Dec 22, 2019

It is with deepest sadness that The Kitchen joins the artistic community in mourning the passing of Woody Vasulka, who, with his partner Steina Vasulka, founded our organization in 1971. Originally seeking to create a center for artists working in the emerging medium of video, the Vasulkas quickly found their generous and welcoming environment becoming “a home for the homeless” among artists whose innovative approaches across disciplines—particularly music—were in need of a new institutional context. To this day Woody’s example in art, where he continually pushed boundaries while making work with Steina, provides The Kitchen with its guiding spirit. As the duo wrote in their manifesto for The Kitchen (reproduced in full below): “This place was selected by Media God to perform an exper... Read On

Dec 13, 2019

If you visited The Kitchen during the past year, you found this storied arts institution standing strong within a swiftly changing city landscape. While construction sites have set our Chelsea neighborhood in flux, The Kitchen has steadfastly remained itself, a home for artists across disciplines to make their most groundbreaking work. To keep our historic place as a non-profit art center in Chelsea, we need your support to ensure The Kitchen will remain such a platform for artists both now and for decades to come. Your contribution will make possible The Kitchen’s unique collaborations with artists who receive extended time in our spaces so their projects may take new turns. Just this past summer, Kevin Beasley presented sculpture and performances in our theater, gallery, and offic... Read On

Dec 9, 2019

“From the Archives” is a series that spotlights The Kitchen’s history. As a complement to our Archive website, these posts offer focused reflections on the artists, exhibitions, events, and institutional practices that have defined and shaped The Kitchen since its founding in 1971. This month, choreographer and performance artist Lauren Bakst performs after summer, or not in the kitchen (the bed, the bathroom, the dance floor and other spaces) as the culmination of her residency through The Kitchen at Queenslab. The phrase in the piece’s title—“not in the kitchen”—is a play on the fact that she is in residence outside of The Kitchen’s institutional building. It also recalls the title of The Kitchen’s first series of dance programming, Dancing in the Kitchen. Based on t... Read On

Dec 3, 2019

Lauren Bakst is a New York City-based artist and writer working through performance. Her work draws from the materials and relationships of her life to contend with the conditions of intimacy, desire, and affect. She has been in residence through The Kitchen at Queenslab in Ridgewood since the end of October. From December 11 through 14, Bakst’s residency will culminate in a performance piece titled after summer, or not in the kitchen (the bed, the bathroom, the dance floor and other spaces) .  Halfway through her residency, we spoke to Bakst about her multimedia approach to creating after summer, the relevance of space and place during her time at Queenslab, and the relationship that she builds in her work between her personal life and her artistic inspirations. Throughout you... Read On

Dec 2, 2019

By virtue of its yearlong format, The Kitchen’s L.A.B. series creates opportunities for sustained, collective thinking around a single term of importance to art in dialogue with broader culture. Across these monthly events, we iteratively consider how shifts in our language are necessary for our grappling with a changing social landscape. This year, we are taking up the word “regeneration” in discussions with a range of artists and practitioners. The first gathering of the season took place in September with musician and curator Taja Cheek, writer and scholar Catherine Damman, and artist and writer Constance DeJong; the second program in November brought together musicians Chris Eddleton and Avram Fefer, poet Rachel Eliza Griffiths, and artist Sara Magenheimer. Each of these L.A.... Read On