Art by Construction Workers Cover Banner with Artist Names.

Recipe: Optional

Art by Construction Workers | A Virtual Exhibition, 2021

BAX x ABCW Partnership / History

BAX has been honored to host Art by Construction Workers (ABCW) for over two decades. These artists have played a meaningful role in BAX’s 30-year history; many are parents of BAX alumni and longtime members of our community, and some even helped physically build BAX’s Park Slope home when it moved here in 1998.

The exhibition began with a simple yet powerful idea: that those who build our physical spaces are often creative makers themselves. The first show featured art hung from ladders and jackhammers, with hard hats repurposed as sculptural objects, bringing tools of the trade into conversation with the tools of artistic expression. This blending of labor and artistry continues to shape ABCW’s ethos.

While BAX does not curate the annual ABCW exhibition, we proudly support these makers and their collaborative spirit. The project exemplifies BAX’s core values: community, creativity, collaboration, and experimentation. It is a celebration not only of visual art but of the hands and lives that have quite literally shaped our space.

For further inquiries and interest about ABCW, please contact Chris Carlson, n.chris.carlson@gmail.com.

If you have any questions for BAX, please contact artistprograms@bax.org.

Introduction

In 2000, a group of us who knew each other from working in the trades hung our first show at BAX. Some of us had been to art school and others of us were self-taught. Over the years, eight of us have continued to meet for dinner each month, mostly at each other’s homes. We have supported each other in our lives and in our art making.

We always look forward to the morning when we all show up at BAX and get to see what we have been up to. This year, once again, we invite you to see our work virtually.

The title of this year’s show is RECIPE: OPTIONAL, inspired by BAX’s recipe book and our anarchic nature. We hope you enjoy our work and look forward to hanging it on BAX’s sheetrock walls in the future.