SITE LAB INC
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Mission Statement
SiTE:LAB is a nomadic all-volunteer non-profit that organizes temporary site-specific art projects in vacant and overlooked spaces throughout Grand Rapids, Michigan. These exhibitions involve more than just paintings hanging on a wall. Artists are expected to create work in response to the venue, either formally or conceptually. The work frequently involves performance art, video projections, and site-specific installations that can only be viewed in person. The exhibitions are generally open only for a single night, thereby offering the excitement of a live performance.
About This Cause
Organization Profile Site:Lab organizes art exhibitions in changing locations across Grand Rapids, Michigan. These exhibitions involve more than just paintings hanging on a wall. Artists are encouraged to create work in response to each individual venue, either formally or conceptually. The work frequently involves performance art, video projections, and site-specific installations that can only be viewed in person. The exhibitions are generally open only for a single night, thereby offering the excitement of a live performance, and draw thousands of engaged viewers. The projects undertaken by Site:Lab involve extensive collaboration between the business, education, cultural and art communities. Venues are made available free of charge for a variety of reasons, but largely to either call attention to soon-to-be developed buildings or to bring a new demographic of visitors to existing spaces within the community. Site:Lab works closely with faculty members at college art programs in Michigan who facilitate their students’ participation in the exhibitions as a supplement to their classroom education. Site:Lab events are scheduled to coincide with other community-wide arts events, including ArtDowntown, Festival of the Arts, ArtPrize and Free Radical, in order to help build support for those events. History Site:Lab was founded by Paul Amenta, a professor in the sculpture and design studies departments at Kendall College of Art & Design, and Tom Clinton, a graduate of Kendall who was formerly an attorney. Since its founding in 2010, Site:Lab has done a dozen projects in spaces as diverse as an abandoned natural history museum, vacant commercial buildings, a nature center and a former hotel. SiTE:LAB was the recipient of the ArtPrize juried award for best venue in 2011, 2012 and 2014, a WOW Award from the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology in 2013, and a 2011 Strong Voices award from the Progressive Women’s Alliance. Mission Many graduates of college art programs fail to make the transition from art student to working artist. This is in part due to the fact that while art programs provide training in the making of art, they pay less attention to the equally important skill of arranging and installing exhibitions of one’s artwork. This is particularly the case where an artist’s work involves media or content not ideally suited to a commercial art gallery. Site:Lab was organized for the purpose of giving art students and recent art school graduates opportunities and experience in the exhibition of their work in a non-commercial setting. As an ancillary benefit, Site:Lab events help expose the public to the broad variety of art being created in the community, and call attention to under-utilized buildings throughout the city. Staffing Site:Lab is an entirely volunteer project. Amenta serves as curator and Clinton handles legal, administrative and financial matters. A team of volunteers assumes responsibility for planning and implementing all aspects of the exhibitions, including graphic design, social networking, marketing and PR, building design and construction, and IT support. A larger corps of volunteers assists in the actual events, serving as security/fire marshals, bartenders, and set up and cleanup crews. Participating artists are responsible for creating and installing their work.