Two New York City art institutions, both with roots in the early 1970s, will soon be under the same roof, as kitchen temporarily moved to Westbeth Artist House. Kitchen announced the move on Thursday.
Founded as an artist collective in 1971, Kitchen is one of the city’s oldest nonprofit arts centers dedicated to pioneering and multidisciplinary work. Its home in Chelsea will undergo a two-year renovation (designed by Rice + Lipka Architects), starting at the end of September.
Westbeth was founded in 1970, when buildings in the West Village formerly used by Bell Laboratories were converted into affordable housing and studios for artists and their families. The landmark buildings are also home to the New School of Drama, the Martha Graham Dance Company and much history. The loft space that Graham’s company used more than 10 years ago is home to the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. The kitchen will utilize the West Side Loft, a 6,000-foot loft space on the fourth floor.
Russell noted the similarity in the photos between the West Side Loft and one of Kitchen’s first locations, in a SoHo loft. (Its first home was in the Mercer Center for the Arts, before it moved to Wooster Street and then a multi-story establishment on 19th Street.) “I think it will be a touchpoint between generations. for the organization,” she said. For older generations, it can recall the origins of the Kitchen; Artists and younger audiences will get to enjoy Kitchen’s loft stage for the first time.
The temporary home will help define Kitchen’s upcoming show, which will be announced soon. “It’s been great to bring artists into space,” says Russell. “When they saw it, I think they knew exactly what to do with it. We’ll use it as a workshop or a laboratory, that’s what a kitchen is, right? A place to test things and explore and experiment – and to summon. Like whenever you throw a party and everyone ends up in the kitchen. “
In a sense, says Russell, the Westbeth loft is “a version of the space that the Kitchen has grown beyond”. There will be “an opportunity to explore our history, to support the people who have brought us to this point and bring new voices and perspectives,” she said.
It is also an opportunity to consider what “alternative space” means, she said. “We are in a time when there are fewer and fewer places” like Westbeth and the Kitchen. “We are deeply committed to the idea that not everything can be a great museum or great gallery. Between that space there must be intimate dialogues and exchanges.”
“Once the renovation is complete, we will return to the expansion area,” says Russell. But for now, Kitchen will say goodbye to his Chelsea home with a dance party there on September 17.
