For almost ten years, The Invisible Dog Art Center has held a high position in Brooklyn as a gallery that pushes
the boundaries of performance, dance, visual arts and installation into the
interdisciplinary arts. Opening its doors in early October 2009, The Invisible
Dog has had featured exhibitions, collaborative performances, and events with
the community and area of Brooklyn.
Growing up in Brooklyn, there was a
growing French community around the conception of The Invisible Dog. My mother
had recently gone back to school to earn an MFA in creative writing from
Bennington College and after hosted readings and performances at the gallery.
She found an alliance with Lucien Zayan – director and curator – where many of
those nights my brother and I would tag along. Through my mother’s connection,
I reached out directly to Lucien who arranged a meeting with the gallery manager
at the time.
Upon arriving, months after
securing my internship, I had been made aware of two things, the first was a
change in supervisors and the second that the summer did not feature any exhibitions,
rather events and programs scattered throughout. During my first week, I was
told that Lucien was away in Paris but Arly – my supervisor and gallery manager
– showed me around; the main gallery, garden, glass house and artist studios. He
told me the history of the building, how many artists resided and the upcoming events.
The following days I found an easy
routine, maintaining the gallery and bathrooms, worked on the new and upcoming
website and migrated past exhibitions, events and performances. Over the weeks,
I’ve assisted those who rented the gallery space, clothing stores, companies,
birthday parties, and guest artists.
The biggest event to debut at the
end of my internship, choreographer Thierry Thieu Niang and performer Simon
Courchel worked with kids from the ages of eight to eighteen on a performance
piece on the recent issues of child refugees. I admired the two performers with
strong relationships to the building and the director and seeing the huge
network of artists and community that came in every day to say Hi.
As someone who is very much
involved in the curatorial world, and someone who hosts events throughout the
academic year at MICA, the most valuable skill I learned was through the new
website. By transferring all information from 2009 till 2018, I’ve taken note
of the events, programs and exhibits. I’ve made sure to asked and engaged with my
supervisor and director on the history of the building. I hope that going
forward, I can carry a similar belief and community into projects that would
otherwise be impossible without.
