Our new website has launched, and registration for BOS 2010 is now OPEN! Check us out at the new www.artsinbushwick.org.
This site (artsinbushwick.wordpress.com) will no longer be updated – please update your bookmarks accordingly.
We at AIB are burning the midnight oil here, preparing for the launch of our new website, and the beginning of BOS10 registration.
April 12th is the big day, so come back and visit us then!
In the meantime, feel free to email us with any questions at openstudios@artsinbushwick.org.
MINUTES FOR OPEN STUDIOS PLANNING MEETING 2
MARCH 22, 2010, 7PM
NORTE MAAR – 83 WYCKOFF AVE #1B
Introduction to Arts in Bushwick:
AIB was founded in 2007 around the planning of the first Open Studios. There had been an open studios event in 2005 organized by a different group, who intended to do it again in 2006 but cancelled it. Another group of people banded together in 2006 to put it on at the last minute, and after that about 15 community members / artists / organizers formed AIB in order to plan BOS 07.
AIB is 100% volunteer run. Financially it operates on a break-even basis. The organization is non-hierarchical. Anyone can be involved to whatever extent and in whatever capacity they like.
Apart from BOS, AIB organizes 2 other festivals a year – BETA Spaces in November and SITE Fest in March, and participates in community projects.
BETA Spaces – concentrates on 2 elements that AIB likes about BOS: curated group shows and alternative spaces, in a more accessible geographic area for 1 day.
SITE Fest – 2 day performance spaces, centered around hub spaces in which programming is scheduled by AIB.
Community Projects – community organizing, politics and policy, collaborating with non-profits, i.e. murals, street fairs. AIB connects the creative community with other neighborhood groups, helps to find artists and volunteers for other neighborhood projects.
Bushwick Open Studios:
BOS gets bigger every year. In 2009, there were over 250 open studios, shows and events in over 125 venues, with work by between 500 and 1000 individual artists, with over 4000 attendees. AIB channels everything that is happening in Bushwick that weekend into a program and promotes it. We will list anything as long as it falls within the festival borders – the artists don’t have to be Bushwick-based (though they tend to be), but the venue must be within the confines of the program map. The borders are determined by who has registered in the past – it was getting bigger and bigger every year so we had to draw the line somewhere. Last year’s map covered an area over 3 square miles encompassing all of CB4, plus parts of Ridgewood, Bed-Stuy, Williamsburg and Maspeth.
You cannot expect to see everything at BOS, but there is something for everyone for the whole weekend.
Registration will open mid-April and close in early May. A registration costs $35, or 5 hours volunteering, or donation of a work for the benefit. One registration = one listing in the program.
Planning BOS works through email and weekly open meetings (and a google group which has been defunct for a while but we will set up a new one).
Cabaret
The Cabaret is usually held on Saturday night and consists of non-theatrical performance, with a diversity of artists. The first year it was held, it was huge, with over 400 audience members, since then it has been scaled back but has still been a central event of BOS. Artists who want to perform contact the director, who chooses who will perform. It could be curated, but is not censored.
Past Cabarets have been held at Starr Space, which is no longer open, so whoever leads it will have to find a space. Jason Andrew is working with Factory Fresh on a block party and can find out if this could also be a Cabaret venue. Whoever takes on leadership of the Cabaret will get plenty of advice and support from the rest of AIB.
Seeking page
AIB attempts to match artists and spaces through the Seeking page, a bulletin board on the website where artists seeking space and spaces seeking artist can post descriptions of what they are offering or looking for, and can then contact each other directly. AIB does not guarantee that anyone will find a space, but generally it works out pretty well. The Seeking page stays up through registration and beyond it.
Benefit
Tara is organizing the benefit. If anyone wants to help, speak to her (or email sponsorship@artsinbushwick.org). It will be held on May 21 at Lumenhouse, which is 2 weeks before the festival. Artists will be asked in the registration form if they want to donate work for the benefit, and the artist will set a price between $50 and $200. There is a maximum size requirement tbd. The work should be exhibition-ready. Usually 1/2 to 2/3 of the work sells. There is usually a diversity of media.
Usually we start preparing the space on the Monday the week of the benefit (spackling walls, painting etc), then volunteers need to be in the space that week to accept work, make labels, hang the work, and then staff the benefit (bar, cash, door, wrap work, clean up). The benefit is a good opportunity for artists to market themselves, as each donated work will be labeled with the artists name and the number of their open studio/event on the program.
Sponsorship
If anyone has local business contacts, please contact Tara – sponsorship@artsinbushwick.org.
Opening Party
There will be an opening party on Friday night at Beauty Bar, from which AIB gets a portion of the bar profit.
Volunteering (contact volunteer@artsinbushwick.org to get involved:
- Press and promotions: supply contacts, write press release, ideas for creative promotion, press sponsorship (donated ad space)
- Flyering : To promote registration, benefit and BOS., which should be done about 2 weeks before each event Divided into separate flyer routes along L and JMZ lines, outside each subway entrance, nearby coffee shops/restaurants and arts and music venues, plus any business sponsors. Need at least 6 people/teams for each round of flyering. Each route takes 1-2 hours. If you take on one route for every round, that could be your 5 hour volunteer commitment.
- Operations: registration (need help going through registration data), making the program, hub management: Hubs are venues near subway stops that can provide info to attendees. We have several but will need a few more due to some venues closing. They will be staffed with volunteers.
- Graphic design : preferably 2 or more people. 1 person for desiging flyers, logos etc, often for a very quick turnaround. 1 person to design program, which last year was a 26 page book with a map in 7 sections. AIB has strong branding which designers can work with, but is also open to change. Laura is meeting with a possible candidate tomorrow.
- Website and tech : The website is in the process of being rebuilt. Need someone who knows WordPress, PHP MySQL and CSS to build out website and keep it going. Good portfolio work, AIB can give recommendations and possibly get college credit for interns.
- Volunteer coordination: match volunteers to tasks. Send lots of emails. Be friendly. Need to be organized. Fairly large time commitment.
Q&A
Do people open their apartments (that are not loft spaces)?
Yes! People show in every imaginable kind of space. If you don’t have a buzzer, post your phone number on the door with your BOS sign, or try getting a Google voice number that forwards to your phone.
If I can’t come to weekly meetings, how do I stay in the loop?
Weekly e-blasts (usually on Thursdays) give relevant updates and remind of upcoming meetings. Minutes and notes are posted on the website (and Ali is reinstating the google group – more info to follow).
Should AIB approach the local merchant’s associations for an appeal for sponsorship?
Maybe, Laura B has been told this might not be useful but it may be worth a shot. It is good to have more outreach to diverse members of the community, not only those that already cater to the creative community.
Final note: Everyone Should Promote! To Artists, Volunteers and Audience!
The fourth annual Bushwick Open Studios produced by Arts In Bushwick will be held June 4-6, 2010. Artist registration will open in mid April and run through early May.
For information or to get involved, email openstudios@artsinbushwick.org.
Upcoming Meetings
BOS ’10 Planning Meetings will be held each Monday at 7pm through the date of Open Studios, at rotating locations. The next three meetings are:
Monday 3/22 at Norte Maar – 83 Wyckoff Ave #1B
Monday 3/29 at 54 Stockholm Street
Monday 4/5 at Bushwick Department of Public Works – 330 Melrose St #3
Volunteer Needs
BOS 2010 can’t happen without your help! We need volunteers in the following areas:
- Operations – running registration, map and program, hubs, miscellaneous
- Volunteer Coordination – helping match other volunteers with what needs to be done
- Graphic Design – designing logos, banners, etc. Laying out flyers and posters. Also, we need someone to take charge of laying out and designing the BOS 2010 program.
- Web Development – helping reconstruct our main website – wordpress, PHP/MySQL programming and CSS skills needed
- Press and Promotions
- Sponsorship and the BOS 2010 Benefit
What else can you do to help? Spread the word to artists, audience members, press, and your community! The more people are involved and the more visitors come, the bigger and better the weekend will be.
For questions or to volunteer, contact volunteer@artsinbushwick.org.
MINUTES FOR OPEN STUDIOS PLANNING MEETING 1
MARCH 15, 2010, 7PM
330 MELROSE ST, 3RD FL.
Note about website:
The website was hacked shortly after BOS 09. AIB set up a temporary website, but now that the coding for the old website is in the process of being fixed, we will hopefully revert back soon.
Introduction to Arts in Bushwick:
AIB was founded in 2007 around the planning of the first Open Studios. There had been an open studios event in 2005 organized by a different group, who intended to do it again in 2006 but cancelled it. Another group of people banded together in 2006 to put it on at the last minute, and after that about 15 community members / artists / organizers came together to plan BOS 07. After BOS 07, formed AIB to continue producing BOS, community projects and other activities.
AIB is 100% volunteer run. Financially it operates on a break-even basis. The organization is non-hierarchical. Anyone can be involved to whatever extent and in whatever capacity they like.
Apart from BOS, AIB organizes 2 other festivals a year – BETA Spaces in November and SITE Fest in March, and participates in community projects.
BETA Spaces – concentrates on 2 elements that AIB likes about BOS: curated group shows and alternative spaces, in a more accessible geographic area for 1 day.
SITE Fest – 2 day performance spaces, centered around hub spaces in which programming is scheduled by AIB.
Community Projects – community organizing, politics and policy, collaborating with non-profits, i.e. murals, street fairs.
Bushwick Open Studios:
BOS is AIB’s flagship festival.
In 2009, there were over 250 open studios, shows and events in over 125 venues. The only bounding criteria for what can take part is the geographic area – it must be in ‘Greater Bushwick’, an area over 3 square miles encompassing all of CB4, plus parts of Ridgewood, Bed-Stuy, Williamsburg and Maspeth.
Online registration will be open from mid-April to early May. Once it is closed, AIB produces the program, and promotes and markets the event.
BOS has always occurred on the first weekend of June. This year it will fall on June 4th – 6th. There were no objections to this date.
BOS usually opens on Friday night with events. Studios are open during the day on Saturday and Sunday, and there is usually a Cabaret on Saturday night, and a closing party on Sunday night.
1 registration = 1 listing. Each registration costs $35 or 5 hours of volunteer service.
In the past we have had listings on the website, but we cannot promise that this year.
Volunteering:
Why should you volunteer? It’s a great way to meet people and get involved in your community. AIB will return the favor in any way possible (job references etc). Volunteering for AIB is a resume-builder.
JA notes that AIB does so much for artists (BOS 09 brought in over 300 visitors a day to his space last year) and he thinks artists need to give back.
AIB encourages everyone to network and do outreach to artists and potential attendees for BOS 10. The more artists you get involved in your area, the more visitors you will have. Everyone should promote their own events.
Specific Needs:
- Operations: website, registration, community organizing.
- Press and promotions: supply contacts, write press release, ideas for creative promotion.
- Volunteer coordination: match volunteers to tasks. Big job, can be fun. Very NB.
- Web – need someone who knows some combination of wordpress, PHP/MySQL and CSS, for online registration and ideally web listings. [Lemia might know someone]
- Graphic design – preferably 2 or more people. 1 person for designing flyers, logos etc, often for a quick turnaround. 1 person to design program, which last year was a 26 page book with a map in 7 sections. AIB has strong branding which designers can work with, but is also open to change.
- Sponsorship – if anyone has local business contacts, please tell Tara.
- Benefit – works donated by registered artists, maximum size requirement, artist sets price between $50 – $200. Cash and carry event at Lumenhouse. Provides extra exposure to artists. Usually more than half of the work sells. Artists that donate will have the registration fee / volunteer requirement waived. Volunteers needed to collect work, install work, staff the event i.e. bar, door, take money, wrap up work and clean up.
- Flyering – very NB. To promote registration, benefit and BOS. Divided into separate flyer routes along L and JMZ lines.
If you want to volunteer, email volunteer@artsinbushwick.org
For more info, email openstudios@artsinbushwick.org
Weekly Meetings:
Weekly meetings will be held on Mondays at 7pm at different venues.
Upcoming meetings:
3/22 at Norte Maar – 83 Wyckoff Ave
3/29 at Tara’s apartment – 54 Stockholm Street
4/5 at Bushwick Department of Public Works – 330 Melrose St
Other ways to stay in touch with AIB:
Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo and Flickr. To get on the mailing list, email news@artsinbushwick.org
HELP PLAN BOS 2010!
BOS ’10 is just around the corner, and we need you!
In case you didn’t know, Arts In Bushwick is an all-volunteer organization, which means that we rely 100% on the work of community members like YOU to pull off three crazy art festivals a year, plus a load of other projects year-round.
We’re entering our fourth year of producing Bushwick Open Studios, and we’ve ramped up to three festivals each year. This takes a HUGE amount of person-power, to say the least. Come on down and chip in your ideas, your skills, and hopefully at least a little of your time – we can’t do what we do without your help.
Plus, we’ll have wine.
BOS ’10 FIRST PLANNING MEETING
Monday, March 15th, 7pm
330 Melrose St, 3rd Floor
(between Wilson and Knickerbocker)
For more information, email openstudios@artsinbushwick.org
Thanks to everyone who participated in SITE Fest ’10! We had a wonderful weekend (with equally wonderful weather) of performances at our hub and satellite spaces. Special gratitude to all those who volunteered: our efforts are impossible without you. Please know that your assistance helped to make this a fulfilling and exciting experience for a huge number of people.
Missed SITE? Want to take a look at some other people’s experiences and opinions? You can check out our SITE Fest Twitter stream here: http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23SITEfest; look at Bushwick BK’s follow-up article here: http://bushwickbk.com/2010/03/09/site-fest-you-are-here/; or view some SITE videos here: http://vimeo.com/user3289507
If you have photos, videos, or thoughts about SITE that you want to share, we’d love to help you get them out there. Email performance@artsinbushwick.org for more details.
March 6 + 7: SITE FEST ’10 is excited to present nearly 100 shows in 30 Bushwick locations. Check out two full days of programming from 1 – 9 PM in our hubs (3rd Ward, Chez Bushwick, & Grace Exhibition Space), visit the ionSOUND music festival at Goodbye Blue Monday, or hop from the hubs to our amazing satellite spaces. For a complete listing of events, see here: https://artsinbushwick.wordpress.com/performance-schedules/
You can also print out our programs at home. Click here: https://artsinbushwick.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/site10programselfprint1.pdf
Performances begin Saturday, but the fun actually starts tomorrow (Friday) at Beauty Bar (921 Broadway). We’re having our official opening party from 9 PM – 4 AM, featuring DJ Jonathan Toubin (among others), dancing, and cheap drinks all night long.
See you tomorrow, or at one or more of the amazing performances this weekend!
Tonight, Tuesday, March 2, is our final open meeting before SITE weekend. The meeting will take place at Boswyck Farms: 1609 DeKalb Ave., #1D. L to DeKalb, or B38 bus to Wyckoff and DeKalb.
Come to this meeting to pick up SITE fliers, programs, and door signs for satellite spaces.
For those who can’t make tonight’s meeting, we will also be running a materials distribution center on Wednesday, March 3, between 6 and 9 PM, and Thursday, March 4, between 2 and 6 PM.
To request fliers, email lee@boswyckfarms.org. This is the only way to make sure that they are printed and ready.
All materials can be picked up at 1609 DeKalb.
It’s SITE Fest week, and the full event listings for the festival are now available! During the weekend of March 6-7, SITE Fest will feature over 100 shows – over 60 in our hub spaces, and the rest in more than 20 satellite locations. You can download the map and program and read descriptions of all of the shows here.
Arts In Bushwick 