Mission:
Recess’ mission is to support the creative process of the contemporary artist by providing a space for productive activity and a platform for a partnership with the public. By offering artists flexible work/exhibition space, artists are given agency to determine the visibility of their work and the parameters of its presentation.
Free of charge and open to the public, Recess facilitates every-day interactions between artists and the community in order to promote the productive space of the working artist as a site of valuable visual and intellectual interactions. Our endeavors foster career development and promote critical exposure for the artists we support while fostering a non-alienating environment in which artists and the public can engage in a meaningful exchange of art and ideas.
History:
Recess was formed in May of 2009 to address concerns that the emerging artist cannot afford to live or work in proximity to exhibition communities. Securing a platform to gain visibility and develop creative goals and professional career is often an insurmountable task. In addition, modes of production are changing, and it is the responsibility of contemporary arts institutions to actively respond. Contemporary artwork, rather than existing in traditional forms is often site-specific, performance-based or ephemeral in nature. The traditional gallery space cannot always respond to the interactive, process-based artistic production. The artist’s studio is also changing; no longer bound to conventional space, the studio of the contemporary artist is the street, the gallery, or anywhere the practitioner chooses to work.
Program:
Contemporary artwork, rather than existing in traditional forms is often site-specific, performance-based or ephemeral in nature. The traditional gallery and studio cannot always respond to the interactive, process-based artistic production.
For Artists & Audiences:
Recess Activities, Inc. offers a new model that gives contemporary and emerging artists space to use as a studio, exhibition venue, or grounds for experimentation. The street-level space is open to the public, facilitating meaningful visual and intellectual interactions between artists and the community.
Recess’s signature program offers artists two or three month public residencies, during which artists define the context of their creative goals and open up their process to the public. In between residencies, Recess offers shorter programs that likewise offer artists and audiences creative control and demystify the tropes of the artistic process.
Artists at Work:
Artists and are expected to work on a daily basis or the equivalent of at least 20 hours per week. They receive a small materials stipend. In conversation with Recess curators, artists designate their own work hours and the degree to which they coincide with public hours. Artists may open their doors to present work, to stage performance-based activities, and/or to engage with public audiences while they work.
Soho Location:
41 Grand Street, Ground Floor
New York, NY 10013
N, R, W, A, C, E to Canal Street
Public Hours:
Wednesday 12-6pm, Thursday 2-8pm, Friday-Saturday 12-6pm, and by appointment
Contact us at:
info@recessart.org
646-863-3765
When you visit:
Most resident artists will choose to be present during public hours, connecting with visitors through participatory or performance-based activities. If the artist happens to be absent when the space is open to the public, his/her presence will be implied by the site-specific, workshop environment of his/her work in process.