July 1, 8 pm – Artist talk with Reid Stowe + Opening Party
Join us for an artist talk with Reid Stowe, an artist and mariner who spent 1,152 days at sea aboard the Anne: the longest sea voyage in history, without ever docking or resupplying. Reid will recount his journey around the world, followed by a kickoff party for Flux Factory’s series of excursions on the waters of New York City. At the Anabele Sailing Basin, 4-40 44th Drive, Long Island City
July 2nd, 11am – Trajinera Boat Building with Natalia Porter
Join artist and designers Natalia Porter and Ben Cohen on a 3 week long adventure in building one of Mexico’s most Emblematic watercraft: the Trajinera. Traditionally used for shipping crops in and out of the fields and on the canals of Xochimilco, these 30ft long craft equipped with a dining table and chairs are predominantly now used for the enjoyment of local and non-local tourists. Sign up at www.trajinera.eventbrite.com
July 3, 4-6 pm – SP Weather Station and Marie Lorenz Present Water: Sponge
In the second in a series of events related to Air, Water, Earth and Fire, artist Hope Ginsburg and SP Weather Station will collaborate on an event inspired by Ginsburg’s Sponge series of hands-on, participatory workshops – a discipline-bending project that empowers participants to absorb information, swap-knowledge, and (inspired by the infinite reproductive powers of sea-sponges), envision new events of their own. The evening will feature short presentations by special guests including artist Beka Goedde, artist/biologist/teacher Nim Lee, artist Marie Lorenz, and others with local knowledge of the NYC waterscape. At the Flux Factory Gallery.
July 7 – August 20: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays – Constance Hockaday’s Boggsville Boatel
Artist and boat-builder Constance Hockaday has constructed a series of floating hotels built in the Floating Neutrino tradition: with recycled materials, mainly discarded boats. The project is named for Ms. Nancy Boggs, who would move her floating brothel to either side of the Willamette River of Portland to evade the law, depending on where the authorities were bringing trouble to her business. The Boggsville Boatel explores the boundaries of the hospitality experience, with five repurposed boats floating out at Marina 59 in the Rockaways, complete with a lecture and movie series. With guest porter TJ Hopsodar. The boatel opens on July 7; rooms cost between $50 and $120 a night. Tickets will be available on Friday, June 24. At Marina 59, 5914 Beach Channel Drive, Far Rockaway. More information at Flux Factory.org.
Beginning July 7th, Gina Siepel: CACOPHONY, A Series of Listening Trips
Cacophony is a series of early morning boat expeditions led by Gina Siepel in the Bronx River and the Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The trips are a meditation on the entanglement of nature and the city through the medium of sound. Participants will join the artist for a silent canoe excursion to experience and record the surprising and sometimes disconcerting mixture of sounds on the waterways: birds, trains, cars, radios, airplanes, waterfalls, and many others. Learn more and sign up at FluxFactory.org
July 9, 5 pm – Dedication Ceremonies: Seaworthy Fleet
Join as we triumphantly launch our flotilla of handmade boats at Marina 59 in the Rockaways. Artist Brindalyn Webster has organized a christening ceremony for each of the Sea Worthy vessels. Spectators are invited to watch as “sponsors” name each ship, breaking a bottle of sparkling cider on the prow and signaling its maiden voyage into the water. At Marina 59, 5914 Beach Channel Drive, Far Rockaway
July 23rd, 11am -Shrines of the Gowanus Canal, with artist Anne Percoco
Artist Anne Percoco will guide participants to convert an old boat into a mobile shrine, constructed from primarily scrap material, that will then embark on a pilgrimage along the unique landscape of the now EPA Superfund site of the Gowanus Canal. Workshop participants will also be building and installing hidden shrines along the canal for future explorers to uncover. At The Gowanus Studio Space. Sign up by emailing: Workshops@GowanusStudio.org
August 6th – 7th – Alalba Eco Tours
Alalba Eco Tours – led by Gabriela Basterra, Andy Bichlbaum, and Jeff Day – will sail the East River and New York Harbor, exploring and documenting waterfront docking spaces along the coast of Manhattan and beyond. The Alalba is a lovingly restored 50-foot ketch dating from the 70′s – for daringly innovative, edgy New Yorkers only.
Tickets will be available at FluxFactory.org.
August 6th – A guide to Boat Names and Lettering with Laurie Churchman and Lisa Hutchinson
Design and typography of boat names for pleasure craft are fascinating specimens of personal branding. The names themselves can be anything from kitsch to classic and concrete to abstract. Once layered with design elements— typefaces, colors and illustrations —they are distinctly personal expressions that reflect culture, class, gender, history and ego.August 6th, 3pm – Trajinera Discussions with Eduardo Porter
Mexican workers represent a high percentage of the US labor force, working all kinds of occupations, from teachers and scientists to construction workers, playing a invaluable role in US economy and community. Journalist Eduardo Porter will be leading a conversation about how this nation benefits from Mexican migration, and how it is that Mexican communities contribute to the growth of this country.
This evening is presented as part of artist Natalia Porter’s Trajinera Boatbuilding workshop. The Trajinera is a Pre-Hispanic Mexican Barge used in the Xochimilco area of Mexico City. Natalia Porter uses the trajinera in this project as a literal and figurative platform for the discussion of Mexican Culture in New York City and the nation as a whole.
August 13th and 14th at Noon – Shipwrecked Shanghai’d and Marooned – Bamboo Kayak Building with Mare Liberum.
The freeform boatbuilding collective based in Gowanus finds its roots in centuries-old stories of urban water squatters and haphazard water craft builders. Past workshops have centered on our fleet of historic 15′ banks dories, but this workshop will instead focus on cheap methods to produce a skin on frame Bamboo Kayak. Each workshopper will walk out with a kayak, built with little more than bamboo, zip-ties, canvas and a bit of paint.
SIGN UP: www.gowanusstudio.eventbrite.com
August 13th, 9pm – A’yen Tran’s Boat for Singing Together
Join us for The First Sing, the birth ceremony of the boat for singing together, gathering on the dock facing the bay and with our song drawing the boat in. All will be welcomed in small groups onto the boat to learn simple, resonant group song together over the water. At Marina 59, 5914 Beach Channel Drive, Far Rockaway
August 28th, 6pm – Procession for Immediate Certainty
Artist and boat-builder Jessica Segall will conduct the Procession for Immediate Certainty, a parade during which her handmade Norwegian faering will be carried across Manhattan, accompanied by live music. The procession will end with a launch into the East River in the style of a Viking funeral. The vessel will then sail on to Queens, to be accompanied by the release of sky lanterns over the river.
We’re looking for strong hands to carry the boat, but anyone can join us to watch – come wearing blue!