RADAR

When curator Laura Arena approached MIT’s Luis Blackaller & Andy Cavatorta, her brief was simple: create something that initiates interaction between the inhabitants of the neighborhood. From the Portuguese fisherman to the Projects, to the artists and hipsters, to a new influx of people, Lucky Gallery sits at the crux of several different communities, none of whom talk, but acknowledge each other as familiar strangers. Luis and Andy’s response was to build a miniature version of Red Hook and populate it with photographic doll versions of people they met and talked to on the street. We join Luis and Andy as they prepare for the opening and watch as the element of play in a virtual world impacts communication in the real one.

Ten people dressed in stark white "clean suits" and masks disperse amongst picnickers, inspecting the ground in sunny Central Park. Heads turn, unsure, and people start asking questions. Undetermined Measurements is an ongoing performance and documentation project. During each phase of the interventionist series volunteers gather, dress in protective clothes and silently engage with the audience in a non-confrontational manner. Why are they there? The question is left open ended, expressing the ever-changing perception that the United States has transformed from a unique symbol of freedom to a more fragile and fearful representation of uncertainty. We follow Sean Hovendick and his team as he takes Undetermined Measurements to NYC for the first time.

Meghan, Dawn & Tanya are the Bambi Killers, a genre-defying creative troupe that meld performance art, music, role play, costume design, audio soundscapes and circus freakery into a series of short live acts that deal with themes as wide-ranging as alien invasion, conspiracy theories, government brainwashing and the representation of women in movies.  Inspired by Japanese girl gangs, The Switchblade Sisters, Grindhouse, and the Valley of the Dolls, they perform at punk gigs, dive bars and theaters to shocked silence and instant word of mouth.  Just wait for the inevitable movie, comic, clothing line, range of dolls...  Oh, and the spaceship.

Katie Sokoler AKA Color Me Katie is a specialist at working with strangers. Inspired by a college project in which the then shy Katie was forced to photograph 100 strangers in 5 hours, she has since eschewed using models to stage shoots, preferring instead to promote human interaction through her work and capture the results of humans in their natural habitat....when mixed with fantasy or fun. In both her recent projects, the Brooklyn Thought Bubble Project and the Shadow Project, Katie stages creative traps and lies in wait to capture special moments on camera. We follow her through her process and ask why she makes interaction her art.

Kevin Bracken is a modern day Peter Pan. From his Bushwick warehouse -the appropriately named Refuge- he works with teams of volunteers to create and stage free, fun, participatory events across America that enable strangers to interact publicly in a natural carefree way, uninhibited by monetary transactions. These events also allow the participants to reclaim public spaces; a must Kevin insists for responsible citizens, in order to challenge permit driven culture. The creator of International pillow fight day -a simultaneous experience ideated to prove the global strength of the 'urban playground movement'- all events are born from childhood games: multiplied, and staged in concrete plazas. We follow Kevin and his team as they prepare and launch Lightsaber Battle NYC, to much surprise and glee in Washington Square park.

Matt Held, a fine artist with a specialisation in portraiture, was blocked. After upping sticks from Seattle to NYC in his late thirties, young family in tow, as a last chance at 'making it', he became a stay at home Dad with the couple's new child. Nothing he did worked. Until, as an exercise in skintone, he painted his wife's facebook profile photo. Shortly after, the "I'll have my portrait painted by Matt Held" facebook group was born, and Matt was presented with no end of source material, inspiration, and an instant international network of influencers. Brooklyn Museum came calling, the blog posts spread and his numbers soared. We hang with Matt's family, and talk to No.16, No.33 and No.36 about why they were keen to be painted by someone they've never met, and what the project means to them.

Four years ago, as a broke art school drop-out Molly Crabapple set up Dr Sketchys, the anti-art school, as a social gathering in Brooklyn. Now a sought after fine artist, comics creator and illustrator in her own right, Dr Sketchy's has spread to over 80 cities and has grown from an event, to a movement. Weekly, droves of artists and amateurs alike swarm to these experiences internationally to draw glamorous underground personalities from burlesque dancers to fetish models to drag queens. We talk to Molly about what makes Dr Sketchy's unique and how she controls the creative vision from above.

Mowtown loved what they did, and hired them. U2 loved what they did, and hired them. Eclectic Method (Jonny Wilson-Brooklyn, Ian Edgar-LA, Geoff Gamlen-London) create AV (Audio/Video) pieces from found footage, for online consumption, and as VDJs live at dance parties around the world. They mix old skool funk with news and sports clips, classic movies, viral videos, and any other moving imagery that catches their eye, to create music that's experienced visually. Watch in wonder as they bring the supergroup of Slash, Barack, Britney and Robocop to life.

Design has not normally been thought of as a performance art, but Cut & Paste are looking to change that. For the last two years John Fiorelli and his team have been traveling the globe, taking the concept of live digital design to more and more communities. Now, in 16 cities across the world, designers compete onstage in a battle for supremacy and the chance to win the global championships. In a series of quickfire rounds they create original works from scratch, and are judged by a jury of esteemed peers from agencies and brands. We follow Ryan Kennedy (Designer, Deep Focus) as he prepares to partake in the NYC tournament, and talk to John about why he constructed a place for designers to create in public.

While evenings of spontaneous, timed creativity are becoming more and more popular in NYC, only one brings together actors, writers and directors for evenings of in-house collaboration in a completely inclusive environment. At SLAM theater anyone can walk through the door to perform, or with a script, or simply to be entertained. Actors are chosen randomly and directors have three, then fifteen minutes to showcase their work, completely unrehearsed. Audiences feedback, a panel of judges score, and writers voted onto the next round are able to unveil more of their play. The atmosphere is riotous and anything goes, especially fun.