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Wondering Around Wandering Pop-Up Community Art Space Hopes to Revitalize & Celebrate Crown Heights

[CROWN HEIGHTS, NY] Brooklyn artist Mike Perry’s recent endeavor, Wondering Around Wandering (WAW) is a 7,000 sq-ft creative wonderland nestled away amidst rows of former industrial spaces lining Dean St. in Crown Heights [938 Dean St, Brooklyn, NY 11238].

Conceived and Designed by Perry, WAW doubles as both a free exhibition space and community free space for life-long art making.  WAW is a revolutionary new concept in the way an art space interacts with the community.  Eschewing a typical NYC gallery opening process Perry began with a concept that everything had to be community-oriented and free …free entry, free refreshments, free classes, free workshops, free concerts, and all of it had to be available to people of all ages and abilities.  After several months of preparation WAW opened on September 15th with over 500 people in attendance.  Several successful community workshops followed the opening of the space and their second full exhibit titled Happy Accidents will be opening this Saturday, October 6th at 6pm.   A full list of WAW events is attached below* For a folder of print-quality images from wondering around wandering click HERE*

A celebrated graphic artist, illustrator and maker, Mike Perry is known for his big ideas.   With his finger on the pulse of the design world and a keen sense of Brooklyn’s ever-changing socio-economic geography, Perry quickly recognized that if a space like WAW were to succeed in Crown Heights then the Crown Heights community had to be part of the process.  Perry began his process by bringing his ideas to the local community board, and inviting them to become part of the journey.  Using the popular crowd-funding platform Kickstarter, Perry raised the start-up capital he needed to procure a discarded industrial building and with the help of local labor transformed it into a sprawling, brightly lit creative space.  Perry built bridges with local shops and artisans in the community and worked with them to create a “Handy Neighborhood Guide” that would be published along side event promotions as a way to encourage WAW visitors to patronize local businesses.

When Mike Perry moved his studio to Crown Heights 7 years ago he immediately fell in love with the community.  Wondering Around Wandering is a thank-you letter to the Crown Heights community that Mike adores and the start of a dialogue regarding art’s role in helping to transform Brooklyn’s abandoned industrial spaces.

for a photostream documenting WAW workshops & salons click HERE

About Mike Perry
Mike Perry (www.mikeperrystudio.com) is a designer and interdisciplinary artist. He draws, paints, illustrates, and animates. He creates sculpture projects and limited-edition silkscreen posters. He curates books and paints portraits. He writes children’s books and contributes to literary magazines. He teaches. His appetite for collaboration and creation is insatiable; the possibilities are endless. He works regularly for a number of editorial and commercial clients including Apple, The New York TimesDwell, Target, Urban Outfitters, Aldo, and Nike. In addition to his commercial, nonprofit, and personal artwork, he has also published extensively. His work has been exhibited around the world, including at two solo shows in Tokyo: We Are the Infinity of Each Other at B Gallery and Color, Shapes and Infinity at Public Image 3D Gallery. His 2012 monograph published by Rizzoli, Wondering Around Wandering, is an anthology that is at turns humorous, mystical, poetic, warm, sexy, and charming.  Mike Perry is originally from Kansas City, Missouri, and attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Now 31, he is seduced by a contemporary visual culture and the experience of life itself. His art forms and installations can be meditative and/or hyperactively sublime.

WORKSHOPS & EVENTS:
All events are free and open to the public, but space is limited, so your RSVP is required. RSVP links and more events will be added to the calendar soon. Check back often! Or joing the mailing list.

Thursday, October, 4
Open Drawing Night
(Sponsored by Duvel)
Must be 21+ to participate.
Thursday, October 4, 8:00–10:00pm
Limited to 30 people – RSVP HERE!
We opened up a few more slots!

Saturday, October 6
Happy Accidents Zine Workshop
(Hosted by Dr.Me)

Saturday, October 6, 10:00am–12:00pm
Limited to 30 people – RSVP HERE!
Scroll down to register for a future workshop.This workshop marks the opening day of Happy Accidents, WAW’s second group show. Led by the Manchester-based duo DR.ME — Ryan Doyle (DR) and Mark Edwards (ME) — this workshop celebrates the collision of the unexpected. Mix cut-outs, collage and hand drawing to create strange and amazing mini art-zines. We’ll have supplies on hand, but feel free to bring any old books or magazines you want to tear up and transform.

Happy Accidents — Opening Reception
(Curated by DR.ME)

Saturday, October 6, 6:00–11:00pm – RSVP HERE!
Essentially silliness crossed with the unexpected, this group show curated by DR.ME features a nonaccidental international group of multidisciplinary artists: Linus Bill, Rhys Coren, Ryan Doyle, Daniel Eatock, Mark Edwards, Jonathan Flanders, Sebastian Haslauer, Steve Hockett, Hannan Jones, and John P. Come to the opening party or see it anytime at WAW from Oct. 7 through Oct. 31.

Thursday, October 11
Goodbye Brooklyn: A one night performance byAndy Byers
Must be 21+ to participate.
Thursday, October 11, 8:00–10:00pm
Limited to 100 people – RSVP HERE!
Goodbye Brooklyn is a film-based performance that explores the greatest influences and tragedies the artist has faced during his 7 year stay in New York City. The performance will include three dances choreographed by Jennifer Mellor, musical performances by the artist as well as special guests Hospital Ships and sets designed with the spirit of what Wandering Around Wondering is trying to achieve in its vision to make art happen.
“I moved here to fall in love with the movies. And that’s exactly what happened. Now I’m leaving to make them.” – Andy Byers

Saturday, October 13
Ghost Notes: Understanding the Elements of Popular Drum Beats
(Hosted by Homer Steinweiss)

Saturday, October 13, 10:00am–12:00pm
Limited to 15 people – RSVP HERE!
Brooklyn-based drummer and songwriter Homer Steinweiss talks about the various elements that go into playing and creating rhythms for the drumset, and will attempt to perform a song with the help of the audience and special guests.

Greetings from Brooklyn
(Hosted by Santtu Mustonen)

Saturday, October 13, 1:00 – 3:00pm
Limited to 24 people – RSVP HERE!
Explore the impact of writing and drawing at breakneck speed. With pencil, ink, and paint we’ll craft spontaneous messages onto postcards, spending 1-2 minutes on each piece. In the end, we’ll pin the postcards to a wall and discuss the meaning of both their individual and communal presence. Each postcard will be mailed to a random address with recipients encouraged to send in pictures of their unexpected gift to be cataloged online for ongoing dialogue and sharing.

Thursday, October 18
Open Drawing Night
Must be 21+ to participate.
Thursday, October 18, 8:00–10:00pm
Limited to 30 people – RSVP HERE!
We opened up a few more slots!

Saturday, October 20
IMAG(in)ING the CITY
(Hosted by Jim Datz)
Saturday, October 20, 10:00am–12:00pm
Limited to 30 people – RSVP HERE!
Scroll down to register for a future workshop.
Let’s create a large-scale modular drawing of an imaginary city! Participants will be provided with all materials needed for this active drawing session, during which everyone will draw individual pieces of urban space: a house, a park, a subway station, a bodega, a high-rise, a library, a farmer’s market…or anything else that comes to mind (a dirigible launch pad, a hot dog factory?). The size and complexity are limited only by our imaginations. At the end of the session, we’ll “build” the city on the wall of the gallery.

Thursday, October 25
Vehicle – a Dance Performance
(C
horeographed by Lindy Schmedt & GREYZONE)
Thursday, October 25, 8:00–10:00pm
Limited to 100 people – RSVP HERE!
Vehicle is a dance created by choreographer Lindy Schmedt with her company GREYZONE. Inspired by the WAW space, the project involves five dancers as they create a dynamic landscape executing architectural forms. The work will be a special visual collaboration between GREYZONE and Mike Perry.

Saturday, October 27
Never Nude!
(Hosted by Josh Cochran)

Saturday, October 27, 10:00am–12:00pm
Limited to 30 people – WORKSHOP CLOSED.
Scroll down to register for a future workshop.
For this workshop we will draw from a costumed model in a unique and amazing setting! Music and stories will be played to enhance the mood while we draw. Please bring your own drawing materials. All ages are welcome.

Saturday, November 3
Still Life
(Hosted by Playlab Inc.)

Saturday, November 3, 10:00am–12:00pm
Limited to 30 people – RSVP HERE!
This workshop will mark the opening day of Artypes’ Salon No. 4, called ‘Still Life.’ You will be given a tote bag full of materials, and prompted to make a collaged Still Life from those materials. You will have the entire premises of “Wondering Around Wandering” to use as subject for your piece. Your piece will be framed, and hung on the wall for the duration of the ‘Still Life’ Salon. Artists will be present to provide critiques and encouragement.

Artypes: Salon No. 4 “Still Lifes”
Opening Reception
(Curated by Playlab Inc.)

Saturday, November 3, 6:00–11:00pm
RSVPs open on 10/8

Saturday, November 10
Create Repeating Patterns
(Hosted by Dan Funderburgh)

Saturday, November 10, 10:00am–12:00pm
Limited to 30 people – RSVPs open on 10/8
Make your art follow itself into infinity. Imagine your tiny drawing multiplying seamlessly across all surfaces out into space. Create patterns for wallpaper! Textiles! Camouflage! Curtains! Wrapping paper! Dan Funderburgh will show you how.

Saturday, November 17
Mega Zine
(Hosted by Joel Speasmaker and Mike Perry)

Saturday, November 17, 10:00am–12:00pm
Limited to 30 people – RSVPs open on 10/8
Joel and Mike share their favorites from their respective zine collections, explaining why they are so passionate about both the collection and creation of them, as well as walking through their personal working process. A collaborative zine will certainly be made!

Tuesday, November 20
Closing Party
Tuesday, November 20, 6:00–11:00pm
RSVPs open on 11/5