DRIFTER PROJECTS

Shapeshifting projects in curating aiming to promote dialogue between artists.

[drifterprojects]

In 1965 artist Allan Kaprow's released the recorded lecture How To Make A Happening. The lecture was recreated in 2008 at Maccarone gallery in New York City as a one-night sound event in collaboration with Primary Information who originally released Kaprow's piece on vinyl.

[drifterprojects]

WEB BECOMES HER - a video collaboration between artist Daniel Leyva and his friends the collective PHYLUM - was featured in 2013's Installment No.1: Astronomical Ring. 

[drifterprojects]

In Profile: Keeping time with Elizabeth Sweigart

This fall, 23-year-old connoisseur of beautiful things from the past, Elizabeth Sweigart kicked the city to set up shop in Greenport, Long Island. Her store The Times Vintage, which she runs with her father - Shelter Island local Michael Sweigart - found its home (and its name) in the historic Suffolk Times newspaper building. She considers the store an “ever-evolving chronicle of the Times, both past and present,” showcasing fashion, home furnishings and vintage objects alongside fine art works that she exhibits in a gallery space at the back of the retail store. 

DP: Can you describe what you love about vintage and why you were driven to start The Times?

LS: I have been drawn to old things since I can remember and 90% of my personal belongings are secondhand. Always in the back of my head was the idea of opening a store of my own someday. I had no idea it would happen at 23, but the opportunity was there so I thought well, what am I waiting for?

Where did the store get it's name?

It had been the old Suffolk Times Newspaper building from 1886 - 1988 and still had "The Times" written across the front. In our eyes, it already had a name that just so happened to go right along with what we envisioned for the store.

What connects you to Long Island Is there something special about the community in Greenport that you find inspiring and lends itself well to a place like The Times that made you choose that location for your store? 

I was drawn to the North Fork first and foremost by Nature, which is what I missed most when living in the city. The landscape is so vast, theres space to breathe and let your imagination run wild.

Greenport itself is a little old fishing port with lots of history and charm. As a new business we wanted to slip right in, as if we'd always been here. Greenport has a few antique shops, but there are no other Vintage clothing stores in town. I really wanted to create a shop where local cats can find unique and affordable clothes rather than driving an hour to the outlet mall. 

You have an exhibition space attached to the store. What do you envision for that space in the future? How does art interact with your love of vintage? 

I have met so many unbelievably talented people living in NYC and I want to keep this space open for any young, contemporary artists that wish to exhibit their work and bring something besides nautical/landscape art to Greenport ;)

Sometimes Art evokes emotion and sometimes it's just wonderful to look at. For me, it's the same with Vintage. 

Can you tell us about your favorite artists from eastern Long Island?

One of my favorites is Harald Olson, whose work we have up now. 

Do you travel to find pieces? Where do you go? What is the coolest thin you found so far?

So far I've gone as far north as Canada and as far south as Texas. Some of the best things are from my Grandparent's garage - a mini spy camera that my Granddad got from his Fraternity in the 50s is one of the coolest! 

What time do you love? Do you have a favorite era in vintage fashion and why?

60s and 70s! Just EVERYTHING.

Tell us about your drawings and paintings!

I'm inspired by kitsch, art nouveau illustrations, and 60s food photography.... I'm kind of all over the place but I mostly use watercolor & oil.

What is the soundtrack at The Times?

Fleetwood Mac/Stevie Nicks, Johnny Cash, Mamas & The Papas, Mazzy Star over & over. 

When Dad takes over the record player: Buffalo Springfield, Traffic, Devo.

[drifterprojects]

Incorporate

This Saturday at The Sculpture Center in Long Island City, NY we are looking forward to the launch of Incorporate, a performative APP and the newest collaboration between artists Eve Essex and Juan Olivares. The launch is a part of the Sculpture Center's show In Practice: Chance Motives, which features a group of multitalented performance based artists including Vanessa Anspaugh, Ben Thorp Brown, Brendan Fernandes, Pedro Neves Marques, Sahra Motalebi, Daniel Neumann, Nick Paparone, Rachel Rose, Hayley Aviva Silverman, Conrad Ventur, and Laura Vitale as well as Essex Olivares. 

Event Date: Saturday, February 8, 12-6pm 

[drifterprojects]

If you are in New York tonight, we hope you will join us as we congratulate our friend and future collaborator Rachel Remz on the inaugural night of her new concert series Trouble Forever at Baby's All Right in Williamsburg. 

Born and raised in NYC, Rachel is a multi-talented force whose photographs and musings have appeared on popular online creative entities including SGCNY and Opening Ceremony. She is deeply connected to music and it's community, having spent years documenting musicians, festivals and tour managing to get some quality time in with friends on the road. 

For her first concert in the series she has enlisted a tour de force of talented friends including Cole Younger (of Atlanta punk band the Black Lips), Beach Party, Tennessee Thomas, and Skaters. She also invited artist and friend of Drifter, Myfanwy Shepherd, whose piece White Wash Black Light was featured in our first installment last May, created a hand drawn logo in honor of the event.

$10 ahead is a small price to pay for pure fun. We'll be there. Come say hey!

xo Jordan and Veronica

[drifterprojects]

Installment No.1: Astronomical Ring

This past May marked the first installment of Drifter Projects - a temporary exhibition at 481 Broadway in New York City's SoHo neighborhood, featuring works by Babycastles, Mark Borthwick, Ian Lawrence Campbell, Christine Sun Kim, Antonia Kuo, Carlos Charlie Perez, Richard Phillips, PHYLUM with Daniel Leyva, Myfanwy Shepherd, and Andrew Sutherland.

In ancient Greek astronomy, the Astronomical Ring was an instrument used to determine time and location. Taking its cue from the archaic navigational tool, Drifter Projects used this group exhibition to survey and juxtapose contemporary works - exploring how the artists engage, negate or embrace cultural and technological advancements.  Drifter deems the term 'technology' an embodiment of the constant evolution of tools at our disposal. It is a timeless term, one that is optimistic and simultaneously nostalgic - loaded with death and rebirth at once.  In the service of artists, it provides a means by which we may confront ourselves, our history, and our perishability, illustrating the four-dimensional space in which objecthood and consciousness are inextricably entwined.  Embracing sculpture, painting, drawing, video, installation, performance, and games, Astronomical Ring examined the bond between creative desire and the ever-shifting landscape of technology.

Drifter Projects would like to express extended thanks to Adam Uhl for his film of the Babycastles workshop on the occasion of this exhibition, and to Death By Audio and Stephanie Gross for their enormous support of the organization at large; as well as Mila Giesler and Jack Chiles who run 481 Broadway and worked with us extensively to host this exhibition. Drifter Projects profoundly thanks Board Members Steven Chaiken, Byron Kalet, and Bernard Kirschner for their invaluable advice in light of this installment and beyond. 

[drifterprojects]

WELCOME TO DRIFTER

Introducing the Drifter Projects blog - a new hub where you can discover our installments, travels, musings, inspiration and news. 

Drifter Projects is a multidimensional creative organization that aims to showcase artistic works for positive cultural gain. It is the goal of the organization to provoke, observe and create opportunities for artists within the public sphere. Each installment of Drifter Projects will vary in mode of presentation, making use of space and media to interact within various communities and ultimately create cultural artifacts - temporal or archival. The organization will explore screenings, residency opportunities, exhibitions, and publishing (both online and in print), among other formats in order to achieve its goals. Drifter Projects seeks to provide art communities with an open and ever-evolving platform for sharing contemporary works in a society whose value of tradition in the arts is constantly in flux with new media and technology.