Working Alternatives: Breaking Bread, Art Broadcasting, and Collective Action October 27, 2012 – January 13, 2013
 
For Working Alternatives, curators Mackenzie Schneider, Terri C Smith, and Jess Wilcox explore three threads of alternative art platforms and production: conviviality and food as components in alternative art space programming and mission (Wilcox); artists using media such as radio, television, and newspapers as alternative venues for presenting work (Schneider); and artist collectives presented in a living archive with weekly changing exhibitions using archive materials (Smith). In addition to historical examples, the exhibition also includes original artworks by contemporary artists that reflect and expand on the show’s themes. Working Alternatives’ artists include: Paul Branca, Jaime Davidovich, ESP TV, Group Material, Ann Hirsch, Alison Knowles, Tom Marioni, Anna Ostoya, Legacy Russell, Chris Sollars and Jerome Waag. Artist collectives involved will continue to expand during the exhibition and currently
include: Conflict Kitchen, Fierce Pussy, Howling Mob Society, JustSeeds, M12 Studios, Paper Tiger, Philly Stake, The Pinky Show, Second Front, SubRosa, Temporary Services, and W.A.G.E. Franklin Street Works is also excited to collaborate on several off-site artworks, including the live radio broadcast of an Ann Hirsch performance on WPKN, Bridgeport, and collages by Anna Ostoya in the Stamford Advocate via three ads during the show’s run.
 
Your Content Will Return Shortly
January 24 – March 24, 2013 Free, public reception, Thursday, January 24, 5:00 – 8:00 pm
 
Virtually since television’s invention, artists have used its form, content, and media (especially video) to create a myriad of artworks whose intentions range from homage to critique. Your Content Will Return Shortly (working title) will explore how contemporary artists harness the in-between moments of our television experiences by taking their cues from devices such as advertising, laugh tracks, test signals, and static. Look to our website for more on this exhibition in the coming months.
 
Strange Invitation
April 4 – June 16, 2013 Opening reception date TBA
 
With Strange Invitation Franklin Street Works continues to explore the blurring of boundaries between participation and creation. The exhibition begins with a string of invitations aimed at bringing together three, collaborative teams who will create engaging installations and events. Participants who have been asked to produce original projects for Strange Invitation are: Andrew Beccone who formed the “Reanimation Library” in Brooklyn, NY; artist, activist and community organizer Andrea Reynosa (Narrowsburg, NY); and sub/urban writer/critic Stephen Zacks who is also the artistic director of the Flint Public Art Project in Flint, Michigan. Each one of these collaborators will invite artists, curators, and/or civic activists to join them. The structure of Strange Invitation brings multiple and variously informed viewpoints to the exhibition — all steeped in an understanding of how contemporary art can interface with grass roots, community-oriented projects. In addition to their knowledge of contemporary art, Franklin Street Works’ collaborators inform the show via their knowledge of urban planning, library science, and environmental activism, making this exhibition one that connects contemporary art with themes surrounding the natural, urban, and organizational environments in our daily lives.