple Gifts and Souvenirs.