Dumbo Arts Center (dac)
above photograph by bantersnaps/unsplash
As with so many of the things I got involved with in my life, The DUMBO Arts Center was a wild learning experience and was deeply influential in my overall life ideologies.
This was the first opportunity where I dove deep into collaborative projects and community, which was the biggest reason for my passion for the center. Initially, we began with a single huge open studio arts event. After completing what was to be a single event, we knew it needed to be ongoing. We started discussing the ongoing permanent center and launched it within months.
I was Co-Founder, Vice President, and Director of the Applied Arts at the center. I also created their visual identity. Using the architectural look of the neighborhood to create the logo, I then used as many industrialized elements and mechanical processes as possible to keep all our promotional material strong and feeling very much like the raw industrial neighborhood it was at the time.
the first opening invitation was printed on metal.
The D.U.M.B.O. Art Under The Bridge Festival
When we started, the Art Under the Bridge festival was the biggest of its kind in New York City. In my final year involved with this production, we had an estimated 10-12K visitors attend the 3-day event. Producing this event before we landed the first Andy Warhol grant, was, to say the least, intense.
Below you will see the map, guide and invitation for the first festival. To symbolize the grit of the community, everything was printed on newspaper; and invitations were rubber-stamped on cardboard.