Project Description: Artistic Developments: Artists and the Language of Real Estate

A contemporary art exhibition at NARS Foundation Gallery
March 11-April 8, 2016 (www.narsfoundation.org)
Opening Reception: Friday, March 11, 6-8 PM; Curator’s Talk: 7PM 
Katherine Gressel, Curator
Exhibiting Artists: Daniel Bejar, Sonya Blesofsky, Becky Brown, Lisa Dahl, Sam Holleran, Leslie Kerby, Martin McCormack, Cheryl Molnar

Artistic Developments features eight artists who appropriate the techniques of real estate advertising in order to comment on the state of development in NYC and beyond.  The past decade’s real estate boom has seen alluring photos, renderings and descriptions of existing and future properties become ubiquitous in both public and virtual space. These promise a luxurious, productive lifestyle in up-and-coming neighborhoods whose "artsyness" is often their selling point. 

Artistic Developments will explore the at times humorous or subversive intersection of art and a specific real estate vocabulary. Naturally, the artwork in the exhibit also touches upon such topics as gentrification, overdevelopment, and the psychology of an American dream tied to home ownership.  

I was selected to curate this exhibition through the NARS Foundation's competitive Emerging Curator program, which provides free gallery space and technical and promotional support, but only a modest honorarium towards helping create and install the actual artwork.

I am therefore raising funds to help realize such ambitious projects as: 

Cheryl Molnar’s collages and brochures juxtaposing old and new Greenpoint architecture, reflecting the artist’s weighing of pros and cons of gentrification in the neighborhood she has documented for over 10 years. 

Martin McCormack’s mock proposal for a “Freedom Heights” Ground Zero residential tower that feeds into debates over affordable vs. contextually appropriate housing. 

Image: Becky Brown. Similar "stuffed" kitchen objects also available as "perks" for supporters!

Considering how expensive it is for artists to live and work in NYC, the least we can do is help them create and exhibit impactful artwork addressing this problem! Your pledge to this campaign will go directly towards the artists' production, transportation and installation costs. 

In return, you get to take home some of the their original work (and don't worry, most of it is small enough to fit in the average NYC apartment!) See the thumbnails below and the "Gallery" tab on top for images of all the great perks!

The NARS stipend plus individual donations received so far only cover about 25% of artists' costs--given that most are creating new works for this show, some very large and labor-intensive (think: stripping away part of a wall, building a life-sized kitchen in the middle of the floor!).  With only 4 days of onsite install time to realize such projects, some artists need to rent large trucks or hire paid assistants, and most at least need to pay for printing or framing work.

Please help us raise the remaining necessary funds so all the artists can realize their most ambitious projects without paying out of pocket!

Community Impact

Your contributions will help artists create new work that will also enrich the gallery's surrounding community, including NARS' wide network of emerging and underrepresented national and international visual artists, some with studios in the same building as the gallery.  

A dedicated effort is made by NARS to also engage with the local South Brooklyn community, in particular Sunset Park, a largely immigrant community with little access to arts programming. The neighborhood has been the focus of recent preservation and affordable housing/workspace battles, sparked by renovations to once artist-friendly spaces like Industry City (NARS' former home!) to make way for more profitable businesses.  The exhibition will contribute to this local debate by exploring, among other things, how transitional urban neighborhoods are “marketed” to potential residents and businesses, and the role of artists and creative industries in development. We are planning a family workshop in conjunction with the exhibition as part of NARS' Educational Outreach program, which reaches many Sunset Park families.

Risks & Challenges

I have a track record of realizing a total of eight similarly ambitious group exhibitions to date at non-traditional venues, on time and on budget, while attracting large and diverse audiences  and positive feedback from participating artists, community partners, and the press. My most recent group exhibition addressing income inequality was praised in the Brooklyn Paper as “art that gets involved." Past artists in my similar exhibitions on socially engaged art expressed gratitude for the “rare opportunity” to share ideas and resources with “like minded artists” as well as a larger community. 

I am, however, familiar with the unique challenges of commissioning site specific work, as there is always the risk of artwork not being finished on time or according to plan. In the past I have dealt with this issue by planning alternate layouts for the show, i.e. in case an artwork is late or missing, and maintaining constant communication with the artists and other collaborators to make sure progress reports are received and deadlines are met. 

More about me (and the gallery)  

I am an NYC-based independent curator, writer and artist focused on site specific art. In addition to being selected as NARS' 2015 Emerging Curator, I am currently the Contemporary Art Curator at the Old Stone House & Washington Park  in Brooklyn .   I have also curated for FIGMENT, No Longer Empty, and Brooklyn Historical Society, and have written and presented on public and community art issues for Createquity, Americans for the Arts, and Public Art Dialogue, among others.  My previous curatorial work has been recognized by the New York Times, Time Out New York, Hyperallergic, News 12 Brooklyn, DNAInfo, and grants/awards from the Brooklyn Arts Council, Puffin Foundation, and Independent Curators International. I received my BA in art from Yale and MA in arts administration from Columbia. I also run a successful event painting business, and am offering some of my own artwork as rewards for you! See my past work at: katherinegressel.com, eventpaintingbykatherine.com.

View past curatorial projects HERE and HERE, and select press coverage. 

The New York Art Residency and Studios (NARS) Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit arts organization committed to supporting emerging and underrepresented artists and curators on a local and international level. The annual Emerging Curator Program offers an opportunity for a young-in-career curator to present a group show and fresh curatorial ideas at the NARS Foundation Gallery. The aim of the program is to encourage new dialogue and to create a platform for curators and artists to experiment and exchange ideas.
For further information, please contact  www.narsfoundation.org / info@narsfoundation.org / 718-768-2765.

Music in the Video: "Dirt" by Jahzzar. Altered to fit length of video and voiceovers.
Dirt (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 3.0"> 

 Summary of all Perks