FABnyc's LOAD OUT! Helps Artists Recycle Together Today

Today, April 26, 2014, Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc) will host its eighth Load OUT! - a twice yearly "riot" of repurposing and recycling activities. FABnyc will gather gently used materials from arts organizations and other donors throughout the East Village/Lower East Side for this one-of-a-kind extravaganza, taking place at 11 East 3rd Street from 12-3PM.

Load OUT! is specially designed to showcase creative thinking about sustainability and the arts. Artists and art students are welcome to take home any costumes, props, and furniture they need for their artistic endeavors, free of charge. Community members and non-artists can also attend Load OUT! for a small entrance fee of $5, and take away any amount of materials free of charge. Everything remaining will be repurposed or recycled responsibly by GrowNYC, Wearable Collections, Lower East Side Ecology Center, and United War Veterans Recycling. Any unrecyclable items will be properly disposed of by the NYC Department of Sanitation.

Load OUT! also features clothing, textile, and e-waste community collections - open and free for everyone from 12-3PM. Lower East Side Ecology Center will collect e-waste, and GrowNYC will collect clothing and textiles. A list of accepted donations is available at www.fabnyc.org/loadout.php.

Starting in 2010, Load OUT! established a local distribution spot for organizations and businesses to share unwanted materials with artists, while providing free responsible recycling opportunities to the local community. Since the program began, nearly 50 tons have been diverted from the waste stream. Load OUT! is a part of FABnyc's SUSTAIN initiative, a comprehensive sustainability and resource sharing program that explores creative solutions to the complex challenges of urban and artistic sustainability.

FABnyc's SUSTAIN program (www.fabnyc.org/sustain.php) has received major funding from the Rockefeller Foundation Cultural Innovation Fund. Load OUT! is also made possible by ConEdison, Eileen Fisher, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. FABnyc is grateful to Duo Multicultural Arts Center and Rod Rodgers Dance Company for their in-kind donation of space for Load OUT!

For questions about Load OUT! or how to donate materials, please contact Tyler Bugg at 212.228.4670 or loadout@fabnyc.org.

Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc) FABnyc was founded in 2001 as the nonprofit leadership organization for the East 4th Street Cultural District, a historic and vibrant arts corridor in Manhattan between Second Avenue and Bowery. Now a neighborhood-wide coalition of arts and community groups, FABnyc drives community and economic development, while also preserving the Lower East Side's rich heritage and creative energy.

Photo Credit: Whitney Browne