Kickstarter

ABC No Rio is a collectively-run arts center located on New York's Lower East Side. Established in 1980, it has gone through quite a few manifestations, from alternative art gallery to punk squathouse to community center. It now houses a gallery space, screen-printing studio, black and white darkroom, free bike workshops withTimes Up!, computer lab, zine library, and has provided space toFood Not Bombs andBooks Through Bars.

I have a personal history with ABC No Rio, as do a lot of people. When I first moved to New York in 1996 as a 17-year-old from Pennsylvania, I'd spend every weekend going to the wild and raucous punk shows. A few years later I began volunteering in the black and white darkrooms on the 3rd floor. I often would exhibit my photographs in the art shows at ABC, including the biennial Ides of March, a huge, building-wide exhibition filling every square inch of the structure with performance, installation, photography, sculpture, drawings, and paintings. It was at the 2002 Ides of March installation that I met my current husband, the painter Lambert Fernando.

Fast-forward to 2012. ABC has now procured the necessary funding to build a new facility at its Rivington Street location. This means the entire building will be demolished in several months and then rebuilt, and a whole new, wonderful ABC No Rio will emerge.

As an architectural photographer, I was honored to have been asked to help preserve the memory of the details and architecture that comprise the old ABC. I will be photographing the building---exterior and interior---as well as every workspace, architectural detail, and art installation that fills the hallways and meeting rooms. I will begin shooting immediately and am looking to make at least 100 final photographs. I hope you can help me to reach my goal and forever preserve this unique  place. As a reward for your support, you will receive a 4”x6” photo book of images from this project and/or a limited-edition print..