The Need Now:

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 are given agency to determine the visibility of their work and the parameters of its presentation. 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.