Mothership NYC is the cradle for what is now a multi-pronged arts enterprise serving as a bridge to New York for artists from other countries. Located on the water’s edge in the happening Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, this peer community is a combined live-work space and presentation arena for international creatives across all disciplines. As a residency for both long-term crewmates and visiting artists, Mothership NYC aims to support and promote peers at all career levels through public programming and collaborative opportunities; build lasting transnational artist networks; and help retain creative forces in New York City. More than a decade’s worth of monthly salons and other freewheeling arts events on its expansive outdoor deck overlooking the Manhattan skyline has earned this artist-led initiative a spot on the prestigious list 111 Rooftops in New York That You Must Not Miss (2019) as “a blast from New York City’s less stuffy, more avant-garde past.”
The French artist Claire Romain during her stay at the Mothership
From this fertile soil emerged NOoSPHERE Arts (est. 2011), an organization run by a team of New York artists and curators. Ranked by the Huffington Post as a Top 5 art venue to visit in NYC, this nonprofit produces and presents public events and shows featuring artists from elsewhere across several indoor and outdoor arenas around town. NOoSPHERE Arts is the official sponsor of an annual residency award whose winners – selected by a committee of peers and international art world professionals every spring – receive free stays onboard Mothership concluding in a public presentation of their work hosted and promoted by the storied nonprofit backer.
For the latest contest round, Singulart’s Chief Curator, Marion Sailhen, was invited to serve on the jury that picked next year’s residency award winner. Discover the Norwegian photographer Gjert Rognli, the just-announced prizewinner of the 2020-2021 competition! Read his interview here !
Lord, come down from Gjert Rognli, residency award winner
Out of this initial contact grew a mutual desire to form an alliance between two international platforms serving a similar purpose: Mothership NYC and Singulart both seek to give power to artists; offer creatives a stage to shine; and provide cross-border arenas for connections, exchange and collaborations. Excited to launch this new partnership, Singulart invites its audience to discover works by a selection of Mothership artists featured in this special collection. Simultaneously, we encourage all our member artists harboring a dream of living, creating and showing their work in New York to sign on with the Mothership for a rousing journey! Applications for self-funded stays are accepted by the Mothership Crew all year round. Feel free to apply here !
To date, artists from 37 countries have spent time onboard Mothership NYC to work on and/or present a creative project on one of its stages. Says the Captain of this ship that does not sail: “We are a family of peers spanning all five continents. Once a Mothershipper, forever a Mothershipper, and we’ll always welcome you back onboard for another stint with us. Plus, chances are you can also find other members of our motley international artist tribe wherever you may go next!”
NOoSPHERE Arts Concert on KWBS Outdoor Stage
ome quotes from former visiting artists about their residencies onboard Mothership NYC:
A gem in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Artist residence and artist-led exhibition venue with a rarely found atmosphere and soul.
A true NYC vibe fills the place, always with international guests and the most diverse events — and it is a uniquely Brooklynite experience to walk the wooden floors down the brick-walled halls of this artist-run space!
I have been an AIR at Mothership twice and it was an incredible experience to work at the studio space, share my work with the community and also to connect with so many creative talents from all over the globe.
I stayed at Mothership for 2 weeks, and I absolutely loved the atmosphere of the place, the sense of artistic community and the location. I feel like I made real friends and will definitely return next time I’m in NYC!
It was an honor for me to spend a few weeks in this cultural community in the summer of 2019. Staying in this creative environment has provided plenty of inspirational impulses in the realization of my art project.
