uncurated by José Ruiz

Collaborating artists: Shinsuke Aso, Kai Bailey, Marcy Brafman, Amy Brener, Robert Anthony Bryn, Emmy Catedral, Corey D'Augustine, Zack Davis, Asa Elzen, Zachary Fabri, Paul Clay, McKendree Key, Sandra Lee, Chang-Jin Lee, Rossana Martinez, Esperanza Mayobre, Jim Nolan, Mike Rader, Leonid Tsvetkov, Bryan Zanisnik

Metro Poles blog - check out images of this installation in process.

Bronx, NY, October 28, 2008 – The project and exhibition Metro Poles: Art in Action opened its doors this week at the Bronx River Art Center. Unlike traditional exhibitions, where the artwork is finished and on view starting on the first day of the show, Metro Poles transforms an art space into a stage for experimentation and collaboration- a public studio where concepts, artistic processes and performances are exchanged and improvised.

A singular installation is developed on-site, over a four-week period, by 7 teams (20 artists) working collaboratively. Each artist occupies the gallery for a week and is followed consecutively by the remaining artists in their team. The process of development and renewal, which offers alternatives to individual production, commodity, competition and influence, is currently on view during gallery hours. Viewers have the opportunity to encounter a different space on any given day and the chance to witness artists at work.

The idea for a curatorial collaboration was originally conceived by Heng-Gil Han, JCAL’s curator. The project’s driving theme was later developed in collaboration with Jose Ruiz, Bronx River Art Center’s curator, Robert Lee, Asian American Arts Centre’s director, and Elisabeth Akkerman, The Francis J. Greenburger Collection/Time Equities’ curator. “I wanted to create a show that was a collaborative activity among emerging contemporary artists and would bring people to discover art organizations like Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning, Bronx River Art Center and Asian American Arts Centre, which are located off the beaten art path. It is at organizations like these where many critics, curators and art buyers are introduced to emerging contemporary artists,” according to Mr. Han. The Bronx River Art Center’s Executive Director, Gail Nathan states, “This artistic and curatorial collaboration offers us a chance to contemplate how artists and non-profit organizations can creatively survive in this economic recession.”

Metro Poles: Art in Action is a cross-borough collaboration with Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Asian American Arts Centre and Maiden Lane Exhibition Space. In October & November 2008, approximately 60 NY-based artists will debut new work almost simultaneously in the Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan. The curatorial premise of Metro Poles is to resist the commodification of the art object, nurture creative collaboration between artists and curators, and propose new curatorial models for contemporary art.