Tucked away in a small boxy building off of Morgan Ave is The Chimney, one of the newest multimedia exhibition spaces to come to Bushwick. Housed in one of Bushwick’s many raw industrial spaces, The Chimney made its debut during Bushwick Open Studios and is dedicated to bringing live art and exhibition online.
Directed and curated by Parisian native Clara Darrason, The Chimney aims to bring to life and interactivity to an otherwise industrial corner of Bushwick – with live streaming video.
“The idea is I think first and foremost to use the space as it is, […] to invite artists to use the space and imagine art pieces that would fit this environment,” said Darrason, “what were going to try to focus on us to on is to bring performances, concerts, interactions, things that Livestream could film and could be shared.”
The Chimney operates in a partnership with Livestream Public, a branch of the popular streaming media company headquartered in Bushwick, which provides space and resources for local artists and entrepreneurs. Darrason’s vision is to create a space where events and performances will be able to reach audiences all over the globe in real time.
“The whole point of livestreaming is to expand your audience, to build your audience online specifically,” said Daniel Pacheco, General Manager of Livestream Public. “Let’s say you have 50 people come in attendance, you can open it up to a couple hundred more, or a thousand more, and build up that kind of awareness on an international level.”
The space resides in small building on Morgan Avenue, in the corner of a parking lot next to Sugarlift, and across from Livestream Public. At this location, it completes a small triangle of creative spaces available to artists on the northern edge of East Williamsburg.
Darrason was previously a curator for the creative network Ah!Ah!Ah!, as well as curator for the exhibitions “L’Echappée Belle” at the Grand Palais, Paris, and “ESCAPE” at Kowal + Odermatt Projects, Miami in 2013. She is currently in New York working on a Masters thesis in Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s Institute.
Currently on display at The Chimney through July 20th is Andrew Erdos’ visually stunning collection “Slow Motion Catastrophe,” an amalgamation of glass sculpture, reflection, and light.
Erdos’ work is inspired by the vast expanses of geologic time, and by the wide variety of images of landscapes, flora, and fauna that inhabit our cultural imagination. With lights, mirrors, and bizarre otherworldly creatures made of silvered glass, Erdos’ installation invokes feelings of both alien fascination and eerie familiarity.
Showing next is the “Skype Heartbreak Show,” a collaborative show by graduates of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. It will feature an interactive display on modern long distance relationships Show opens on on July 24, 7-10pm.
The Chimney NYC, 202 Morgan Ave, East Williamsburg. The hours: Saturday & Sunday from 7:30pm until 10:30pm, and by appointment.
