EXHIBITION PROGRAMS
Current & Upcoming
Past
The NARS Foundation Exhibition Program presents compelling and innovative work being produced on a local, national, and international level by emerging and mid-career artists and curators today. The Main Gallery and Project Space are located in an industrial building amongst our residency studios, which allows for a unique opportunity to present and experience contemporary artwork within a work-space environment. The presence of artists’ studios also allows for further dialogue and exchange between artists and curators.
The NARS exhibitions works mainly through annual open calls that are open to artists, curators, collectives, cultural producers, and thinkers to propose solo or group exhibitions that reflect our mission to foster and represent important artistic directions and critical dialogue in contemporary art and culture writ large. NARS selects proposals to be further developed, and provides the space and support to mount ambitious and compelling exhibitions.
As part of the International Residency program, NARS presents exhibitions that include the works of the residency cohort in turn. These exhibitions, held at our Main Gallery space for a period of 3 weeks, showcase pieces that were created during their time at NARS, works in progress or works previously finished but that are relevant to their current practice. For these exhibitions we encourage residents to experiment and frame the space as one that invites collaborations, new explorations, and ideas that wouldn't normally be presented at a regular commercial gallery space.
South-West Brooklyn Exhibition
Along with the overarching goal of working with the local community, the NARS Foundation held its inaugural South-West Brooklyn Exhibition in 2016. The NARS Southwest Brooklyn Exhibition Program provides emerging and underrepresented artists with the opportunity to participate in a group exhibition in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The aim of the program is to engage artists of South-West Brooklyn in a dialogue through a curated group exhibition.
In 2023, the South-West Brooklyn Exhibition will be presented in alliance with other local cultural and arts organizations in the area. This will be the start of a bi-annual curated group show to present local artistic practices and social discourses that are being developed among artists living in the South-West Brooklyn Area. This area has become a hub of artistic activity but is still largely under-recognized in the art world. As part of NARS’ mission to engage with and promote the artists of South-West Brooklyn, the NARS South-West Exhibition Program strives to contribute to the recognition of the art world of South Brooklyn by highlighting the innovative work being produced today. For the purpose of this program, South-West Brooklyn is defined as living and/or with studio space in Sunset Park, Park Slope, Gowanus, Red Hook, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Borough Park, or Windsor Terrace.
Overall the NARS exhibitions create a platform showcasing artistic developments in contemporary arts and a forum for exchanging ideas.
NARS has annual open calls for all of our exhibition programs. Make sure to sign up for our mailing list to be notified of the next open call!
You can find more information about our past programs below, and you can learn about previous exhibitions by visiting: Past Events.
NARS exhibition programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and, in part, supported by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Past Programs
+ SATELLITE EXHIBITION PROGRAM
From 2020-2022, NARS was part of a select group of institutions to use one of the historical houses at Governors Island, allowing us to maintain a space outside of our headquarters in Sunset Park for artists to develop their work in an environment where they were able to connect with new audiences and other like minded cultural organizations, and thus enhanced the collective growth of our community. The Satellite space hosted NY based collectives and individual curators to present conceptually cohesive group shows surrounding the themes of ‘Territory’ and ‘Memory’. The presented proposals took into account the colonial and Indigenous history of the island, its military background, the changes in the land, landscape, and architecture, and the environmental aspects surrounding the island.
+ RE-DISCOVERIES
The Re-Discoveries exhibition, held at NARS in January of 2022, showcased the recent works of Southwest Brooklyn artists who had consistently made work throughout the past 25+ years. With this exhibition, NARS aimed to create space for the diverse artistic communities in South West Brooklyn, enabling intergenerational conversations among artists and arts professionals. Beginning in 2023, this program will become part of the greater Southwest Brooklyn Exhibition, with more information announced soon.
+ JURIED SOLO EXHIBITION PROGRAM
The aim of the Juried Solo Exhibition Program was to create a platform for artists to present their curated body of work to wider audience with staff support. The exhibitions provided the opportunity for one selected emerging and underrepresented national and international artist to present innovative and compelling artwork that creates new dialogue and a forum for exchanging ideas. The program provided one selected artist with gallery space and curatorial and administrative support for a solo show.
Previous Juried Solo winners and exhibitions:
Mira Dayal
Material Metaphors
Khánh H. Lê
Making Memories While We Wait
Elizabeth Hatke
lateral drift
Reilly Sinanan
Preventative Measures
Denis Beaubois
Currency
Tori Purcell
(Ex)Change
+ EMERGING CURATOR PROGRAM
The Emerging Curator Program offered an opportunity for an individual or curatorial collective to organize a conceptually cohesive group show at the NARS Foundation Gallery. The aim of the program was to encourage new dialogue and to create a platform for emerging curators and artists to experiment and exchange ideas.
No prior curatorial experience was necessary. An experienced curator on staff was available to provide guidance and support during the program.
Previous Emerging Curator winners and exhibitions:
Tiffany Jaeyeon Shin
Myth, Memory, Migration: Stories from the Asian Diaspora
Alvaro Luis Lima and Nicole Siegenthaler
Low Res: Spatial Poltics in the Cloud
Katherine Gressel
Artistic Developments
Allison Young
Re-tracing the Land
Shlmoit Dror
F_ll in the bl_nk
Tamara Johnson
Show Me Your Glands
Cat Weaver
CIVILIZATION and its DISCONTENT