NYC's Creative Communities Showcased In New Exhibition at Museum of Arts and Design

In July 2014, the Museum of Arts and Design will transform itself into a nexus for New York City's leading makers-artists, artisans, and designers-through NYC Makers Open, a juried exhibition and the first organized under the leadership of MAD's new director Glenn Adamson. NYC Makers Open showcases the work of approximately 100 highly skilled individuals who apply an outstanding level of workmanship to the creation of objects or environments that shape our everyday lives. Exemplifying the Museum's ongoing commitment to craftsmanship across all creative fields, the exhibition provides a platform not only for makers who typically display their work in a museum setting, but also those who work behind the scenes. On view from July 1 through October 12, 2014, and marking the first in a series of exhibitions examining the culture of making in urban communities, NYC Makers Open will highlight the interconnected web of cultural production in New York City today and underscore the importance of craft in contemporary life.

"There is a prevailing perception that New York in the digital age is no longer a city of skilled makers, when, in fact, craftsmanship continues to flourish throughout the five boroughs. NYC Makers Open uncovers the variety of production and creativity in the city, and places a spotlight on the skilled individuals who spend every day crafting our futures," said Adamson, MAD's Nanette L. Laitman Director. "Since its founding, the Museum of Arts and Design has championed the way that artists and designers transform the world around us, using both traditional and cutting-edge creative processes. This exhibition reflects this core mission across the full range of crafted production, and establishes a new paradigm of 21st-century making as an engine for creative industry."

From stone masons to set designers, instrument makers to media art collectives, NYC Makers Open will reveal the contributions of 21st-century makers to contemporary society and will present a sweeping cross-section of the cultural production occurring within a single city. The exhibition itself will reflect New York City's collaborative creative networks and will be structured as a series of immersive tableaus that present a diverse range of works alongside one another. These environments will be activated with live programming throughout the exhibition's run, including fashion shows, demonstrations, performances, social practice projects, and culinary explorations, which underline the relationship between material and immaterial making found in New York City today.

"It is an exciting prospect to open up the Museum to the breadth of production found throughout the City with NYC Makers Open. Through this exhibition, we hope to further transform MAD into a laboratory that not only presents, but also supports those who have chosen to continue to work and live in NYC," said Jake Yuzna, Director of Public Programs at MAD and Curator of NYC Makers Open. "Building on New York's rich history of fearless and groundbreaking culture, today's practitioners are flattening traditional hierarchies through post-disciplinary practices that respond to the challenges of working in the five boroughs today. Their contributions not only impact culture on a global scale, but continue to make NYC one of the most interesting urban communities in the world."

Every maker included in the exhibition demonstrates the highest level of skill in their respective field, whether by fabricating furniture or fashion; creating artworks, films, and architecture; inventing new possibilities for food; or reshaping educational and social gatherings. Among the makers featured are:

• The Metropolitan Opera set designers, known for creating elaborate environments that transport audiences into the drama unfolding on stage;
• Architect Rafael de Cárdenas, whose design aesthetic of saturated colors and bold graphics has enlivened spaces ranging from the commercial to the residential;
• Miriam Ellner, one of the few designers working today who has mastered the art of Verre Eglomisé : the process of gilding the reverse side of glass with gold or metal leaf, engraving a design and applying color;
• Multimedia artist Laurie Anderson, a pioneering figure of electronic music and instrumental devices;
• New York-based Japanese artist Ei Arakawa, whose installations are activated through performances that engage passerbys in a shared experience;
• Lighting designer Lindsay Adelman, whose signature works are inspired by structural forms found in nature and incorporate handmade materials such as blown glass with the industrial;
• LittleBits, a start-up company on a mission to create an open source library of electronic modules (similar to the classic building block), that make electronic engineering accessible for artists, students, and designers of all ages;
• CONFETTISYSTEM, an artist-design collective whose work unites sculpture, design, and product into immersive environments and interactive installations.

Participating makers were nominated last winter by a committee of over 300 New York City-based cultural leaders and civic figures from a range of trades and disciplines, including museum curators, choreographers, academics, chefs, musicians, and journalists. Final participants were selected in early February by a jury chaired by Murray Moss and including Glenn Adamson, Lowery Stokes Sims, Jake Yuzna, and cultural leaders representing all five boroughs: Joe Amrhein, Regine Basha, Sergio Bessa, Lisa Dent, Patrick Grenier, and Robert Wilson.

Curated by Jake Yuzna, Director of Public Programs, NYC Makers Open inaugurates a new series of MAD exhibitions that will examine the culture of making and highlight the contributions of the makers who shape contemporary life. The accompanying publication will be edited by Jake Yuzna and designed by NYC-based studio Other Means.