Recess Activities, Inc

Recess partners with artists to build a more just and equitable creative community. By welcoming radical thinkers to reimagine and reshape our world, Recess defines and advances the possibilities of contemporary art. Our programs offer space and resources to generate innovative art and ideas that challenge dominant narratives. Recess is always free and open to the public to serve as a meeting place for meaningful exchange and action across a multiplicity of communities.

WHO WE ARE: RECESS PARTNERS WITH ARTISTS TO BUILD A MORE EQUITABLE AND JUST CREATIVE COMMUNITY. WE CHALLENGE COMMON DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN PROCESS AND PRODUCT, ARTIST AND AUDIENCE, OUTSIDER AND INSIDER. RECESS IS A GENERATIVE MEETING PLACE FOR REIMAGINING ART AS A PATHWAY TO SOCIAL JUSTICE. BY WELCOMING RADICAL THINKERS TO TAKE RISKS TO ADDRESS COMPLEX SOCIAL QUESTIONS AND PRESENT ACTIONABLE SOLUTIONS IN REAL TIME WITH AN INCLUSIVE PUBLIC, RECESS DEFINES AND ADVANCES THE POSSIBILITIES OF CONTEMPORARY CREATIVE PRACTICE. WHAT WE DO: OUR PROGRAMS REIMAGINE TRADITIONAL STUDIO, EXHIBITION, AND CLASSROOM PLATFORMS, OFFERING ARTISTS, COMMUNITIES, AND PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS FLEXIBLE FRAMEWORKS IN WHICH TO GENERATE NEW WORKS AND OFFER CONCRETE ALTERNATIVES TO OPPRESSIVE SYSTEMS. RECESS IS ALWAYS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC IN ORDER TO FOSTER AN APPROACHABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR MEANINGFUL EXCHANGE AND ACTION ACROSS A MULTIPLICITY OF COMMUNITIES. RECESS'S PROGRAMS INCLUDE ASSEMBLY, OUR ARTIST-LED ALTERNATIVE TO INCARCERATION PROGRAM, WHICH OFFERS LONG-TERM, PAID PATHWAYS TO CREATIVE EMPLOYMENT FOR COURT-INVOLVED YOUTH; SESSION, WHICH ALLOWS ARTISTS TO COLLABORATE WITH COMMUNITIES TO REALIZE NEW, SOCIALLY ENGAGED PROJECTS IN OUR PUBLIC WORKSPACE; AND A CRITICAL WRITING FELLOWSHIP, WHICH SUPPORTS A WRITER PRODUCING A NEW CRITICAL TEXT IN RESPONSE TO OUR ARTISTS' PROJECTS. WHO WE SERVE: OUR HOME BASE IN CLINTON HILL WAS SELECTED BASED ON ITS CLOSE PROXIMITY TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, DIVERSE NEIGHBORS, WORKING ARTISTS' STUDIOS, AND NEARBY NYCHA HOUSING FACILITIES. WE ARE EMBEDDED IN A SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY VIBRANT COMMUNITY AND WORK LOCALLY TO DEVELOP DEEP AND IMPACTFUL RELATIONSHIPS. MOST OF OUR ASSEMBLY PARTICIPANTS COME FROM CENTRAL BROOKLYN (BROWNSVILLE, EAST NEW YORK, BUSHWICK, BEDSTUY, EAST FLATBUSH) WHERE 30% OF RESIDENTS LIVE BELOW POVERTY LEVEL AND UNEMPLOYMENT IS 50% HIGHER THAN THE REST OF BROOKLYN. AT RECESS, YOUTH RECEIVE PAID TRAINING TO BECOME MASTER PRINTERS, ART HANDLERS, AND EDUCATORS AND ARE PLACED IN FULL-TIME PAID INTERNSHIPS TO CARVE OUR CAREER PATHS TO BECOME FUTURE LEADERS. THROUGH OUR SESSION PROGRAM, RECESS RESPONDS TO THE EVOLVING NEEDS OF ARTISTS, OFFERING A VITAL PLATFORM FOR ARTISTS TO PARTNER WITH COMMUNITIES TO REALIZE NEW PROJECTS. ARTISTS ARE PROVIDED WITH STUDIO/EXHIBTION SPACE, PROJECT STIPENDS, AND HONORARIA FOR THEIR CREATIVE LABOR, STUDIO VISITS, AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD MEANINGFUL PARTNERSHIPS WITH THEIR PUBLISH AND ASSEMBLY YOUTH THROUGHOUT EVERY STAGE OF THEIR PROJECT. OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY: OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY BEGINS INTERNALLY. WE BELIEVE IN CENTERING MARGINALIZED VOICES WHILE INSISTING THAT EVERYONE SHOULD SHOULDER THE WORK OF DISMANTLING DIVISIVE AND OPPRESSIVE SYSTEMS. RECESS IS COMMITTED TO EFFECTING SYSTEMIC CHANGE FOR UNDERSERVED AND UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES, AND THESE EFFORTS ARE LED BY DIVERSE ARTISTS, YOUTH, STAFF, AND BOARD. OUR ASSEMBLY PROGRAM IS OUR RESPONSE TO THE DISPROPORTIONATE REPRESENTATION OF BLACK AND BROWN INDIVIDUALS CRIMINALIZED BY A FAILED JUSTICE SYSTEM AND IS ROOTED IN THE FIRM BELIEF THAT ARTISTS MUST LEAD A REVISION OF DANGEROUS AND DOMINANT NARRATIVES. ACCORDING TO DATA FROM THE STATE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES, BLACK AND LATINO YOUTH MAKE UP 33% OF THE STATE POPULATION BUT 72% OF ARRESTS. WE CONSIDER MASS INCARCERATION, AND ITS LOCAL EFFECT ON BROOKLYN YOUTH OF COLOR, TO BE AMONG THE MOST PRESSING SOCIAL JUSTICE CHALLENGES. ASSEMBLY'S CIRRICULUM REVEALS THE FALSE AND DANGEROUS NARRATIVE OF THE "CRIMINAL" PLACED ON BODIES OF COLOR. THROUGH ASSEMBLY WE SUPPORT YOUTH ON THEIR PATH TO STABLE EMPLOYMENT IN THE ARTS, AND LEADERSHIP WITHIN THE FIELD. THE SUCCESS OF OUR YOUTH ALSO RENDERS THE CREATIVEE FIELD'S WORKFORCE MORE ECONOMICALLY AND RACIALLY DIVERSE. IN 2016, 80% OF ARTISTS REPRESENTED IN GALLERIES IN NEW YORK CITY WERE WHITE AND 70% WERE MALE (CUNY GUTTMAN COLLEGE). 100% OF RECESS ARTISTS OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS WERE ARTISTS OF COLOR AND 80% WERE FEMALE OR GENDER NON-CONFORMING IDENTIFIED. OUR VALUES: RECESS IDENTIFIES THREE CORE VALUES THAT INFORM ALL ASPECTS OF OUR WORK. 1. WE ARE ARTIST AND YOUTH-LED: ALL NEW INITIATIVES AT RECESS HAVE GROWN FROM PRIORITIES ARTICULATED BY OUR ARTISTS AND THE DIRECTION AND CONTENT OF ASSEMBLY IS INFORMED BY OUR YOUTH. 2. WE PURSUE OUR GOALS THROUGH A ROCIAL JUSTICE LENS: ALL PROGRAMS AT RECESS CENTER DIVERSE VOICES WITH THE GOAL OF DISMANTLING SYSTEMIC RACISM. 3. WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF CREATIVE REIMAGINATION TO AFFECT MEANINGFUL CHANGE: VISUAL ART CAN CATALYZE SOCIAL CHANGE, AND, INVERSELY, RADICAL SOCIAL JUSTICE WORK CAN AUGMENT THE SIGNIFICANCE AND POSSIBILITIES OF ART.