The Occupy with Art blog provides updates on projects in progress, opinion articles about art-related issues and OWS, useful tools built by artists for the movement, new features on the website, and requests for assistance. To submit a post, contact us at occupationalartschool(at)gmail(dot)com .
Saturday, September 8 marked the opening of CO-OP in Huntington, Long Island at the venerable b.j. spoke gallery. CO-OP is the Occupy with Art experimental collective project to integrate the 99% art economy with the cooperative food economy. Many of the bj spoke artists in the front and back galleries displayed powerful political artworks for the exhibit. True to Occupy form, we started the evening with street protest, thanks to Occupy Huntington. The good people of Occupy Storefront contributed a couple of last minute entries to our exhibition component, which added a lot of color to the array. The food spread and beverages were terrific, shared by the bj spoke artist community, the OwA participants (Chris baked a great pie and tarts) and our generous sponsors, Blind Bat Brewery. We had a terrific crowd for the reception, starting before the door opened at 6pm and continuing well into the evening. At 7pm, I made a performance art, throwing darts at my portrait of Mayor Bloomberg. It was a hit (actually all of them were)! Then, Chris and I gave brief talks about the project and Occupy with Art. Thank you to all who contributed to what was a wonderful evening of sharing art, convivials + passionate resistance and/or creative insistence. Special thanks goes to Marilyn Lavi, bj spoke director, Katherine Criss, and the bjs crews and committees who were vital in the actualization of this worthy collaborative project. Artist-owned and operated co-operative businesses are essential in a healthy arts ecology, and bj spoke is a great example and demonstration of that fact! - PJM
Occupy with Art and B.J. Spoke Gallery in Huntington, Long Island are pleased to announce the launch of CO-OP, an experimental collective art exhibit and exchange, on view from September 5-30, 2012. A reception will be held at the gallery on Saturday, September 8, from 6-8 PM. CO-OP will feature an array of OWS photos by Steve O'Byrne, works on paper by Konstant and Isaac Moylan, and 4D animations, paintings and multimedia pieces by Paul McLean. CO-OP will introduce a model gift-barter of art for food, prototyping the direct integration of the local art and cooperative food networks.
Konstant
Exhibition: September 5-30, 2012
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 8, 2012 6-9PM
B. J. Spoke Gallery
299 Main St Huntington, NY 11743
Gallery hours are Tuesday-Sunday 11-5 and Friday 11-9.
Phone: (631) 549-5106
Contact: Marilyn Lavi: manager@bjspokegallery.com
Website: http://www.bjspokegallery.com
Directions: 495 to exit 39N; Glen Cove Rd. north to 25A east; 25a about 14 miles to Huntington Village. Main St. is part of 25A.
Occupy with Art
Website: http://www.occupywithart.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/occupywithart
Co-organizers: Paul McLean [artforhumans@gmail.com + (615)491-7285] & Christopher Moylan [cmoylanc@gmail.com + (347)512-0833]
CO-OP installation view at bj spoke gallery.[EXHIBIT CONCEPT, NARRATIVE and DESCRIPTION]
CO-OP/Occuburbs/Occufest began in December 2011 as an Occupy with Art (OwA) initiative to bridge the apparent divide between Occupy Wall Street and artist-activists living in the suburbs of New York City - specifically, those who make Long Island their home. OwA co-organizers Paul McLean and Christopher Moylan, a Long Island-based educator, artist, poet and Occupier, discussed a range of measures they hoped might activate and unite Occupy with those sympathetic to the movement in Long Island, measures that included community-building cultural events and art exhibitions, in addition to mobilizing or organizing efforts. In so doing McLean and Moylan hoped to model innovative programs for sustainable, alternative art economies for the 99%, and to inspire those who engaged in activism in the past several decades to get involved with OWS actions, now.
Drawing from Moylan's experience in co-operative food networks, the co-organizers developed the CO-OP concept into an exhibition with an art and food exchange component. Through the CO-OP exchange, OwA is developing a simple template for in-kind or barter-based markets that will help artists become more integrated in communities that lack accessible or available retail infrastructure for affordable art. After a search and inquiry phase, McLean and Moylan, found great partner organizations in Huntington - The Cinema Arts Centre, which hosted an OwA screening program on July 25th featuring the films of Liza Bear, and B.J. Spoke, a member-supported gallery with deep roots in Long Island, dating to the 70s.
Moylan and McLean have written essays to platform the issues underpinning CO-OP, which have either been published in The Brooklyn Rail or the Occupy with Art blog. These include Moylan's CO-OP/Occuburbs/Occufest series, McLean's "ENOUGH [BASTA]!" and, more generally, McLean's "Soul of Occupy" sequence, which maps the sometimes (for the author) discomfiting parameters and expectations for art situated in the OWS protest movement, in its initial anarchic emergent state.
[ABOUT OCCUPY WITH ART]
The CO-OP production builds on OwA programs and initiatives, such as "Occupy Printed Matter," OwA's collaboration with Yoko Ono entitled "Wish Tree for Zuccotti Park," the Spatial Occupation at Hyperallergic, "Wall Street to Main Street," "Low Lives: Occupy!" and the soon-to-open Occupational Art School Node #1 at Bat Haus in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NYC. Occupy with Art was founded in late September as Occupennial, and until recently existed as an affinity group for the Arts & Culture Working Group of the New York City General Assembly for Occupy Wall Street. Over the past ten months, OwA has operated in constant transition, serving initially as a nexus for communications and documentation of OWS-related arts and culture, then shifting into production and program development. Over its brief life span OwA has generated many opportunities for Occupy artists to share ideas and work, facilitated important discourse on the disposition of art and artists in the Occupation, and presented diverse programming exploring a spectrum of meaningful creative action.
Image by Paul McLeanCO-OP at b.j. spoke gallery by Paul McLean Co-organizer, Occupy with Art
1
A half-block from the intersection of Wall Street and Main Street in Huntington, Long Island, you'll find b.j. spoke gallery. Here's its history, from the gallery website:
>> b. j. spoke gallery, incorporated and not-for-profit, is an artist-run gallery of professional artists with a broad diversification of styles and media.
April 1990 marked the inaugural show of two newly merged Long Island cooperative galleries, Northport Galleries and B. J. Spoke Gallery.
Spoke Gallery began in 1976 at a Port Washington site and later moved to neighboring Sea Cliff, New York. In 1980 Northport Galleries was established in Northport and seven years later moved to Huntington, NY.
Because of the ongoing friendship of the two galleries, the idea of a merger was enthusiastically accepted in 1990 by both memberships. <<
2
b.j. spoke is divided into three areas. Occupy with Art in September of 2012 will present CO-OP in b.j. spokes' central gallery. Our location within the brackets of the other two galleries, which will show member artists, reflects OwA's desire to support the mission of this important Long Island art organization, which has long advocated partnership between the artist and public as an "essential relationship."
Since the first exhibit OwA facilitated, "Occupy Printed Matter," in 2011, Occupy with Art has sought to establish bridges between Occupy Wall Street's artist activism and the artist activism that has emerged since the 70s in New York, and around the world. In "Wall Street to Main Street," for example, we partnered with renowned curator Geno Rodriquez, founder and former director of the Alternative Museum. OwA worked with Yoko Ono to manifest her project in support of OWS, "Wish Tree for Zuccotti Park." Now, with CO-OP, we are calling attention to the important contributions of artist-operated non-profits like b.j. spoke in providing important venues for underserved artist communities in areas outside major retail art markets. b.j. spoke and galleries like it have done great service to the 99% art world and the people for whom art is more than a luxury item or vehicle for speculation.
3
CO-OP is a dimensional art project. CO-OP is first and foremost a small collective show, an exhibit, as such. It is a template or model for occupational art practice, demonstrating one way that Occupy artists can partner with pre-existing arts organizations as an expression of solidarity. among 99% artists and our communities. CO-OP is a conceptual project, in which we will link co-operative food networks and artists within the medium of gift exchange for mutual aid and benefits.
4
Conceptual art typically requires an explanation for the viewer to engage the artwork or process fully. Concept, or idea art, is often meant to start conversations. OWS, which has started or re-started many important conversations, has itself been described in terms of art. CO-OP is meant to start conversations about sustainable art and artist economies for the 99%. OwA co-organizers are drawing on the successful history of co-operative food networks, as inspiration for propositions about new methods of exchange for art.
To summarize what has been a discussion spanning many months, OwA will partner with the Huntington food co-op (OwA co-organizer and Huntington resident Chris Moylan is one of the owners) to intertwine the exchange of art for co-op members, with the exchange of food for artists (or money, as a default or swap). Our art for food exchange, in this initial attempt, is rudimentary: the values are based on 1 to 1 ratios. An artwork valued at $20 can be exchanged for $20 worth of food. Huntington co-op members will be invited to select art and the artists will select food items for straight barter.
We will consider variations on the exchange (enthusiastically). The paper bags installed in the space with the art work are included primarily as symbols and signs of our micro-economy. CO-OP permits contemporary art to enter the consumer portable sector of the cultural economy, for which the brown paper bag has long been a staple. However, you'll see that our shopping bags are not exactly like those branded types a shopper fills with goods in SOHO, for example.
Gallery visitors are welcome to purchase art exhibited by CO-OP artists at full retail prices. b.j. spoke artists' work will not be included in this iteration of CO-OP, which is being conducted as a test of the process, essentially. CO-OP is also meant to raise awareness of local alternatives to the global art markets of Chelsea, for example, or the international art fair circuits.
We hope you enjoy CO-OP. Please don't hesitate to contact us with questions or feedback.
Updated on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 at 01:34PM by
admin
[SUMMARY]:
The Occupational Art School proposes to conduct a three-month long residency at Bat Haus in Bushwick. The programming will consist of workshops, screening series, a reading group, exhibits and other arts, cultural and educational exchanges. What follows is a suggested outline of the residency, created with the idea that we can adapt it to better suit the space, to meet client needs and interests, and to accommodate artists and instructors who approach us with interest in participating in OAS@Bat Haus.
Workshop: Barter: Theory and Practice with Caroline Woolard of OurGoods.org
Hosted by EYEBEAM
[NOTES]: I took a page-and-a-half of notes during the two-hour seminar, which I would be happy to share. Caroline said she would follow-up by sharing her booklist on barter and alt.economies (gift/barter/market) and the slideshow she created for the presentation. The workshop provided participants an opportunity to examine our existing notions about barter, gifting and these non-monetary systems' place in society and markets. We examined anthropological work on the subject, including Graeber's from Debt. Caroline cited the work of Caroline Humphrey on the nomadic Lohmi traders of Tibet as a prime influence, and also works by Allan Fiske and Marshall Sahlins. I think Louise Ma of Trade School was one of the attendees of our workshop; OurGoods and Trade School are I gather operating on a mutual aid basis, with some core members (like Caroline Woolard) in both orgs. Caroline also gave examples of barter models, from ancient Greece to the local present, to expand our understanding of how barter has worked or can work in different kinds of situations and societies, and what limitations or hazards apply to barter in practice, rather than theory or analytics. Participants shared food and drink, engaged in a barter game/team session and at the end of the workshop shared "haves" and "needs" in the format of OurGoods.
∞
Authorship & Appropriation in Contemporary Art
[Session 8]
Printed Matter, Inc. (Chelsea)
The opening of HELP/LESS
Organized by artist Chris Habib
[NOTES]: (This entry is a stub/communique) Leaving EYEBEAM and the OurGoods workshop, I noticed a cool-looking artist happening on 21st... Turned the corner and noticed Max Schumann outside Printed Matter on 10th. He told me about the ambitious Printed Matter summer project HELP/LESS. Max invited me into the bustling artist bookstore, to check out the opening night's happ'nin's, which were awesome. Click on the image above for more details and the calendar of events. I think Max explained that the interactive art event I'd passed was connected to the opening, which made sense. Every time I visit PM, my respect for Max and this venerable Chelsea art-org grows. HELP/LESS is a compelling, must-see/-play exhibit cum program, diving into the murky swampwaters of art- and intellectual property-ism, post-web, post-modernism, post-reproduction/mechanical age, post-Dispersion, post-4chan, pre-image Apocalypse. The crush of content in the PM shop is introduced by a storefront (the same one we Occupied last fall) that appears to present art star worx that actually are derivatives or outright replicants. PM has fearlessly confronted in Habib's HELP/LESS the copyright (or -wrong) regime of idea ownership and originality/original-ism that besets the culture at every turn, from Tumblr to tee shirts to texts to the YouTube-infected art haus. Speaking of tee shirts, Max said I could score a Yoko Ono tee in exchange for a great idea at PM (quantities while they last, I presume)... Max is going to be busy for the next few months (he always is) - working on a CoLab book, co-ordinating the string of in-store and online events for HELP/LESS, and, we hope, finally getting to give us an Occupational Art lesson on artist books - the one we tried to do at the Spatial Occupation @Hyperallergic, but which didn't pan out for that residency.
∞
[Follow-up]: Met Cody and Natalie at Bat Haus; we are making progress on our discussion about OAS siting there... STAY TUNED!
A photo from Bat Haus member & stylist Falosha Martin's shoot on location @BH. (click BH's blog link for more 411)
Today we will begin both a conversion and/or "point of origin" phase of OwA/OAS. This post will be added to for the next several days (once installed in this illustrated text, click "READ MORE" link to stay up-to-date on changes, as a bug in Squarespace causes edits to not appear in truncated main page blog posts), to reflect, summarize or represent the organizational trends and features our node has been developing over the past several months, leading to our OAS Node #1 launch. Many exchanges of many types have been undertaken in or through both actual and virtual environments to shape our platform, including conversations, exhibits, performances, data transmissions, shared archives or links. Our process has been informed by research, experience and theoretical positions. Input has come from many sources. The methodology has been "open disciplinary." Several texts have been offered as precursors [See "Soul of Occupy" and "Enough" series, as well as essays for OwA projects "Wall Street to Main Street," "Low Lives: Occupy!" and "CO-OP/Occuburbs"]. The Spatial Occupation @Hyperallergic residency was extremely helpful at a critical time in facilitating key emergent connections among some players in or of our OAS Node #1. Some explanation of how our node has formed will inevitably occur as we move forward, since the mode of the node will consist in part of a (transparent, apparent) practicum. OAS is emerging from OWS and OwA, and our relationship to the movement is fairly complex. As we begin, OAS is situated as an iteration and rejection of OWS arts & culture trajectories, simultaneously. We hope to offer some dimensional solutions to perceived or perceptual problems that OWS A&C exposed, derived of mainly ideological frames [IMHO-pjm] that may or may not, or should or should not apply to Occupational Art as we commence to conceive and manifest it. There are many, and multi-directional, oppositions to our undertaking. Fortunately and/or unfortunately, art and artists, we can see, prove that difficult creative environments are not always effective in crushing free expression.
Short description: Artist-directed guided tour of "Hologalactic," followed by discussion and pizza at John's of Bleecker Street with Eric and Samuel. The talk covered a range of topics, including Eric's doing an OAS workshop on holography, and Samuel doing an essay and presentation on the subject of the art and the spiritual, as reflected in the programming at All Things Project, plus an exploration of the history of the Neighborhood Church.
Session Two
An OAS planning session with Jeremy Bold [original OWS Arts & Culture, Revolutionary Games, Novads, etc.]
Topics included:
Jez's forming OAS Node 0
A networked performance of his moving images later this month
4D digital imaging and painting
Potential affiliations with other "schools" emerging from OWS, such as Freedom University
Visionary praxis
Usage of online tools for creating a content network
The Holodeck Prototype
Exhibit opportunities in conjunction with "Time Is the Only Object" at SLAG
Exploration of new street art in Bushwick
Economic models, alternatives
[Image by Jez Bold]
[NOTES]:
Two weeks ago, at the end of June, I sent this out to a short list of friends/collaborators/occupiers to invite their participation in an informal email/phone-enabled "vision/mission" session. Here is the text:
Hey all, this is my starter transmission for the rebooting of Occupy with Art, after we celebrated our nine-month birthday...
it's a kind of vision statement
I would like to convert OwA and our website into a node for the Occupational Art School. It's my idea that I will start to form "classes" here in Bushwick in July. I see the conversion to be
a grassroots artist organizing tool
a means by which OwA can become sustainable
a way for us to collectively and individually develop means to support our work/networks
the establishment of a production collective for generating shows, "games," actions/interventions, documents, archives, etc
an inside>outside interface for revolutionary, democratic and dimensional art
a means by which we can promote ideals and principles for art/artists/artistic purpose that we can believe in
more.
At this point we have an extensive set of potential participants. we have learned that people (including ourselves) have varying degrees of ability for participating... this project will provide a way for us to mobilize people at their own levels; be a source of info on what those are; and produce clear results (art & art events, etc) that are attractive
I would suggest we platform OAS on
spirit-mechanics
dimensional vision (4d)
compassion and care for each other
respect
kindness
fierce determination
endurance
It seems obvious that the nature [topography/culture/people] of this project to begin with will be international and local.
The operational start-concept is that each of us is a lead-artist of our own collectives. As a meta-collective, we will seek ways to provide support for each other in our various endeavors; in a slight adjustment of mission, OwA will serve as facilitator for our network'd & solo productions; document our progress; share our experiments and ideas; invite others to join; be a clearinghouse for technique and theory.
The e(n)ducation or e(n+1)ducational structure will encourage mentoring, mediums skill or craft, use of all available technologies, dedication to good assessment of progress and potential "success" on the basis of helping any "student"|"teacher"
to find her or his "best" artistic gift
making space where that person can apply the gift successfully
account for both history & creation (that one needs a bit of clarification; basically respect for one's particular background/vision/skills/craft/traditions > support for invention/genius
rational progressive development attaching to more responsibilities through the process (sound expectations)
I'm going to stop there - just to open it up to feedback... In a fairly short period of time I would like to open this up to a bigger set of perspectives and contributions.
I personally have almost no interest in using any GA processes in this effort, based on my experience over the past 9 months with them. Over the past 30 years I've worked out very effective systems for generating highest quality art outcomes. I think all of you can say the same, relative to your own stuff. I say that based on watching you do what you do.
Much respect
The reach-out garnered a couple dozen replies, some of which were profound. Jez Bold's in particular - outlining his ideas for OAS Node #0, pointed the discussion in radical directions in terms of media and imagination, relative to time and experience. Chris Moylan and James Andrews provided a degree of pragmatism that afforded our brainstorming with a good foundation of realism, addressing not only organizational and economic concerns, but also useful references to other successful and sustainable models already operating in the domain.
The importance of the archive to our undertaking was in short order reinforced by JB:
I believe that beginning with specially designated activities (for example, the philosophical/political/literary discussion sessions that Richard and I have experience designing and hosting) we could scale up the activities of these archival spaces into a network that I would be proud to call the Anarchives: an exploratory archive that any person of any ability is invited to participate in, consisting of a networked collection of people and artifacts that are free to interact with each other. This node would be a community archive for anyone in the area who wants to contribute to documenting the life, activities, thoughts and art of people in the local area. And it would be linked to the network of nodes through the Occupy With Art/Occupational Art School website, the Occupy Map, and other metadata resources that can help document and connect each node (person, space, activity).
As was the question of siting the program. The consensus seemed to point to a virtual/actual configuration or array. I pointed out that we already had online components in place. Both the OwA nexus site and the Occupational Art School Tumblr established for the Co-Lab (Austin) project were pegged to locate some of the essential activity getting started.
Chris and others suggested disciplines and media (like the graphic novel medium) that had been under-supported by Occupy in reaching demographics vital to the expansion of the movement going forward. Big Ideas like JB/Richard's "Sensatorium" and "Holodeck Prototype" seemed ideally suited to collaborative or collective production. Naturally, a number of voices brought up the question of funding for these projects and initiatives. At this early stage, those concerns were set aside, although the alt.economy for art and artists being developed through the CO-OP project was mentioned.
Several successful types of alt-schools are now emerging as viable and promising in the domain. James pointed to Trade School, but the spectrum of nodal or franchise or subscription education architectures is broadening at an amazing pace. Starting with say, Mark Allen's immensely successful Machine Project as a point of reference, we can also look to programs such as 3rd Ward, Intercourse, the OWS Summer Disobedience School, Freedom University and many others that are demonstrating that many approaches are possible for serving a wide range of "students" and "teachers" who are finding it more and more difficult or untenable to commit to the establishment academic tracks, for a variety of reasons, from the ideological to the economic.
Alex and others who provided exemplar inputs, like Shane Kennedy and Ambrose Curry and the Revolutionary Gamers in general, showed that liberated actions and activities, barely recognizable as "teaching," might function as the "best practices" for our school design. The DisciplineAriel project and others, like Mark Skwarek's Augmented Reality combines, suggest that modular production enabled by network tech/electronics offers those tracking collaborations or participating as open-invite new-users in collective projects a means of learning that's low-impact, and fun/easy.
Repeatedly, conversations touched on the principles of openness and mobility, but also on exciting dynamics with respect to immediate reach among potential collaborators, teachers, students and content developers of all creative flavors. Social media tools plus additive (n+1) tools like WIKI, CMS, fast dispersion -servs like REDDIT, elegant whiteboards like Pinterest, and other share-utilities offer a rich platform of options for us to sample, explore and apply.
CM raised questions about our attenuation to OWS. Currently, given the nebulous but still potent if mysteriously individuated (if not in some aspects invisible) mass of Occupy, we have to suspend the definition of our relation with the movement, not because that is desirable, but because it is determined by the dynamics of the movement itself. Issues of identity and our interface with media (and potential participants/users) therefore for now remains in flux. For our BETA phase, this may serve to our advantage, by not limiting our developmental parameters. For those of us who were more or less integrated into OWS over the past 9 months, detachment from certain programmatic constraints feels refreshing, if bittersweetly so.
To wrap up this section of the notes, let's look at JB's vision for Node 0:
I'm so glad this pluralogue is going on. Maybe we could plan a meeting when I can plan a Skype/in-person in where we can come together on some of these ideas.
I don't think I can help answer the question of how to locate OAS, except perhaps to say that I would it to operate on a decentralized basis, but one in which we maintain some conections digitally, and some network of names. (Does the network of networks itself need a name? I dunno. Maybe just call it The World...hahah). I assume we'll be operating kind of using our own expenses, tho it might be a nice model to practice tracking our use of funds publicly, which will be especially necessary if we want to get grants.
How do krystal-images relate to Occupy? The following is an excerpt from a longer piece that I hope should succeed in bridging the K-scope Xp-eriments to Occupy more generally:
...I want to live in the upper levels of human dimensions! Crystals awoke my eyes to unseen possibilities, new-found opportunities, beautiful visions of alternate realities. How can we understand Liberty Plaza without it?
This place was a giant crystal monad through which thousands of visions of society were compacted. And over 2 months, this process produced a group of people so dense and massive, that they turned the world upside down. What was impossible was suddenly very very real! And the people who looked thru that K(aleidoscope)-scope had their entire worlds un-adjusted.
It was tough, awkward at times, but we all learned a lot thru this experience. And the only way it will live on is if we tell this story. And even the stories are starting to revolve around the same points now. Why else would we still be interested in talking to each other about it? It's like we discovered that we all had a secret affinity for something that we didn't really know was possible before...
Catskill, New York – The second stage of the landmark exhibition cycle Wall Street to Main Street [WS2MS] commences in April and continues through the end of May 2012. WS2MS will offer a variety of creative, fun and educational opportunities for the communities of OWS and the Hudson River region to explore, evaluate and imagine 99% alternatives to the status quo.
Installations along Catskill’s Main Street have sparked sometimes-intense responses from the town’s citizens, since the festival opened here on March 17. The programming of WS2MS demonstrates the organizers’ and artists’ sustained commitment to establishing common ground for lively and spirited exchange. Our goal is to encourage democratic art and free speech. To that end we are trying to be responsive and responsible to our generous hosts, the people of Catskill.
The art in Wall Street to Main Street communicates the amazing breadth of emotion, vision, and drama that is Occupy, which Naomi Klein characterized as “the most important thing in the world now.” Art and artists have been central to OWS since the occupation of Liberty Plaza in the financial district of Manhattan on September 17, 2011. WS2MS offers viewers a window into the ideas, dreams and inspirations arising from the movement that has spread across the globe.
In Stage 2 of WS2MS, we will engage in skill-sharing workshops, demonstrations, performances, discussions, panels, tours and more. Almost all the WS2MS Stage 2 events are being offered for free. As the program evolves through April and May, WS2MS, like OWS, will continually evolve and re-shape. That means more art exhibits, concerts and events will be launched over the remaining weeks in our schedule. See the WS2MS sampler listings below for details, or visit www.greenearts.org/ws2ms for the complete, up-to-date calendar.
WS2MS is proud to present the Buckminster Fuller Institute’s presentations “Practice Where You Occupy” with the Mobile Design Lab team discussing their water, food and energy solutions for Zucotti Park from 11am-1pm and “Solution Sets for Main Street” from 2-4PM (April 21, 408 Main Street).
The following Saturday, April 28, will feature “Change Is in the Air,” a seminar with Glenn Leisching based on our relationship with nature and familial ancestral heritage.
If you’re interested in making art, sign up for Emily Bruenig’s free screen printing and bookmaking workshop (462 Main Street on April 29 from 1-3PM).
If you’re just out for a walk and a great overview of WS2MS, join New York based artist and educator Ellen Levy and Occupy with Art organizer Paul McLean for a walking salon tour of the gallery and window spaces of WS2MS. The tour meets at the arts council, 398 Main Street, on Sunday May 6 at 11AM.
Green workshops include Franc Palaia’s Eco-Bulb demo/class, a 100% solar option for sheds and other buildings (May 12 from 1-3PM, 408 Main Street).
Canadian artist Joel Richardson will offer a two-day stencil painting workshop to help you create your own designs and a custom Suitman illustrating Catskill’s economic history (May 12 and 13, 10AM-2 PM, 473 Main Street - $50, with advance registration).
For the literary crowd, on May 12 the poet Sparrow will host “Speaking to the Gods,” a reading and conversation about our relationship to the great poets at Occupy Books, 450 Main Street from 4-6PM. He will also host “Silence Poetry” from 2-4PM.
“Awaken the Dreamer/Changing the Dream” on May 13 (10 AM-3 PM, 344 Main Street) will present a vision for an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just human presence on earth.
Poet, author and educator Sam Truitt will lead a day of panel discussions and workshops at Occupy Books on Saturday May 19 from 11 AM-4PM and with a reception from 5-7pm (details TBA on the GCAC website and here, closer to the launch date).
Community artist extraordinaire Matt Bua will teach a sustainable living/drawing workshop, envisioning life off-the-grid (May 26 from 4-6pm).
Updated on Monday, March 26, 2012 at 06:46PM by
admin
In the wake of Occupy Wall Street’s six month anniversary, small town America’s continuing struggle provides the backdrop for a unique art activist project, Wall Street to Main Street. At the March 17th premier, curious locals and out-of-towners enjoyed a perfect spring day visiting the 20 pop-up exhibit sites along the Main Street in Catskill, NY. Walking along four compact blocks, visitors had time to talk and digest ideas in between installations. This ten week expo features over 50 exhibitors, performances, workshops and seminars with a newspaper that serves as the project’s guide, The Wall Street to Main Street Message. The day culminated in a party with poetry, prose and protest songs at BRIK Gallery where a comprehensive exhibition introduces the movement’s historical and global context. Artists and organizers celebrated at the local Thai restaurant with laptops open to a live webcast as Michael Moore held a press conference announcing a fresh wave of protesters flooding into Zuccotti and Union Square Parks.
"Lapsed Logic" Ingrid Burrington Opening reception Saturday March 10, 6-9PM @Hyperallergic
The Spatial Occupation @Hyperallergic is pleased to announce "Lapsed Logic," a solo exhibit by Ingrid Burrington of "works on paper made during uncertain times in preparation for disasters yet to come," opening Saturday, March 10 from 6-10PM.
[NOTE: We've launched a section in our WS2MS Active Projects & Proposals area for 411 on the Catskill production, where you'll be able to find the latest updates and info on WS2MS art, artists, initiatives, events, activities, context, press and documentation. You can find out more about the WS2MS programming HERE.]
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WALL STREET TO MAIN STREET
Six months after Occupy Wall Street (OWS) sparked a global 99% movement, Occupy with Art and Masters on Main Street launch "Wall Street to Main Street" (WS2MS) in historic Catskill, NY. Through a dynamic series of art exhibits, performances, screenings, happenings, public discussions, community- and family-focused activities, WS2MS will not only illuminate the amazing phenomenon of OWS, it will explore possible futures of the movement and build a creative bridge to connect the protests with the real needs and values of Main Street, USA. WS2MS opens March 17, 2012 in Catskill, NY. For additional details, see attached information.
[NOTE: As a result of feedback from Arts & Culture Working Group/OwA members, the selection process for Wall Street to Main Street has been adjusted to accommodate and address concerns about inclusivity and organizational integrity. The Call for Co-Curators below reflects the refinement of WS2MS suggested by the feedback of participants. For more info, see the organizational meeting report HERE.]
"Wall Street to Main Street" project organizers are calling for artists and art workers within the Occupy Wall Street movement to join the collaborative team coordinating and selecting proposals.
"Wall Street to Main Street" is a collaborative art project linking Occupy Wall Street and the rest of America, via the small town of Catskill, NY. The Occupy Wall Street Movement (OWS) has focused its energy on the need for justice for the 99%. This project offers a platform for creative expression and dialogue focusing attention on an economically depressed community through inventive art exhibitions and cultural events.
Co-curators are invited to participate in an online review and selection of works. Proposal review will occur between February 1 and February 7. Co-curators will view proposals online and rank each on a scale of 1 to 5. Works will be chosen based on the total combined scores of each artist. In addition, co-curators will be responsible for the organization and installation of a Main Street exhibition site requiring a 1-2 day visit to Catskill.
Co-curators must be committed to participation during selection process and be available to attend 1-2 organizational meetings in New York City and an installation date between February 11 and March 16 in Catskill, NY in preparation for the exhibition launch on March 17th. Co-curators must be reliable, organized and reachable by phone and/or email. Co-curators will work closely with co-organizers Fawn Potash and Paul McLean. We are working to secure funding to cover the cost of transportation between NYC and Catskill with overnight guestrooms.
SEND SUBMISSIONS BY FEBRUARY 1, 2012 TO:
Fawn Potash, Masters on Main Street, Project Director
Attn: WS2MS Space Proposal and/or WS2MS Photo-Doc Entries
Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 12:17PM 
