atac is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization in downtown Framingham, MA. Home to community-centered creative programs, artistic development, and work and volunteer opportunities, atac facilitates new possibilities for their community to access the transformative power of creativity. In different capacities, I worked at atac from the summer of 2022 to the fall of 2023.
Read more... (dot, dot, dot)
A digital artwork produced in response to the Media Archeology Lab at the University of Colorado, Boulder’s open call for works produced with Kid Pix software. By Ben Sisto, 2022.
As Is: Signs
June 2-4, 2017
Reception and zine release June 2, 7pm
Good Work Gallery, 1100 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY
goodworkgallery.com
As Is (Signs) is my tribute to Jia Hua Trading Inc, importers and exporters of wholesale gifts and home goods. I purchased several LED storefront signs from Jia Hua just prior to their leaving their 15 West 28th St. location in 2016. The exhibition is accompanied a zine by the same title, with images produced by placing the aforementioned LED signs either directly on a scanner, or in close-proximity to the camera on a mobile phone.
Installation and Reception:
Zine Images:
Dear Reader
Rowan Hisayo Buchanan by Seze Devres for Ace Hotel New York
After starting Ace Hotel’s AIR program in 2014, I thought to do one specifically for authors. I got introduced to Alexander Chee who, fresh off a residency with a train company, was having similar ideas. We created Dear Reader, a program that would come to last for at least 4 years and host some truly great talents. Kelly from Ace described it to Fast Company this way:
“Each month this year, a writer will spend a night at Ace Hotel exploring its edges and insides,” explains Kelly Sawdon, partner and chief brand officer of Ace Hotel. “During their stay, they’ll craft an open letter to an imagined audience of hotel guests. On a surprise date the following month, the letters will be laid bedside in each room–hand-stamped and numbered.” … a cross between a Dear John letter and a limited edition object that 300 lucky guests will receive each month.”
Letters existed in-print only and, only in the hotel rooms. There was also an annual Dear Reader, Live event where authors (or special guests) read their letters and other works in person. These were always packed.
There were a bunch of short 5-questions style interviews with authors up on the blog but Ace seems to have taken their old Tumblr down; not sure where/if they got archived.
Guest Curators:
Year One: Alexander Chee
Year Two: Alexander Chee
Year Three: Tin House Magazine
Year Four: Tin House Magazine
Authors:
Atticus Lish
Saeed Jones
Chelsea Hodson
Dale Peck
Sigrid Nunez
Lucas Mann
Kiese Laymon
Catherine Chung
Chinelo Okparanta
DarkMatter
Daniel José Older
Elif Batuman
Morgan Parker
Alexander Chee
Kaitlyn Greenidge
Tommy Pico
Wo Chan
Natalie Diaz
Alice Sola Kim
Ioannis Pappos
Jami Attenberg
Tyehimba Jess
Tracy O'Neill
Porochista Khakpour
Garnette Cadogan
Jenny Zhang
Claire Fuller
Jia Tolentino
Christopher Soto
Claire Vaye Watkins
Alexandra Kleeman
Leslie Jamison
Mia Alvar
Carmen Machado
Danez Smith
Kaveh Akbar
Morgan Jerkins
Joshua Jelly-Shapiro
Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
Naomi Jackson
Rosalie Knecht
Michelle Tea
Ocean Vuong
Tayari Jones
Jamel Brinkley
Fatimah Asghar
Michael Arceneaux
Hieu Minh Nguyen
Earthrise Museum
Apollo 8 ephemera, collected in celebration of its 50th anniversary.
Read moreBingo
Ben and Lee Sisto at Russell Janis in Brooklyn, New York. The exhibit features a handful of works on paper, mostly made with bingo markers and crayons. Ben is 40, Lee is 2.5. Reception June 26, 2020 from 11am - 12pm.
Read moreDual 56k
In 2009, Dual 56k (Matt Boch and Ben Sisto) were commissioned by Mass MoCA in North Adams, MA to create a DJ / VJ performance for one of their outdoor program afterparties. At that time, a new series of Sol LeWitt works had just been installed so we thought to use them in our video. Wearing chroma-key suits, we spent a few hours recording video of “performance art like movements” in front of LeWitt pieces, much to the confusion and amusement of unsuspecting museum guests. Later, I DJ’d and Matt worked our clips into a video montage projected above the dance floor. Maybe not a critical moment in high-art discourse, but it was a super fun, playful day.
Some of these photos / video were shot by Natalie LaChall. The song playing in the video’s by U.V. Protection.
of Bits
Of Bits, PDF, 24” x 36” inkjet print on bond, 2010
In Marcus Boon’s In Praise of Copying, the author recalls a conversation with new-media theorist Julian Dibbell, who says:
“We tend to think of bits as these sort of atomic, on-or-off monads, but they are usually represented as two different voltage levels—1 being thus-and-such a voltage, 0 being another. And since there’s usually a gap between the levels, and large numbers of electrons involved in determining a given voltage, there’s lots of room for physical difference at the electron level between two digitally equivalent bits. Digital information really is nothing more or less than a form of writing. Just about any question you ask about bits can be illuminated by asking it about script, I find. So: “How different can two electronically coded 1’s be?” is sort of like asking how different two 1’s written on a page can be. The answer to the latter is: very different indeed, as the disciplines of typography, calligraphy, and handwriting analysis attest. The “invisibility” of electronic code makes it sort of opaque to these disciplines. But is it impossible to imagine that there might one day be a sort of calligraphy of the bit?”
I loved this ending phrase and began thinking of what a work titled Of Bits might look like. I decided on a study on the variations of period (.) symbols across all the fonts that came pre-loaded with the then-curren version of Open Office.
Burger Time
Playlab, Inc. asked me
to consider the burger for a burger-themed exhibition at A/D/O in Brooklyn. I produced a simple cypher in which English alphabet letters were represented by burger toppings. I was imagining a dystopian future where an underground resistance-type organization communicated in secret by creating complex custom burger orders at fast-food restaurants. One would get a burger with say the toppings Pepper, Applesauce and A1 sauce which represent the letters R, U and N and would be interpreted as a signal. I sent Playlab an email explaining all this and the turned it into a nice poster available for take-away from mobile wooden carts.
Additional Copy
LETTUCE APPLESAUCE PEPPER MUSTARD ONION PEPPER AVOCADO LATKE BACON ONION
LETTUCE APPLESAUCE PEPPER MUSTARD ONION PEPPER AVOCADO LATKE BACON ONION LATKE JALAPENO BUN 1982 BUN PEPPER CHEESE BUN TOMATO ONION MUSTARD BUN BACON ONION CHEESE PEPPER ONION BUN AVOCADO ONION TOMATO LETTUCE CHILI TOMATO BUN AVOCADO BUN ONION BUN JALAPENO AVOCADO LATKE A1 LATKE AVOCADO LATKE BUN AIOLI AIOLI CHILI KETCHUP PICKLE PEPPER LATKE AVOCADO JALAPENO TOMATO ONION CHEESE PICKLE CHEESE BUN JALAPENO JALAPENO ONION AVOCADO AVOCADO ONION JALAPENO CHILI JALAPENO AVOCADO ONION BACON AVOCADO MAYO ONION PATTY AIOLI BUN CHILI ONION PEPPER LATKE JALAPENO CHEESE MAYO ONION KETCHUP PATTY ONION AVOCADO ONION PEPPER PATTY ONION PATTY PATTY ONION PEPPER PESTO MAYO PICKLE BACON APPLESAUCE JALAPENO AVOCADO PESTO BUN AIOLI MUSHROOM PICKLE PINEAPPLE ONION PEPPER MAYO BUN BACON LETTUCE APPLESAUCE PEPPER MUSTARD ONION PEPPER LATKE A1 MUSTARD PEPPER ONION TOMATO LATKE ONION A1 AVOCADO JALAPENO AIOLI PICKLES CHEESE BUN AVOCADO ONION TOMATO BUN CHEESE PEPPER PICKLES JALAPENO JALAPENO BUN BACON BUN 1000 ISLAND ONION PICKLES KETCHUP PATTY AIOLI BUN AVOCADO KETCHUP PICKLE PEPPER BACON JALAPENO PESTO MAYO LATKE AIOLI ONION BUN PINEAPPLE PICKLE LATKE TOMATO LATKE A1 MUSTARD PATTY APPLESAUCE PEPPER JALAPENO APPLESAUCE LATKE A1 MUSTARD CHEESE MAYO BUN PEPPER BUN CHEESE AVOCADO ONION PEPPER JALAPENO AVOCADO MAYO ONION MUSTARD BUN BACON ONION JALAPENO PICKLE PEPPER LATKE MUSTARD LATKE A1 BUN AIOLI EGG BUN PATTY BUN A1 ONION JALAPENO ONION AVOCADO LATKE AVOCADO AIOLI ONION MAYO BUN BACON LETTUCE APPLESAUCE PEPPER MUSTARD ONION PEPPER PESTO BUN JALAPENO CHEESE MAYO BUN A1 MUSTARD ONION TOMATO AVOCADO PICKLE LETTUCE APPLESAUCE PEPPER MUSTARD ONION PEPPER AVOCADO LATKE BACON ONION LETTUCE ONION KETCHUP PICKLE PEPPER ONION LATKE AVOCADO JALAPENO LATKE A1 AVOCADO PEPPER PICKLE TOMATO APPLESAUCE CHEESE AVOCADO LATKE PICKLE A1 AVOCADO PICKLE AVOCADO MAYO ONION APPLESAUCE A1 LATKE AVOCADO ONION TOMATO JALAPENO AVOCADO BUN AVOCADO ONION JALAPENO
PESTO LATKE MUSHROOM LATKE PATTY ONION TOMATO LATKE BUN TOMATO PICKLE AVOCADO PICKLE PEPPER MUSTARD JALAPENO AIOLI BUN JALAPENO MAYO PESTO LATKE MUSHROOM LATKE JALAPENO AIOLI BUN JALAPENO MAYO LETTUCE APPLESAUCE PEPPER MUSTARD ONION PEPPER AVOCADO LATKE BACON ONION
LETTUCE ONION A1 JALAPENO LATKE JALAPENO AVOCADO PICKLE
PICKLE CHEESE ONION BUN A1 JALAPENO LATKE TOMATO ONION PICKLE PEPPER ONION MUSTARD PICKLE A1
BUN PATTY PEPPER LATKE AIOLI 2017
This project was commissioned by PLAYLAB, INC for A/D/O. Images taken from the PLAYLAB, INC website.
Dynasty
A silk-screened poster for Dynasty w/ Boyskout by Gunsho.
Dynasty was an indie dance party I threw over the span of maybe two years in the early 2000s. It started as a one-off party at The Milky Way with DJs Joseph Colbourne and John Anderson and had decorations from the Dearraindrop collective. The Dynasty logo is a modification of type on the cover of Janet Jackson’s Nasty 12”. Over it’s run there were a handfull of DJs: Andrew Gaspar, Comfortable Matt, Just Luke and some guests like Tommy and Knife from Marinate. Bands included Chromeo, Boyskout, UV Protection, Squids, Chinese Stars, Noxagt, Mahi Mahi, SPF Alot and San Serac. It was super freeform with DJs going from boogie to indie to Aftobeat to garage rock to Italo – but all from the 70s and 80s.
Above: Some of Dynasty’s photocopy handbills and newspaper ads.
Above: Some more silk-screen posters. Local artists would often ask to make artwork for the night.
From top left: DJ Andrew G, Laurel the Baton Twirler, DJ Comfortable Matt, Mahi Mahi, a turntable, Squids, DJ Joseph Colbourne and partygoer Evan, SPF ALOT and a shot from a NYE party:
Color
In early 2000s Boston, Joseph Colbourne and I worked on an indie dance party together for a bit called Dynasty. Towards the end, he was digging more into Italo, disco, funk, soul and boogie and wanted to have a more explicitly queer/friendly space, so we transitioned into a new project called COLOR. Short-lived but super fun, at The Milky Way in Jamaica Plain.
A piece on Joseph from The Weekly Dig
Some of Joseph’s promo mixes for COLOR:
Coco 66
I ran Coco 66—a bar and venue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn—for a super short time in 2010, but in that time had a lot of fun. As this was the first venue I full-on ran myself, I started by forming an advisory board of new friends who were helping me learn the NYC ropes:
Carlos Giffoni (No Fun Productions)
Diane Haines (BRIC Arts, Celebrate Brooklyn)
Tammy Hart (Sound Fix Records, Rooftop Films)
Nick Hallett (Composter, performer, curator)
Maria Porcaro (Freelance event producer)
Matt Thornley (LCD Soundsystem)
Below are some posters and shows from the nights I had the most fun at:
02.06.10 - These Are Powers (Record Release) w/ Bird Names
02.10.10 - Swamp Tease. Ancestral Diet, Ambergris, Swamp Tease
02.21.10 - Soft Circle, Keepaway
02.26.10 - Drop the Lime
02.28.10 - Sun Araw, No Fun Acid, Human Teenager, Oneohtrix Point Never
03.17.10 - Cinema 16
03.18.10 - Nautical Almanac
03.23.10 - Josh Slater: It Never Changed (zine release)
03.25.10 - The Netherlands
03.26.10 - Gatekeeper, Mirror Mirror, Blondes
03.27.10 - Heavy Hands, Organs, The Men
03.28.10 - Upstairs CD-R Showcase (Autre Ne Veut + others)
04.02.10 - Honey Spundsystem
04.03.10 - CHERYL
04.06.10 - Growing (Record Release), Eric Copeland
04.08.10 - Supershow
04.09.10 - Maluca, Miho Hatori, Turbotax DJs, The Captain
04.23.10 - No Fun presents Ikue Mori, Leslie Keffer, Noveller, Okyyung Lee and MV Carbon, Mi and Or the Pedestals
04.25.10 - Upstairs CD-R night
04.26.10 - Delorean (secret late show)
04.29.10 - Death Unit, Northampton Wools, Regression, Spykes, Dog Lady
04.29.10 - Bizarre Evil (party w/ Todd Pendu, Lauren Dillard, 20Jazzfunkgreats)
04.30.10 - No Fun Acid
05.01.10 - Bad Credit No Credit
05.07.10 - Sleigh Bells, Mr. Dream, DJ Rezound (presented by Seva and Tammy)
05.14.10 - Ghostly International Party
05.16.10 - Silver Apples, Burning Star Core
05.20.10 - Debo Band
05.29.10 - CLONE Records party
Some audio. Not all the best quality, but nice for memories if you were there:
A bunch of people also did DJ sets in the front / bar room. Among them are Bryce Hackford (above, left) and Cassie Ramone (right) who did the nights 45sON33 and Surf’s Up. Matt Thornley from LCD Soundsystem did Friday nights, and I know Bobbi Lupo, Alex Pirroiz, Sarah Richardson, James Corrigan, Joe B, Dan and Dana (PONY) and Thomas S all had nights but I can’t recall when.
Some photos I took of Coco after we moved the sound booth, cleaned up, etc:
A batch of drawings was purchased from illustrator Suzy Coady to be used on the venue’s website, eFlyers, etc but we never really had the chance. One is up top here.
Et cetera
Et cetera (2012) was a week of arm wrestling, robot sex, feminist critiques, drones, queer librarians, conceptual and non-conceptual art, journalism, book readings, bands and parties at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I’d been programming the venue as to be very centered on bands, DJs and typical nightclub stuff—this was a way to mix it up.
Asahi Beer gave us a LOT of free beer. The L Magazine was our media partner.
Time Out New York (article), Brooklyn Vegan (preview post)
These images are quite poor, sorry! But if you squint you will see Emma Straub, Stephin Merritt, Ira Glass and others on stage together. Maybe Rachel Dratch somewhere, too!
Et Cetera Events:
Click on any event to read the original description.
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Presented by Tumblr & Moleskin
Sunday Sept 16th 2012, 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Front Room, All Ages, Free
eatsleepdraw.com, tumblr.com, moleskineus.comEatSleepDraw was created on December 7th, 2007, and has become the largest user submitted blog on Tumblr. EatSleepDraw believes in quality over quantity and doesn’t think of itself as a blog, it’s more than that. It’s a finely curated art gallery. They publish art about once every hour, 24 hours a day, Everyday. So come on our and celebrate the numbers with us (200,000+ followers, 500,000+ page-views monthly), grab some paper, and get drawing.
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Sean McBride and Liz Wendelbo
Plus a DJ set from ARP
Presented by LQQK
Sunday September 16th 2012, 8:00 PM, Back Room, All Ages, Free
xenoandoaklander.com
LQQK.org
studioalexisgeorgopoulos.comSean McBride (Martial Canterel) and Liz Wendelbo are in the band Xeno & Oaklander. They are a Brooklyn based minimal electronics girl/boy duo, and began in 2004. They play analogue synthesizers exclusively. In this lecture they talk about the analogue synthesizer as the new folk instrument. The lecture is followed by a gear demo that shows that there is freedom in the minimum.
Alexis Georgopoulos is a NYC-based composer & artist. As ARP, he makes liminal, minimal music, often with analog synthesizers. He’s a member of the groups THE ALPS (Type/Mexican Summer) and Q&A (DFA), has performed internationally, and has been presented by CHANEL, The Kitchen, PS1, Goethe–Institut, Deitch Projects, MoMA (SF), New Museum, White Columns, etc.
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With Tumblr, Electric Literature, The New Inquiry, The Los Angeles Review of Books
Monday September 17th 2012, 7:00 PM, Front Room, 21+, Free
tumblr.com, electricliterature.com, thenewinquiry.com, lareviewofbooks.org, brooklynbookfestival.orgRead them everywhere, meet them in Brooklyn! Three top web-based literary publications (and Tumblr super-users) invite you to meet your internet friends in person for chatting, drinking, and dancing to kick off the most bookish week in Brooklyn. Guest DJs and free drink specials enhance the East Coast vs. West Coast faceoff, and everybody wins!
The Brooklyn Book Festival is the largest free literary event in New York City, presenting an array of national and international literary stars and emerging authors. One of America’s premier book festivals, this hip, smart diverse gathering attracts thousands of book lovers of all ages to enjoy authors and the festival’s lively literary marketplace.
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Presented by PACS Gallery
Sunday Sept 16th 2012, 7:30 PM, PACS Gallery, 21+, Free
presentationpartynight.com, pacsnyc.comPresentation Party Night is a monthly lecture series combining a love of community and education with a taste for beer. Based in Bushwick, Brooklyn, they meet on the 3rd Sunday of each month to share and discuss various topics spanning history, pop culture, current events, and the utterly indescribable. Aesthetically, PPN is a bit closer to a DIY loft party than it is say, Ignite or TED talks. Presenters range from local pro’s to first-timers and there’s a healthy mix of laughing, factoids, and open-ended Q&A. Limited complimentary beers from our good friends at Asahi.
Shannon Coffey - Mystery
Ryder Ripps - How to Design an e-Commerce Website
Erik Bergstrom - The French
Melissa J Frost - Architecture Out of Order
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Presented by PACS Gallery
Monday September 17th 2012, 7:00 PM - 12:00, PACS (Floor 2), 21+, Free
pacsnyc.com, seanmicka.comChristine is a character based in New York City. She sets up situations that invite viewers to contemplate, interrogate and/or negotiate various ways in which art and finance function within a political economy. For better or for worse, her work focuses its attention on auctions, examining artworks, antiques and precious jewels i.e., as objects of financial speculation. She also is frequently concerned with the phenomena of “the contemporary” as an ambiguously defined idea in modern art, i.e., periodization of the present. Christine is frequent collaborator with artist Sean Micka.
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Tuesday September 18th 2012, 7:30 PM, Front Room, 21+, Free
vol1brooklyn.comWe’re buying lots and lots of books in preparation for winter, like squirrels in a bloodthirsty frenzy. And just in time for our shopping trips, the Brooklyn Book Festival is here! Right around the corner, actually. The very idea fills us with glee, so we’re (Vol. 1) putting together an event of our own to join the party. Not just any event though: on September 18th, we present to you the Greatest 3-Minute Book Stories Ever. Like, ever. Stories about good books and bad ones. Love in the library and hatred of beloved classics. Selling books and buying books. Notes in the margin and overdue fees. (Also, this just happens to be the Vol. 1 Brooklyn 3rd birthday party, so we’ve invited some of our favorite people around.Our amazing readers will be:
Maris Kreizman (Slaughterhouse 90210)
Kathleen Alcott (The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets)
Alexander Chee (Edinburgh and the forthcoming The Queen of the Night)
Matt Dojny (The Festival of Earthly Delights)
Rachel Fershleiser (Tumblr, Six-Word Memoirs)
Jacob Silverman (journalist, critic, and three-day Jeopardy! champion)
Dan Wilbur (bookseller at Community bookstore, author of How Not to Read)
Christopher Beha (What Happened to Sophie Wilder)
Karolina Waclawiak (How To Get Into the Twin Palms, Deputy Editor at The Believer)
Paula Bomer (Baby and Nine Months)
Elissa Schappell (Blueprints for Building Better Girls)
Nick Moran (social media editor for The Millions)
Founded in 2009, Volume 1 Brooklyn is a multimedia project hell-bent on bridging any and all gaps between various forms of high, middle and low culture.
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Tuesday September 18th 2012, 7:00 PM, Back Room, 21+, Free
The Bad Feminist Readings, produced by Sarah Gentile and Sarah Giovanniello, is a feminist reading of not-so-feminist material. Gentile is an archivist, feminist, and ardent believer in the democracy of culture. She works over at the Brooklyn Museum. Giovanniello is a writer, curator, and researcher. She works as Research Assistant in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum. She holds an MA in Performance Studies from NYU and a BA from Bryn Mawr College. Come and see readers lampooning bad advice written for women and men from the last 100 years. Bring your critical eye and your party hat. And who’s reading? These fine folks:
Sasheer Zamata
Eleanor Whitney
Bennett Madison
Emily Gould
Lisa Goldstein
Charlotte Cooper
Victoria Cho
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Tuesday September 18th 2012, 9:00 PM, Back Room, 21+, Free
adhoc.fm, thefader.com, pellytwins.blogspot.com, pitchfork.com, imposemagazine.com, stadiumsandshrines.com
The editors behind the Brooklyn-based music publication Ad Hoc bring together a panel of music journalists and self-publishers to discuss building your own music blog from the bottom up, developing a distinct curatorial identity, and growing and sustaining a loyal readership. Ad Hoc was started with a Kickstarter campaign that garnered over 1,000 unique donors, and it’s been put to good use! Crucial DIY-leaning blogs such as 20 Jazz Funk Greats, International Tapes, and No Fear of Pop are part of their community; come with questions!
Panelists
Emilie Friedlander (Ad Hoc, The Fader)
Jenn Pelly (pellytwins blog, Pitchfork)
Jeremy Krinsley (Impose)
Dave Sutton (Stadiums & Shrines)
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Presented by PACS Gallery
Tuesday September 18th 2012, 7:00 PM - 12:00 AM, PACS (Floor 2), 21+, Free
http://eeikeler.comDrawing on the history of abstraction within Western Modernism, Brooklyn-based artist E.E. Ikeler’s work, as exemplified with KISS/KIZZ, inserts feminist and queer content through nontraditional materials while maintaining a level abstraction. It’s a task that the artist feels has often been assumed to lack legibility in mainstream art criticism. In response, various experimental strategies assert that form and content are not discrete characteristics of art works, but rather, like our minds and bodies, are one in the same.
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Wednesday September 19th 2012, Front Room, 7:00 PM, 21+, Free
facebook.com/hergirlfridayIn an evening dedicated to hard-hitting investigations, Her Girl Friday brings you a behind-the-scenes look at several award-winning pieces from some of today’s leading investigative reporters. We’re thrilled to present very special guests ProPublica senior reporter Dafna Linzer, former MTV True Life producer Roopa Vasudevan, Habiba Nosheen, (Frontline, NPR), andPamela Yates (filmmaker and Guggenheim fellow). And, in typical Her Girl Friday fashion, stick around after the panel for a boozy mixer, with DJ Raichous on the ones and twos. People of all genders welcome and encouraged to attend.
Her Girl Friday is a Brooklyn-based group of female journalists and non fiction storytellers that produces fun and engaging events with concrete takeaways for women in journalism across mediums. And a heads up, HGF is popular with a capital P - 1st come / serve.
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Presented by The Desk Set
Wednesday September 19th 2012, Back Room, 7:00 PM, 21+, Free
thedeskset.org, thegloc.netGlennis McCarthy, of the Gorgeous Ladies of Comedy (G.L.O.C), will moderate a panel discussion with women navigating the worlds of both comedy and literature. Panelists include
Rachel Dratch (SNL)
Elna Baker (The Moth, This American Life, Studio 360, Radiolab)
Kambri Crews (Ochi’s Lounge / Comix)
Karen Bergreen, a self described comedian, author, and stressed-out mom.
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Presented by I Love Bad Movies & The Flop House
Wednesday September 19th 2012, Back Room, 9:00 PM, 21+, Free
ilovebadmovies.com, flophousepodcast.com“Experts” from I Love Bad Movies and The Flop House discuss the strange appeal of enjoyably bad films. What can we learn from facepalm-worthy gems like The Room, Cool as Ice, Gigli, Return to Oz, and Old Dogs? What do these junky turds say about us? Also featuring movie clips, interactive bits, & irrelevant tangents.
Panel MembersMatt Carman
Kseniya Yarosh
Dan McCoy
Stuart Wellington
and Elliott Kalan
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Presented by PACS Gallery
Curated by Ben Sisto (PACS) and Denise Kupferschmidt
Wednesday September 19th 2012, 7:00 PM - 12:00, PACS (Floor 2), 21+, Free
pacsnyc.com, papermountains.netArtists come to own work by other artists in a myriad of ways. Sometimes it’s bought, often it’s in trade, as payment for general labor, and here and there it’s rescued from a trash can. Tonight, we’re exhibiting works from our friends’ homes that they have bought and found, saved and loved.
Works by:
Roberta Allen
Patrick Brennan
CHERYL
Bridget Donahue & Jory Rabinovitz
Joanne Greenbaum
Kenya Hanley
Kimberly Hennessy
E.E. Ikeler
Chris Martin
Sam Moyer
Nick Parker
Michael Pellew
Joshua Smith
Unknown
Joshua Caleb Weibley
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Dogfish Head Craft Brewery presents: How Beer Changed Everything
with Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head), Patrick McGovern, and Greg Boustead
Thursday September 20th, 7:00 PM, Front Room, 21+, Free
dogfish.com, penn.museum/sites/biomoleculararchaeology/Brewing is humankind’s earliest example of biotechnology, representing our first attempt to harness the power of living organisms. The craft dates back to 9000 BC, inspiring the cultivation of barley and wheat. Beer changed hunter-gatherers into farmers, and fueled the building of monumental structures, like the pyramids, whose workers received five liters of beer per day as compensation. In a one-of-kind interactive session, we’ll explore this colorful history and the modern craft of what is perhaps humanity’s most celebrated beverage. Guided by the madcap brewer Sam Calagione and molecular archeologist Patrick McGovern, you’ll get to drink as the ancients did—including a bright, honeyed facsimile of the brew buried with King Midas; a rice-based beer made after the first known fermented beverage (unearthed from 9,000-year-old Chinese tombs and dwellings); and a sneak-taste of a yet-unrelased experimental pre-Roman Etruscan beverage from around 800 BC, spiked with ground hazelnuts, pomegranate, and myrrh, and made brewed from wild-harvested, native Egyptian yeast deposited by the legs of fruit flies on sweet traps made from crushed dates. Seriously.
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with Special Guests Dr. Peter Asaro, Jace Clayton, Tim Nilson, and Brian Anderson
Thursday September 20th, 9:00 PM, Front Room, 21+, Free
motherboard.vice.comThe drones are overhead, and far away, buzzing in the distance like a coming swarm. And now they’re coming closer. Bzzz. Motherboard takes a dive into the strange, uncanny and exciting world of the robotic vehicle to understand how it’s transforming our world, from how we kill to how we waste an afternoon. A little chat about our robot past, present and future, with detours into Peruvian archeology, Marilyn Monroe, taco delivery and more. With live demos of a video drone and an innovative drone machine – all set to luscious drone music. With more music, dancing, and human-to-human interaction to follow.
Dr. Asaro is a media theorist whose work examines the interfaces between social relations, human minds and bodies, and digital media. His research is also informed by his involvement in digital media design projects with the Virtual Environments Group at the National Center for Supercomputer Applications (NCSA), the Advanced and Interactive Displays Lab at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, and the natural language interface design team for the Wolfram|Alpha computational knowledge engine (winner of the 2010 SXSW Web Interactive Award for Technical Achievement).
Jace Clayton (dj / rupture) is an interdisciplinary artist living in Brooklyn. Clayton’s practice has evolved out of his work as a DJ, built around core concerns for how sound, technology use in low-income communities, and public space interact, with an emphasis on Latin America, Africa, and the Arab world. Clayton is currently writing a nonfiction book on music at the dawn of the digital century to be published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
Tim Nilson is an unmanned systems hobbyist and the manufacturer of the QAV500, a purpose-built “first person view” quadcopter that can carry three cameras at a time. He also runs FPVmanuals.com, a top source of information for the FPV drone video community, and the drone marketplace getFPV.com. During the day, he is a chief technology officer at Sony Music.
Brian Anderson –Brian Anderson is a writer, editor and producer at Motherboard. He spends a lot of time thinking about very large and very small unmanned systems, and is currently producing a short film aiming in some small way to clear the air on domestic drone use. He also does research for a joint NASA-Nike start-up incubator. A graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, he now lives in Brooklyn, but is from Chicago. Not to be confused with the skateboarder. Thinks he can play drums
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Thursday September 20th 2012, 7:00 PM, Back Room, 21+, Free
themoonshow.com, @themoonshow, thechrisgethardshow.comJonathan Ames (Bored to Death)
Chris Gethard (Chris Gethard Show)
Todd Hanson (The Onion)
The Moon, which has for years produced one of the most original ongoing comedy events in NYC, presents a special literary-themed edition of their popular variety show. Two dapper hosts and a cast of characters will ride the rainbow of reading with appearances by New York’s best acts. The Onion AV Club says, “The Moon is one of New York City’s finest comedy nights… a variety show that rarely fails to please.”
Tonight, our special guest Jonathan Ames, an American author who has written a number of novels and comic memoirs. He was a columnist for the New York Press for several years, and became known for self-deprecating tales of his sexual misadventures. In 2009, he created the HBO television series Bored to Death. Chris Gethard (that guy who booked Diddy via Twitter a little while back) reads from his book A Bad Idea I’m About to Do. Todd Hanson is a writer & voice actor who’s worked on The Onion, Space Ghost, Squidbillies, and appeared as himself in the The Aristocrats (2005).
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Thursday September 20th 2012, 9:00 PM, Back Room, 21+, Free
bikeshortfilms.com
Bike Shorts is a competitive short film screening. All of the films have something to do with a bike, and the audience gets to choose the winner. Over a dozen professional and amateur short films from New York City & beyond will be shown, and the winner takes home a $100 cash prize! The best film of the night wins $100! (submit here) -
Presented by PACS Gallery
Thursday September 20th 2012, 7:00 PM - 12:00, PACS (Floor 2), 21+, Free
artypes.org.uk, pacsnyc.comArtypes is a series of Art Salons. For each Salon, a variety of contemporary artists are asked to make work prompted by a type of art. Salon No. 3 will include “Portraits” by well over 60 artists, which will be Artypes’ largest Art Salon to date. Art Salons are free to the public. Art can be purchased from the Artists, and Drinks from the Bar.
Participating Artists: Aiden Koch, Alex Mctigue, Ana Benaroya, Anders Nilsen, Andrew Kenney, Andy C. Jenkins, Anni Altshuler, Ashitha Nagesh, Barry Bruner, Ben Sisto, Benny Merris, Chris Bernsten, Chris Thompson, Corbin Keech, Damien Correll, Dave Franzese, David Giordano, Drew Heffron, Eric Losh, Erica Jacobson, Garrett Morin, Greg Broerman, Greg Rubin, Haik Avanian, Howard Fonda, J Bell, Jack Hogan, Jacob Jones, James Moore, Jan Wilker, Jason Sapan, Jenny Mortsell, John Amelchenko, Jon Burgerman, Jordan Bruner, Josh Cochran, Justin Whiteford, Kevin Kunstadt, Lanya Snyder, Madeline Donahue, Mark Miller, Mathias Vestergaard, Matt Huynh, Matt Leines, Matthew J. Giordano, Melissa Cullens, Nabiha Khan, Nicholas Fortier, Otto Milo, Paul Hanger, Peter Larson, Racecar, Sam Weber, Sarah Maltais, Sean Yeaton, Shane Neufeld, Simon Massey di Vallazza, Suzy Coady, Tom Stanley, Wyeth Hansen & You Jung Byun
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Presented by Bandshell
Friday September 21st 2012, 9:00 PM, Front Room, 21+, $20 adv / $22 dosGang Gang Dance, a group of individuals with strong ties to the local art community and almost boundless creative energy, come together for this musical collaboration whose direction is as unpredictable as it is focused, as relatable as it is experimental, and as fun as it is challenging. They are one of the best bands to come out of NYC in the past decade. (says us). Jon Pareles, writing for The New York Times, described Sun Araw’s music as “a happy jungle of electronic repetition and live playing. Loops and echoes reconfigured reggae, funk and Afrobeat in dizzying ways; the music cackled and hopped, ready to trip up dancers or just get trippy in decidedly 21st-century grooves.”
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DJs MNDR, Ghostdad
Friday September 21st 2012, Midnight-4:00* Front Room, 21+, FreeParty will start right when Gang Gang Dance wraps up
10% of after-party bar sales will be donated to Housing Works
mndr.com, djghostdad.com, housingworks.org -
Friday September 21st in the Back Room, 8:00, 21+, $8, Free after 12:00 AM
One of our favorite promoters, Kristina Alaniesse, has teamed up My Social List to present this killer lineup:
Live:Total Slacker
Indian Jewelry
Black Marble
Plastic Flowers
DJ Heavenly Beat
DJ Sets:
Pictureplane
Creep
The Death Set
Le Sphinxx
blackmarble.bandcamp.com, totalslackertyhme.bandcamp.com, facebook.com/heavenlybeat, swarmofangels.com, plasticflowers.bandcamp.com, thedeathset.com, officialcreep.com, soundcloud.com/lesphinxx, soundcloud.com/pictureplane, mysocialist.com
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Saturday September 22nd 2012, 4:00 PM, Front Room, All Ages!
Spreading from TV screens to laptops, smart phones and facebook feeds; spilling into classrooms, diy music venues, and major museum exhibitions- we are currently witnessing the rise of the digital game. Yet as the number of contemporary women gamers grows nearly equal to that of male gamers, gender bias in games and in the industry and culture that surround them, seem slow to die. Hey Girl (Gamer) presents a panel of distinguished developers, artists, researchers, and students from the field to share their work and offer insights as to what gives and what’s at stake for ladies in this continually evolving media form.
Moderated by Sarah Schoemann, Graduate Research Assistant in the Game Innovation Lab at NYU’s Polytechnic Institute; and featuring Ida Benedetto, co-founder of Antidote Games and member the indie arcade collective, Babycastles. Jessy Jo Gomez, Design and Technology student at Parsons The New School of Design and former youth game designer with Global Kids. Kaho Abe, Former Eyebeam fellow and current artist in residence at NYU Poly’s Game Innovation Lab. Julia Deter, Award winning game artist and developer at Arkadium games.
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Presented by WORD Bookstore
Saturday September 22nd 2012, 7:00 PM, Front Room, 21+, $26.95 (includes book)
wordbrooklyn.com, emmastraub.netConversations, live music, and more with Emma Straub, plus
Andrew McCarthy
Stephin Merritt (Magnetic Fields)
Maris Kreizman
Ira Glass(This American Life)
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Saturday September 22nd 2012, Back Room, 7:00 PM, 21+, Free
lauragduncan.tumblr.com, kellybourdet.comAn inspired look at connection and attraction in the digital era. Sex researcher Laura Duncan and Future Sex columnist Kelly Bourdet explore the world of sexual robotics, teledildonics, pornography, sex in sci-fi, and carnal technology.
Kelly Bourdet writes about the philosophy of technology as it applies to sex, relationships, and living online, and is author of the Future Sex column on Motherboard/VICE. She lives in Brooklyn. Laura G. Duncan is a sexual health researcher currently studying issues of stigma within healthcare as well as the intersections of technology, sexuality and the body. She has taught sexual health education in a variety of academic, non-profit and community venues and currently serves as a full-spectrum doula. She is, disappointingly, not a robot.
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Saturday September 22nd 2012, Back Room, 10:30 PM, 21+
$5 Suggested Donation benefits Brooklyn Community Pride
5blaw.orgTheir Mission: Empower women and strengthen local communities through theater, arm wrestling, and philanthropy. The 5 Borough Ladies Arm Wrestling walks the line between pro wrestling antics, theatrics, and pure strength competitive sport. Women wrestlers, each with their own character theme and wrestling moniker, compete - flanked by entourage, cheered by audience, judged by celebrities, introduced by emcee and flagged by referees. Tournament style. It is crazy. People go F'ing nuts. Do not miss it.
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Saturday September 22nd 2012, Front Room, 11:00 PM, 21+
queeryparty.org
DJs Average Jo, Patrick Robbins, and Larry Sparkman
Special live performance from People at Parties!
Raffle prizes, gogos, drinks, and nerdy queers dancing until the wee hoursSuggested donation. All proceeds benefit the Lesbian Herstory Archives
Via all sorts of parties and events, Que(e)ry brings attention and support to hidden queer collections, and provides a fun social space for queer nerds and those who love them. Librarians, archivists, metadata specialists, students, museum professionals, educators, scholars, artists, illustrators, comics fans, technophiles, historians, writers, publicists, documentarians, and bibliophiles of all genders and orientations have made their way out, dancing all-night long to great guest DJs. Tonight, QUE(E)RY’s providing the after party; file under awesome.
People At Parties is a synth driven, darkwave, bicoastal collaboration based in both Brooklyn and SF. Their first release was a melodic synth-pop Flexi-Disc EP on Project Infinity Records and combines an early goth undertone with heavy hitting hip-pop quality.
Audio Recordings
Eventworks (Mass Art)
Mass Art S.I.M. class photo, 2000
During my senior year at Mass Art I co-produced the 2001 season of Eventworks, an annual student-run events series within the SIM program. My co-producer was Janelle Vasseur, and we got a lot of help from Boston’s other young event producers (Non Event, Intransitive Recordings, Mass Concerts, etc) which was great, because I had essentially no idea what I was doing. We hosted about 35 events that year ranging from very small DIY rock shows to larger scale concerts.
Some personal highlights:
Two nights w/ Fugazi at the Mass Art gym
Howard Zinn speaking in response to 9/11
Live Girls poetry night at the ICA Boston
Pauline Oliveros in Mass Art room North 175
A student film night at The Coolidge Corner Theater
Some Videos:
Above are clips from our two nights with Fugazi, compiled by Ryanne Hodson. The rest of the videos are here on my YouTube page.
Some Flyers:
The audio below is all from an AN show on 6/1/01 put on in partnership w/ a local hardcore kid named AJ who, I think played in Stop and Think. The last track from There Were Wires is an unknown date but, is how all their shows sounded. Sorry about the quality; I think these are transfers from old handheld MiniDV tape.
^ The first “Mass Art Show” I booked was headlined by As the Sun Sets (RI), There Were Wires (MA). Janelle and I wanted to organize a night of poetry by women at the old ICA in Boston, but at the time they required 3rd parties to pay their own insurance –so some proceeds from the door at this show covered it. However, so many people were excited by the idea of a new all-ages / DIY show space in Boston we ended up going more in the concert direction. These are the only two photos I have from that show.
^ A few shots from a night with Mates of State which, I think was the first show I booked via an agent. They were exceptionally nice people.
Awesome Foundation
As of August 2023, I’ve started up a Rhode Island chapter of Awesome Foundation! We are looking to start accepting grant proposals in early 2024 and are looking for Trustees. Please visit awesomeisland.org to learn more!
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From July 2015 - August 2016 I was a trustee at the New York chapter of Awesome Foundation, a global community acting on behalf of awesome, $1,000 at a time. Below are projects I helped fund. Each fully autonomous chapter supports projects through out-of-pocket micro-grants, usually given out monthly, and in total AF's given away over $5m. These are no-strings-attached funds given to people and groups working on awesome projects.
Murals for a Queens Supportive Housing Facility
August 2016
AwesomeNYC is pleased to support artist Laini Nemett's mural project in a new supportive housing facility for Transitional Services New York (TSINY) in Jamaica, Queens. While our grant will fund the creation of the paintings on the first floor, the entire building has been created with art in mind, with 18 "art niches" designed into the structure's 7 floors.
ID Shop
July 2016
AwesomeNYC is pleased to support the 2016 edition of ID Shop, artist Sue Jeong Ka's project that operates as a liaison between art and public institutions to help homeless and immigrant youths apply for federally issued ID cards.
Queer Kid Stuff
June 2016
Queer Kid Stuff is a new educational web series creating LGBTQ+ videos for kids. Queer representation and content for children is scarce and Queer Kid Stuff aims to eliminate stigma by educating future generations through free and entertaining videos. The project allows young people to have access to a queer resource that is specifically made for them.
Awesome Link
NYC #popscope
May 2016
When was the last time you looked at the craters on the moon, the rings around Saturn, or the four moons around Jupiter? #popscope — which stands for “pop-up telescope” — brings free astronomy nights to the public. When the skies are clear, we “pop-up” in different neighborhoods to promote community-building through science.
Cello Without Walls
April 2016
In his project Cello Without Walls, Jacob Cohen conducts music workshops and live concerts for teens and young adults in jail on Rikers Island. Jacob has been volunteering on Rikers for the past year, inviting young people to recite poetry, freestyle rap, dance, sing and make art together. Besides reducing stress in a notoriously violent jail, Jacob’s program has helped young people leaving the justice system find programs in education and mentoring after their release.
Amateur Science Meets Superconductor Research
March 2016
Superconductors are materials that allow for the continuous transmission of electric and magnetic fields without loss of energy. They have numerous applications to industry, transportation, power generation, and medicine. This Awesome Foundation grant has been awarded to continue research on superconductor production methods which will could allow for the production of irregularly shaped superconductors. These irregular shapes could be utilized in power transmission, magnetic levitation trains, medical devices, and in plasma reactors.
The Harlem Free School
March 2016
The Harlem Free School is a series of place-based micro-sessions designed to encourage freedom of the mental, emotional and social dispositions of Harlem residents. In the spirit of the historical Freedom Schools of the 1960’s, this two-day intensive presents itself, in the form of workshops, gatherings and collaborative creative sessions, to diverse range of Harlem residents at no cost.
SLIME - Students of Long Island Maker Expo
February 2016
SLIME (Students of Long Island Maker Expo) is an interactive Day of Making for students, parents and educators from across Long Island, taking place on May 7, 2016. Students, parents, educators, and other community members come together from various school districts to participate in hands-on activities promoting imagination and creativity.
Gender Amplified
January 2016
Gender Amplified is a movement that aims to celebrate Women in music production, raise their visibility and develop a pipeline for girls and young women to get involved behind the scenes as music producers.
Swale
December 2015
Swale is a sculptural floating island containing a public food forest that will dock at various piers around New York City’s harbor in 2016. AwesomeNYC's grant will underwrite a series of educational/community workshops taking place at locations in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island.
Visioning the adaptive reuse of the Montauk Cutoff
November 2015
Across the Newtown Creek from Greenpoint in Long Island City, Smiling Hogshead Ranch has shown what can happen when a group of people can organize and work together with each other and with the city agencies to form a thriving community space.
Mobile Print Power + Combat Paper + Interference Archive
October 2015
Mobile Print Power is a multigenerational collective bringing mobile printing carts into communities, collecting ideas, and turning them into collaboratively generated designs. Along with Interference Archive, Combat Paper will invite veterans to pulp their uniforms into paper as a medium for expressing their experiences.
The Free Portrait Project — Crown Heights
September 2015
"The Free Portrait Project paints a portrait of a place through it’s people by giving oil-painted portraits to residents of Crown Heights for an entire year, creating a physical record of who we are now amid shifting demographics..."
ACCESS N. BK: Flushing Avenue J/M Station
August 2015
ACCESS N. BK plans to take a creative and light-hearted approach to raising public awareness of the issue of closed, bottleneck-causing / dirty subway station entrances. They will be orchestrating events combining street art, theater and tech with old-school community organizing tactics to the people in the affected communities and beyond.
Alliance for Girls in STEM
July 2015
"We are a publisher of picture books that show girls as the main characters in stories with science, technology, engineering, and math themes. Our target audience is girls from 4-9 years old, with an emphasis on girls from underrepresented minority groups."