Flux Factory is an artist-run not-for-profit organization that provides residencies and work spaces for 14 artists and organizes group exhibits in-house and worldwide as an arts collective. The premises include a gallery, a coworking office, a screen printing lab, and a wood shop. It also has a shared kitchen, library, and lots of great people. Residents benefit from an engaged and creative community, studio visits, monthly art salons, and exposure to a large community of creative collaborators who both maintain personal practices and also develop projects together. All residents have a voice in planning programming and sustaining the organization as a whole.
We’re looking for an artist, community member, and friend who enjoys being part of a wonderful and active social milieu, and has a willingness to work collaboratively and/or socially.
Applications are due on August 1st.
All rooms have big windows and range from $550-700 per month plus utilities. Square footages range from 120-207. Residents must find their own funding for their residency.
It only happens once a month, and its more popular than auto-tune songs in the Top 10.
It’s Flux Thursday @ Flux Factory, your and my favorite non-profit arts space in Western Queens (DEFEND IT!). Don’t get the jest of my jibe? Is that even a word?
Either way there’s only one way to find out: c’mon down! There’ll be a meal (hopefully HOT with this textbook Spring weather) but it’s also a potluck, so bring something for your fellow punters. They’ll appreciate it. And there’ll be some art, maybe some theatre, and if you have works-in-progress yourself and want to show-and-tell, now’s your opportunity! See you there.
This is a little late, but not really. Flux Factory finally started its first Kickstarter campaign with a drive to purchase and install a new heating system (unit, ducting, labor) for our remodeled facility in Long Island City’s Dutch Kills neighborhood.
We’re only two weeks shy of the arrival of Spring, so we’re definitely through the thick of Winter, but this campaign is still as valid as ever. Oddly enough on the day we made this film it was also warm outside, but there were definitely days where everybody was wearing 3, 4, 5 layers in order to stay toasty. Plenty of times my sock-layer scene was lived out. Or hot water became super-chilled in minutes. It wasn’t always very pleasant. We survived – clearly – but the building still needs work, adjustments and improvements. So help us raise the money we need by pledging. With Kickstarter, your money is only pledged if we meet our target goal of $5000 – and our thinking is that if everybody we know gave us $1 we should be good (yes, we know mad numbers of peoples!).
scroll down to watch the incredibly awesome and hilarious video made by Gregg Conde and Jaime Iglehart – big ups to them for their hard work on this project.
Nah I’m kidding y’all were great, everybody who performed or had some act were great. The crowd was great (except for the few who never tipped – I will remember you!). The Bushwick B.oat crew were great (always are). It was great.
Below is a quick slideshow of images from the evening. Unfortunately contrary to my usual mass-snapping of images, I wasn’t able to actually document the event’s spectacle because I was busy working…
And best of all the event was a success for Flux Factory and will help us sustain and survive for a couple more months in this dire economy as we are still learning to tie our metaphorical shoes (i.e. new building: install plumbing, get electricity working, put doors on rooms, buy food, etc.). Life is good:
because we never forget (how to party), this Friday, 11 September, Flux Factory will be throwing a FundRager on a 140-foot 3-deck boat in Brooklyn. Click here for details on how to RSVP.
I’ll be bartending, so bring tips and stimulate my personal economy!
(also this weekend be on the lookout for Mucca Pazza who will be playing at the Knitting Factory (Brooklyn) and the Mercury Lounge (Manhattan))
October and November are always a whirl. since 2001 I can’t remember an October or November that had any breathing room. Ever since I moved to London on 3 October 2001, jump forward 7 years 1 month and 1 day and I can’t wait for this November to be over. And I’m not only – but I am surely – talking about the election.
With the Flux Factory’s recent eviction, starting in early October, I completely boxed up my life and put everything I own into storage, in a shed at an undisclosed location in New Jersey. To be honest even I don’t know the location of said shed; but I would like to incredibly thank my friend Angie for her assistance with my upheaval. I haven’t produced a piece of art in over two months due to the eviction, and I’ve had to spend most of my time consolidating my life, including throwing away a fair number of tools, clothing, raw materials, incomplete artworks, etc. A fitting end to life at Flux Factory.
The month of October also saw me quit my job of 3 years, as I had to make a decision, to continue with life in NYC would require my income and creative control to move up or move on. I made my decision.
This decision was encouraged by some recent family health and grievance issues, which being in NYC I had no control over to either guide or invigorate. Also made problematic that my job didn’t give me much flexibility in terms of vacation, travel for health, time off, etc.
Knowing an eviction was imminent, and my employment would end concurrently, I’ve decided to go nomadic. I’m blogging from a cafe in Flatbush, Brooklyn, currently homeless and crashing on couches throughout the borough. At the end of this calendar week I’ll be travelling by train to my hometown of St. Louis, which I haven’t visited in over two years now (see this link).
But I’m by no means complaining. I’m loving these weeks, these moments with friends, the way in which one survives on coffee.
I’ll go back to about mid-October, when I took a trip upstate to the Farm, and spent some time with the frost, the leaves, and some new family including Pepper and some chickens Americano:
A sign of things to come, the end of Flux Factory’s residence-arm really began with Ian’s departure. He’s on a BMW motorcycle now, somewhere in Georgia or Florida (don’t worry he cast his absentee ballot!) en route out West:
With Ian’s departure, I also become the most-senior member at the Factory. This, I actually didn’t realize until nearly a week after Ian left and someone else pointed this out to me.
Even with an eviction pending, the Flux Factory staff continued to work hard, planning for our final ever party:
Chen works, sans desk, surrounded by boxes and piles of crap:
I love the doors ajar, the box that can’t close, the ad on the floor, the blue fork. Just throw it all away already!
Flux Factory knows how to make trash. We went from this:
To this, on numerous ocassions:
At the same time, we know how to turn a shitty DJ booth:
into a most-awesome DJ booth for one of the most-awesome parties ever:
The Flux Factory’s final party, the End of the End of the End (To Be Continued…) was definitely most-awesome. Props to Shalin for organizing over 50 performances for the evening. Although the true success of any party is when your six – yes, six – kegs run dry and you need a 2am beer run:
Me and Tyler at the Pathmark at 2am.
Flux Factory knows how to party:
White Limo gave a smashing closing performance:
are those Ironclad’s he’s wearing?
Unfortunately our partytude nearly made Seb cry:
and put Daupo to sleep:
it’s a shame I didn’t make a video, but the soundsystem was bumping at this moment.
And my costume, no doubt, was a hit:
me sitting on a couch-costume.
What will come of Flux Factory now? There’s a thought:
So starting this Sunday I’m on the road. Going to St. Louis via DC and Chicago on Amtrak. I’ll be in the Midwest by early next week for at least a month, if not two. My Flux Factory address is dead. Long live Flux Factory.
I’ll be around. My wifi is about to expire. Gotta press publish.
