During this eight-hour party, attendees meet the artists, learn about their exhibitions, and get a behind-the-scenes understanding of how they create their work.
MoMA PS1 hosts an Open House on Saturday, March 29, at noon.
Family-friendly workshops, talks, tours, and a grand ball are on tap to celebrate exhibitions and work by Alanis Obomsawin, Julien Ceccaldi, Whitney Claflin, and DonChristian Jones.
It’s all free.
Info on the Activities
The program begins at 1:30 pm with Obomsawin, who will discuss her six decades of work with anthropologist Faye Ginsburg. (Space is limited and RSVP is required.)
Then in the galleries at 2 pm, Claflin will embark on a marathon reading of her poems and other texts.
Obomsawin will lead a drawing workshop for families with children ages 5+ and a Teen Art Salon at 3 pm and 4 pm. (Space is limited and RSVP is required.)
At 4 pm, Ceccaldi will demonstrate and discuss her site-specific works in a gallery talk with MoMI PS1 Assistant Curator Kari Rittenbach.
Ceccaldi will then sign copies of his newest comic book, Tasteful (2024), at 5 pm.
The fun ramps up at 6 pm with Gotham Ball, a celebration of ballroom culture organized by DonChristian Jones, Mother Omi Unbothered Balenciaga, Ivy Unbothered Mugler, and Icon Alex Juicy Mugler. (Space is limited and RSVP is required.)
Info on the Artists
Obomsawin is filmmaker, artist, activist, and musician who grew up in Canada. Her show at MoMA PS1 spans six decades of her multidisciplinary practice, bringing together a selection of films, sculptures, and sound, as well as rarely seen ephemera that sheds light on their production.
Ceccaldi, who focuses on drawing, painting, and sculpture, is also Canadian, and this is her first solo exhibition in a museum in the United States. It features a newly commissioned large-scale painting that transforms the first-floor galleries.
It’s also a first solo museum exhibition for Claflin, who grew up in Providence, Rhode Island. She’s displaying paintings, drawing, photography, video, and sculptural interventions.
DonChristian Jones is an artist, musician, and producer whose practice spans painting, music, film, video, time-based performance, and public murals, while blending genres of painting and performance installation. The Philadelphia native is also the inaugural Adobe Creative Resident at the Museum of Modern Art. At MoMA PS1, Jones has created a clandestine study that imagines a portal into the artist’s “double life” over the past 15 years, teaching and painting during the day while rapping and performing at night. The exhibition incorporates design elements inspired by film noir, Blaxploitation films, the Harlem Renaissance, and contemporary Ballroom culture.
Located in a former public school building at 22-25 Jackson Ave. in Long Island City, MoMA PS1 presents emerging artists in an outdoor gallery, a two-story display room with high ceilings, and many creatively utilized nooks and crannies. Yes, it’s affiliated with Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art, and the two venues collaborate on exhibitions, education activities, and special programs like this one.
Images: MoMA PS1
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