C
incinnati has had its share of alternative spaces and indie nonprofit galleries — sometimes co-ops or collectives — where contemporary artists show their work and try out new ideas in curating, exhibiting and community engagement.
But, save for the enduring semantics gallery in Brighton, these rarely seem to last as long as the city’s arts scene needs their fresh, often-provocative input. Participants come and go as their full-time jobs or academic pursuits beckon, leaving behind others to struggle with membership, programming and rent.
That’s one reason Loraine Wible and Chris Reeves, who in 2009 helped found the innovative Museum Gallery/Gallery Museum in Pendleton and Brighton, decided to close it down in 2012.
“With Museum Gallery, sometimes if you don’t have something to show, you made up something just to use your space because you have to pay the rent,” Wible says. “But that’s not stimulating.”
However, the two still wanted to keep alive their interest in the progressivism that makes contemporary art so stimulating. So last year they started the Near*By group with Maria Seda-Reeder, John Auer, Anastasiya Yatsuk and Joe Hedges.
Rather than being a brick-and-mortar space, Near*By is a “curatorial collective” that uses different locations — from existing galleries to the Carew Tower Observation Deck — to offer everything from semi-traditional exhibitions to conceptual performance projects.
“I was never interested in curating — I’m an artist,” Wible says. “But I like experimental curatorial practices. We could activate the landscape, play with landmarks and work with [others]. It would never be an art show just to show art — it would be an art show to engage the community.”
Near*By’s Lightgeist light and projected art event last November at Over-the-Rhine brewery Rhinegeist drew hundreds to witness the video, sculptural and installation work of 17 invited artists/artist groups — and drink good beer while doing so. It was a triumphant end to a productive first year for Near*By, which accomplished a lot (with five separate events) given how busy its members are.
Wible, Reeves and Hedges have M.F.A. degrees from University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, and Seda-Reeder has an M.A. in Art History and certificate in Museum Studies. Auer and Yatsuk have undergraduate degrees from DAAP. Wible came from France to study here; the Hungarian-born Yatsuk from Russia.
Wible, Reeves, Hedges and Seda-Reeder also are in bands (Wible and Reeves perform as LazerQuest; Seda-Reeder is in Halvsies; Hedges is in July for Kings) and Wible, Hedges and Seda-Reeder teach art at local universities. All but Seda-Reeder are also working artists — she contributes visual art coverage to CityBeat. Reeves is now studying for a doctorate at University of Illinois at Chicago, while Auer does carpentry and Yatsuk works in fashion design.
On a recent Saturday afternoon, Wible, Auer, Yatsuk and Seda-Reeder met inside Cide Central, a Brighton space that is a home for the city’s DIY culture and hosts its own schedule of music, film and other events. In just a few hours, Near*By would be using this venue for its first curatorial event of 2015 — OBO: The Labor Show, described as “a social-practice experiment of real-time market exchanges amongst a group of selected artists and tradespersons.” (“OBO” stands for “or better offer.”)
The idea for this show came to Seda-Reeder in a dream the night of Near*By’s debut last May, The Moon Show at semantics gallery, which dealt with the premise that the Apollo 11 moon landing might have been faked.
As it percolated, she discovered the local connections of Josiah Warren, a 19th century American anarchist. He started the Cincinnati Time Store as a place where trade occurred based on promises of labor rather than exchange of money.
“I’m definitely interested in Cincinnati history and how artists can go beyond the art market,” Seda-Reeder says. “When I saw that Josiah Warren was actually from Cincinnati, I thought this was a connection.”
At 6 p.m., the two-hour experiment began. There was a serious purpose — how do you establish someone’s worth when money is removed from consideration? But it was also a relaxed, fun environment. Invited artists and tradespeople gathered to discuss and, in some cases, see examples of each other’s work. Soon, friendly negotiations were underway at a table in the room’s middle, where participants filled out formal agreements.
Scott Holzman, whose specialty is “strategic language development,” bartered with Jessie Hoffman, whose specialty is hairstyling and who owns Parlour in East Walnut Hills. He agreed to ongoing copy for her website; she agreed to cut his hair.
One especially busy barterer was Nancy Paraskevopoulos, a singer-songwriter who entered into several agreements. In one, she promised Auer she’d provide a band for his wedding (if his fiancé agrees) if he’d make a dining room table for her. Also, he must provide the band with food and drinks.
At the conclusion, 16 contracts had been signed. Near*By members will soon discuss and analyze the event. “On the whole I feel good about the show but I’m wary of congratulating ourselves when I think self-criticality is crucial to ‘getting it right,’ ” Seda-Reeder says.
Near*By already has its next event lined up. On May 9 comes Heirloom at Camp Washington’s Wave Pool, at which invited artists will show and write about some of the artwork their parents displayed in their homes. “The idea is that since they were exposed to it for so long, they will have a chance to talk about how it’s influenced them or been a foil to their own work,” Seda-Reeder says.
At July’s end, Near*By will curate the local films to be screened at artist C. Jacqueline Wood’s temporary microcinema at People’s Liberty in Over-the-Rhine. There also are preliminary plans for sound installations in the restrooms of arts institutions like Music Hall, the Art Academy of Cincinnati and the Contemporary Arts Center.
As of now, Near*By’s members are financing their activities, though they’re beginning to explore grants. “It would be ideal for us to compensate our artists in any way possible,” Seda-Reeder says. “It’s tough to ask artists to participate constantly and then feel like you’re not giving them something back.”
Regardless, Wible says Near*By will keep going. “We’re doing it out of a need to do something meaningful.”
For more info on NEAR*BY, visit nearby.gallery.
This article appears in Apr 15-21, 2015.
