Founded in 2016, 15 Orient takes its name from the late 19th-century Victorian townhouse whose parlour room it occupies. In 2020, the gallery expanded to include a second location at 12 Jefferson Street in a building of a similar style and period. Embracing its domestic setting, 15 Orient models itself on the 19th- and 20th-century salon; fostering an intimate, diverse and international counter-public of ongoing conversation and critique.