RAA Opens Portal: Rockaway on September 28
By Katie McFadden
Rockaway Artists Alliance has opened their doors to Portal! Their latest art exhibit, curated by 4heads NYC, opens this Saturday, September 28.
On Saturday, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., all are welcome to head to sTudio 7 in Fort Tilden for the opening reception of Portal: Rockaway, to enjoy food, drinks provided by Narragansett Brewing Company and Brooklyn’s Fulton Grand Bar, live performances and to meet with the artists behind the variety of art pieces. This exhibit, open from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through October 13, features everything from painting to drawing, installation, indoor and outdoor sculpture, and performance, offering an unforgettable journey through contemporary art.
Started in 2008, 4heads is a New York City non-profit organization created by artists for artists. They are most known for their longtime work with the Governors Island Art Fair, which eventually became Portal: Governors Island. They ran exhibits there for 15 years, until they lost the space two years ago. Since then, 4heads has been utilizing other spaces to hold pop-ups such as ChaShaMa’s space on the Upper East Side in Manhattan at the beginning of the year. Now they’re bringing Portal to Rockaway.
According to Jack Robinson, co-founder and executive director of 4heads, Christopher Saucedo, who sits on the board of the RAA, used to be one of the artists with work on Governors Island. “He just reached out and wanted some new programming at the RAA and we were looking for a space, so it just worked out really well,” Robinson said. “We traded an island for a peninsula.”
In July, 4heads put out a call to artists from near and far to submit their work for Portal: Rockaway through August 12. All disciplines were welcome. Ultimately the jury narrowed it down to the works of 34 artists, some from as far as Virginia. Some include past 4heads artists, and plenty of new ones. Portal: Rockaway doesn’t have a general theme, but some may notice works inspired by the space. “You’re at the beach, so you’re gonna see some beach themed things,” Robinson said.
The artists include Santina Amato, Kumasi Barnett, Z Behl, Miggy Buck, Maximus Clarke, Marianne DeAngelis, Andréa DeFelice, George Dielman, Gregg Emery, Shiraz Fazli, Tanda Francis, Joseph Fucigna, York Griffith, Sam Horowitz, Katherine Jackson, Marie Koo, Tara Kopp , Carin Kulb Dangot, Kerry Lessard, Doreen McCarthy, Tricia McLaughlin, Christy E O’Connor, Emily O’Leary, Randy Polumbo, Jessica Reisch, Sarah Sagarin, Robert Sinclair, Marcos Smyth, Grant Stoops, Megan Suttles, Elizabeth Tomasetti, Rosa Valado and Stephanie Wenzel.
Portal: Rockaway is taking full advantage of the space RAA’s sTudio 7 offers, both inside and out. “This place suits itself to installation sculpture. You have the walls around it for paintings, but this is a huge studio, and we had a lot of space to play with, so you’re also going to see things like some giant inflatable sculptures, things involving kinetic artwork and more,” Robinson said. They’re also making use of the front and backyard outdoor space around the studio. “We learned from Governors Island that you can use quality outdoor work as kind of like a sign for the venue to draw people in and let them know art is happening here,” he said. They’ll also have some live performances not only at the opening reception, but at other times during the exhibit. Details will be announced after opening.
As a new space to 4heads, Robinson says working with the RAA has gone swimmingly. “It’s been great. We’ve been dealing with government agencies throughout the past 17 years, but it seems there’s a little more freedom here with the National Park Service. It’s been very easy working with the RAA. They’ve been mostly hands off, which has allowed us to give the artists a lot of leeway,” he said.
Robinson is hoping folks from near and far make the trip to Fort Tilden to see what they have to offer. “Since it’s our first time working here, we don’t know who’s going to show up, but we want neighborhood engagement, and to have people come out and just like Governors Island, this is a great area for people to take a bike ride and stop by,” Robinson said. “These might not be museum or gallery going people, but they’ll stop in, and especially kids, they often see the works and think, ‘wow, I can do that!’ These are regular people sharing their work. It can serve as inspiration and provide enlightenment and understanding that you too can also be creative. And you don’t have to go to Chelsea or MoMa to see artwork. We’re trying to bring it to the community.”
After the opening on Saturday, Portal: Rockaway, located in Fort Tilden, is open Saturdays and Sundays, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., through October 13. For more information about 4heads, check out: https://4heads.org/ or @4heads_NYC on Instagram. For more information and updates about Portal: Rockaway, see: www.rockawayartistsalliance.org or @rockaway_artists_alliance on Instagram.
