Vol. 18 — July 3, 2020
WHAT’S NEW
This week we’re sharing a digital art show you should attend, more ways to support important causes and are introducing you to a new cool friend: Janie Korn.
CULTURE CORNER
EXPLORE
One of our favorite NYC galleries, Fisher Parrish, is putting on a digital art exhibition. The Essential Goods Show features some of our favorite artists like Jolie Ngo and Ellen Van Dusen and focuses on objects that 80 different artists find to be essential. The show runs until August 30 and 20% of the proceeds of sales go to the NAACP. Head over to their site before it ends to see woven wicker hands and ceramics made to look like corn!
SHOP & SUPPORT
Raffle
There are so many amazing raffles lately featuring pieces by lots of NYC based artists. This raffle coordinated by design studio, Immaculate Space is raffling off one-of-a-kind pieces from this ceramic mirror and this hand-blown glass tumbler. Our favorite, of course, is the Alex Proba Shape Party Rug. Each ticket goes to your raffle item of choice and to a charity chosen by Immaculate Space.
Carry
Queer Soup Night and our soon-to-be neighborhood go-to, Meme’s Diner, have collaborated on a jam-packed tote bag full of food & booze from NYC’s favorite queer makers. 100% of the proceeds go to The Okra Project, a collective that seeks to address the global crisis of violence by providing resources and meals to Black trans people. All this being said, this tote is totes sold out. We just wanted to shout out some small businesses doing something great with their platform — tote or not, you can still donate to The Okra Project and enjoy some food to-go from Meme’s Diner.
Wear
Hester Street Fair (remember that?) just launched their second Protest T-Shirt show — benefitting Black Lives Matter Greater NY, The Innocence Project, the ACLU, and more. Some fantastic designers (Elise McMahon, Amalia Ulman and more) have contributed and honestly, in NYC the t-shirt is our bumper sticker. RSVP here
LOOK
We’re drooling over the newly launched tableware line Domingo, by NY-based ceramic artist Ivana Brenner. All handmade in the city, each piece is totally unique. Check out the story behind the line (and shop) here.
COOL FRIENDS
Janie Korn
Meet Janie, the New York-based artist making covetable candles. Her wax portraiture is both ceremonial and the next art piece to bring into your home.
What led you to your career as an artist?
Art has always been a consistent undercurrent in my life; when I was a little girl my mother would tell these incredible stories, beautifully illustrating the characters and setting and small visual details as she went along. Drawing became what I did throughout adolescence and adulthood as a therapeutic escape, but it took me a long time to get over my fear of committing to the field professionally. I ended up going to school for Spanish and Latin American studies and seriously considered the foreign service for a period of time. I worked a variety of jobs, here and abroad, but I never felt like myself because I wasn't producing creative work and didn't feel seen for who I was. In New York I got a small studio in Two Bridges, just so I could make little short films or sculptures just for myself. Slowly people started to purchase them, and definitely not in a quantity to make a big financial impact on my life at the time, but the significance of someone bringing my work into their home was enough affirmation for me to begin to see myself as a creator. And that confidence shift was really important to me, and empowered me to present myself, without overwhelming shame, as an artist.
What's your favorite part about the New York creative community?
There's no gatekeeper, people want to see you and know your work - they just don't know you yet! When I moved to New York six years ago, I had very few connections in the creative world, having come from an entirely different field. I was desperate to build more friendships within the community, so I started organizing these small, scrappy shows around the city. It gave me an excuse to get to know all these artists I had been following and had admired for years. I think if you sit and wait for people to build relationships with you, you may be waiting a while. Plus, any opportunity you provide for another person will always come back to you. So it's good to be generous when you are in a position to do so, talk about other artists, include them in shows. Once you are in a community, keep building.
Could you tell us about how you used your platform and skills as an artist to raise money for the Minnesota Freedom Fund and the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund?
I was deeply moved by the fundraising I had seen online that was helping to provide bail money for protestors, so I came up with the idea of creating cop pig candles in exchange for donations of $150 or more to either of those charities. Candles are very ceremonial to me. The burning is not just destruction but a symbolic rite of setting something free. I thought this effigy was therefore a super fitting image for the times. I originally capped the fundraiser at $1,000, because the candles truly take a long time to make, but I raised the limit a few times in order to allow for more donations and in total we ended up raising $2,850 for the two charities. I am super grateful to everyone that contributed. The bail system disenfranchises the poor and people of color and needs to be abolished in its entirety. I also held a raffle on my stories for a candle version of the iconic Happy Foot, Sad Foot sign, but instead says 'Defund the Police' and that raised $1,030 for the Equal Justice Initiative.
Follow along:
www.janiekorn.com
@janiekorn on Instagram
PALETTE
Mochi Ice Cream on the Porch, in Bushwick, Bushwick
