6 x 6
How did 6 one-week projects expand the understanding of the A.P.E. gallery as an active space within a community?
From July 10 - August 21, 2016, A.P.E. launched 6X6, a unique new program that expanded the understanding of a contemporary art gallery as an active space within the community. 6X6 hosted six artists/artist groups over six weeks from July to mid August. During their week-long residency, each artist or group created and continued work in the gallery space, which was then made open to the public through a variety of workshops, events, and pop-up exhibitions. Artists and artist groups were provided with an open platform to try something different, test an idea, develop new work, and engage new audiences. Each project or process relied on or maintained a central inquiry into the relationship between the public, the work, and the space in which it is made.
Funding for this project was provided in part from The Art Angels through the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts and a grant from the Northampton Arts Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
Funding for this project was provided in part from The Art Angels through the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts and a grant from the Northampton Arts Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
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We Are Not Machines/No Somos Màquinas: Voices of Northampton Restaurant Workers
Curators & Artists: Leslie Lynn Lucio, Adam Reid, Seth Gregory, Javiera Benavente, and Pioneer Valley Workers. July 10 – July 16 This exhibition highlights the voices and faces of people affected by low-wage restaurant work. The show creates a connection between workers and the community they serve daily, and hopes to foster a collective dialogue about workplace conditions and create a more just and sustainable future for Northampton and other cities. A series of events will accompany the exhibition, including a public launch, film forum, a worker panel, and worker-led musical groups. MORE |
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Written on the Body: Drawing, Moving Artists: Jim Coleman, Terese Freedman, Neal Parks & Candice Salyers July 17 – July 23 In this project, choreographers Jim Coleman and Terese Freedman will give interested members of the community the opportunity to move freely across the gallery wall while visual artist Neal Parks “traces” their movement action on paper. This “tracing” is simultaneously video-projected onto their bodies in real time, as they move across the wall, and video-recordings of these “tracings” will be compiled daily and projected as a streaming film each night on the gallery window, to be viewed by all passersby. The week will culminate with 4 live presentations of Written on the Body, performed by dancer Candice Salyers and visual artist Neal Parks. MORE |
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The Candidate is Absent: A Pop-Up Campaign Office launched by the PineCone Finance Reform Party
Campaign Staff: Gina Siepel, Sara Smith, Bernadine Mellis, EE Miller July 24 – July 30 The Pinecone Finance Reform Party will launch The Candidate’s 2016 presidential campaign with a host of workshops and actions for the people. Workshops will address all aspects of platform-building, including Hands-On Democracy Construction, an Electioneering Ephemera Atelier, Manifesto Writing, and Public Speaking. Participatory Actions will include Listening Lunches with EE Miller, a public performance of I Want A President Who…, and will conclude with an UNconventional victory DANCE party! MORE |
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Addressing Perception Artists: Peter Schmitz, Kathy Couch, Sasha Statmen-Weil July 31 – August 6 This project addresses perception. The public is invited to bring their perceptions into the space that the artists’ perception is creating. The public may give form and parameter to their experience with the curtains that surround this space, which are available to help shape their literal vision. With them, the public is in charge of their own framing and vantage; you, the public determines what you see. |
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2X3: A Generative Artwork Residency Project Esther White and Trevor Powers, Curators. August 7 – August 13 2x3 will use A.P.E. Gallery as an artists’ studio, production facility, and exhibition space. 2x3 will provide two artists, Leah Mackin and Sally Clegg, and one collective, Loculus, each with two-day, mini-residencies in the gallery. The artists will each create new work using their time, a photocopier, and simple bookmaking tools. 2x3 creates a transparent space for art making and experimentation, where the means of production are both exposed and accessible. MORE |
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Golden Structure Artist: Sue Huang August 14 – August 21 Golden Structure explores the creation and evolution of forts within the space of A.P.E. Ltd. Gallery in Northampton, MA. The artist, Sue Huang, invites the community to join her in this exploration as she reconstructs the tented structures of her childhood. Visitors are encouraged to build, extend, intervene, dismantle, and rebuild—the space will continuously evolve throughout the week as an amalgamation of the various forts, shelters, and homes of our collective memories. MORE |