Kickstarter

FIRE ISLAND ARTIST RESIDENCYis the first LGBTQ artist residency in the United States, and as such is an extremely rare and important opportunity for queer artists.  It is an invaluable space to expand artistic practices, strengthen peer connectivity, and explore queer heritage.  I am excited to announce that in just a few VERY short weeks I will be busy working in the company of like-spirited folk, including curators and contemporary artists, on Fire Island. 

As Fire Island is in fact an island and has NO CARS obtaining and transporting lumber and tools to and from the studio will require greater effort and greater resources than what one would normally anticipate. Tools are an expense undenieably intrinsic to the success of my work, and they are undeniably expensive. This is where YOU can come together with others to create community in support of the arts by supporting a loved one.

My goal amount is only a portion of the total costs for the tools and materials necessary to construct and fulfill the TWO proposed art projects during my FOUR WEEKS in residence.  The projects include a number of site-specific participation-based shelters and interactive sculptures.  I will be interacting, interviewing, and recruiting members of the Fire Island community to participate with and inhabit these structures.  With these works I seek to re-contextualize the ‘figure’ by physically placing ‘viewers’ within the pieces.  The states and conditions of the participant’s body relate to and activate the pieces, implicating the participant in a co-created understanding through performative volunteerism and live exchange.  These works explore the tensions between queer visibility and personal privacy by creating ceremonies or rituals that question the parallels of queer sex with queer death.

This is also an opportunity for you to acquire work while promoting work.  As a part of my artistic practice I have also been working with creating souvenirs from actions and performances.  I will be your souvenir shop.  Souvenirs to show I am here, and through your pledges, you are with me, experiencing this great opportunity. Right next to me in fact, kicking sand in my face and calling it "wind", peeing on my jellyfish stings, knifing the shark that looks at me sideways, holding the measuring tape as I mark the lumber.  

Every spatter of Coppertone greased over my sea of freckles is a healthful hug from afar.

It is not routine for me to call upon my community and ask for this type of support, but in light of the great and exciting challenges of these projects, now feels right.  It is truely a modest amount with such an important purpose. Exploration of queer ancestry has gone largely ill-fostered in the face of bigotry and ignorance, leaving new ideas and practices uninformed. This is the time for queer artists to reach and investigate our heritage and become a voice unburied. I would be humbled to receive your support and the support of anyone you know who would align with my cause. I will be hard at work to instigate further community building, beach tomfoolery, adventures, and art galore.

With much love, and gobs of guts,

Thank you.

Nicolaus Chaffin