Artists' Commune

Since March of this year, 24 visual artists and 4 performing groups have made New York Harbor’s Governor’s Island their workstation.

This change in scenery is an initiative of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, a nonprofit organization that has worked to sustain the arts in New York City following the events of 9/11.

They selected two groups of artists to receive four-month residencies in Building 110, a former munitions warehouse, on the island. Originally built in the 1870s, it was renovated in 2009 to include an arts center with studio areas, two performance spaces and a gallery for exhibitions.

Functioning somewhat like a distant artists’ commune—geared toward nurturing the creative genius—transportation is provided by a ferry to and from Manhattan at 6:45am and 5:00pm. Although a café will open soon, as of now, aside from a coffee truck, there are no food services on the island. Also, with the exception of the three weekends following July 23 and Oct 8, the island is closed to the public.

The current group of artists is scheduled to move out on July 29 with the second moving in on August 9.

Like many of the artists on the island, Rachel Bacon has been inspired by her environment and has created a paper model of a damaged canoe and birch tree saying, “First the Indians were here and then the Dutch. . . . It’s a piece about the transformations that have taken place and how fragile everything is.”

Speaking on her short-term residency she added, “I’ll be really sorry to see it end.”