Pioneering Emerson Dorsch Gallery Will Close Next Month

Miami's arts landscape is undergoing some tectonic shifts, from a migration out of Wynwood to burgeoning scenes and familiar patterns in Allapattah and Little River. In yet another indication of these ongoing changes, Emerson Dorsch, one of the first galleries to move into Wynwood in the early aughts, has announced its imminent closure.

"After hundreds of exhibitions, three gallery spaces, and over 33 years in business, Emerson Dorsch Gallery will close its doors on April 5, 2025," owners Brook Dorsch and Tyler Emerson-Dorsch announced in an email sent to supporters Wednesday evening.

Founded in 1991, initially out of Dorsch's apartment, Emerson Dorsch was a pioneering force in Miami's arts scene. The gallery moved into Wynwood in 2000, when the neighborhood was still largely a warehouse district completely unrecognizable to those who know it as the tourist trap it is today. When the gallery moved out of the neighborhood in 2015, New Times declared Wynwood was "really, very dead."

But Emerson Dorsch lived on in Little Haiti, where, despite initial trepidation from the community, it's been a staple since it reopened there in 2017.

As for the gallery's next move, Dorsch and Emerson-Dorsch outlined some plans in their farewell email.

"What does the future hold?" the duo wrote. "About a year ago, we introduced the Residency at Metcalf Creek [an artists' residency and retreat], which is about 30 minutes north of Asheville, North Carolina. There, we embrace the learn-by-doing spirit with which Brook started Dorsch Gallery in 1991. This work demands our focus and presence."

The owners went on to say they'll continue to support the artists they've worked with at EDG "through expertise and philanthropy." They add they'll be at the gallery April 4 and 5 for the final days of Karen Rifas' exhibition, "Miami to Maine."