1) Please state who you are and what you do!
I’m a curator and organizer involved with the Ho_se and the Silent Barn. I run a small non-commercial art gallery inside the Silent Barn called Big Law Country Club that focuses on emerging installation and video artists.
2) How do you think your art gallery effects the Bushwick community?
I’m really excited about showcasing emerging talent, and giving people who haven’t shown at all or often a chance. The Silent Barn is really publicly accessible, so showcasing emerging artists is exciting because its eyes on the work, which I hope spirals into more opportunities for the artists.I have a really wonderful symbiotic relationship with the Silent Barn. The art shows further texturize the music-show goers experience, and the artists get hundreds of eyes on their work which bridge from different communities they might not have been linked to otherwise. (and vise versa)
BLCC’s contribution to the Bushwick arts community is through existing as a completely untraditional kind of gallery. Because it is such a small and relaxed place, I leave it as an experimental sandbox. I’m most attracted to installation work because its an easy way to feel physically transported into a different realm. Its quick and easy escapism. I love when guests turn the corner and and there’s that moment of wonder – that they didn’t expect that. That feeling is what I want to serve the community.
3) Being a part of Silent Barn, and the Bushwick art community, do you feel you have a certain responsibility? If so what?
I feel like my responsibility is to care, be tasteful, and to help facilitate interesting art, which is easily accessible to the public. The Silent Barn is super community oriented, and we try to open up our doors to a wide variety of talent and guests from multiple parts of the Bushwick community.
4) How do you envision the current Bushwick art scene changing in the new few years?
I anticipate rent will go up and it will be harder for struggling artists to live in it – that there will be less DIY houses, and more legal venues.
5) Do you think that that all the residents of Bushwick have a responsibility regarding the future of bushwick? If so, do you see people owning up to this responsibility?
You can’t move into a community and pretend to be an island. We have certain responsibilities to any environment we inhabit. It’s just about having general respect. I’ve always been big into exploring and supporting local businesses, learning the history of the neighborhood and the personal stories of its occupants, really trying to get to know my neighbors.
The Living Blog 