** View NEW photos of the damage and our clean-up efforts on flickr **
Like so many of our neighbors and friends, Smack Mellon experienced a devastating loss in the floods that Hurricane Sandy produced.
We had seven accomplished artists in residence at Smack Mellon’s prestigious Artist Studio Program when the storm hit. Their studios were flooded with six feet of water, destroying all contents including their artwork. The studio program’s media lab, kitchen, and wood shop also sustained severe damage.
Smack Mellon, founded in 1996, is a vital part of the Brooklyn arts scene. Our mission is to support artists both in the creation of new work and in the exhibition of ambitious projects that would not be possible in other venues.
We are very grateful to all the volunteers who believe in our mission and have contributed their time helping with the cleanup. We also thank those who have made generous financial contributions. We still need additional, significant support to help us rebuild Smack Mellon. Our lower level space which housed our artist studios, media lab, shop and kitchen was decimated. Our entire electrical system had to be overhauled and our ADA lift had to be refurbished. We lost tens of thousands of dollars of equipment used by our studio artists- two editing stations, a large format printer and scanner, all of our fabrication shop equipment and much, much more. Our estimated loss stands at approximately $360,000.
Fortunately, the gallery was not damaged by the flood, and we were able to reopen to the public in January. Two Trees Management, the owner of our building, also generously donated temporary studio spaces for our 7 artists-in-residence nearby. We completed the renovation of the basement studios on June 1, 2013, in time for a new group of Studio Artists to move in.
However, we are still very much in need of support from our community of friends to offset the costs of this renovation. While our studios and media lab are now back in use, our fabrication shop and kitchen are still in need of new equipment. We have applied for every relief grant that is available.
If you would like to help, please make a tax deductible donation through the link above. If you have materials you would like to donate to Smack Mellon or our artists, please email Katherine Gressel, Programs Manager.
Thank you for your concern and support!
Recent press about our flooding:
Huffington Post – Post-Sandy, NYC Artists Find a Slow Road Back to Creativity
ArtFagCity – Six Feet Under: Smack Mellon Begins Its Road to Recovery
Art in America – Smack Mellon Studios in Dumbo Destroyed
GalleristNY – Wet Paint: Sandy’s Devastation at Galleries Was Matched by Her Destruction of Studios
ArtInfo – Waterfront Art Spaces in DUMBO Begin to Recover From Sandy’s Destructive Impact
Thank you to everyone who has helped us clean up and rebuild after Sandy!
Donors:
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Art Dealers Association of America Relief Fund, Richard Prince Studio, Mixed Greens Gallery, Gilbert MacKay Foundation, Athena Foundation, The Robert Lehman Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Art F City, Stephen Sollins, Creative Time, Inc., Niloo Sobhani and Joe Steele, New York Council for the Humanities, The Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Marie & John Zimmermann Fund, Inc., Allison and Tom Franco, Morris Adjmi Architects, Suzanne Carbotte, Peter Coombe, St. Joseph High School and the Fathers of the Oratory, Joell Baxter, Ellen Driscoll, Cristin Tierney, Rosa Garcia, Christine Cowden, Kathleen Mulholland, David Henderson, Stephen Rudy, Karen Giusti, Robert Cmar, Eleanor Cory and Joel Gressel, Don Gatanis and ddg frame shop, Carey Ascenzo, Jennifer McGregor, Jennifer M. Blessing, K.D. Derr, Heather Darcy Bhandari, Rita MacDonald, Lee Day and Ursula Endlicher, Henry Klimowicz, Habibe Rubio, Bobye List, Mark McKenna and Jennie Gilrain, AZ Ainsle St Studios, Sally Gilrain, Tessa Addison, Simon Lee, Marci MacGuffie, Shirley Campbell, Mary Ziegler, Heide Fashacht, Bill Schuck, Jeanne Gerrity, Marshall Blesofsky and Susan E. Sklar, Jennie C. Jones, Dan Zeller, Stephanie Beck, Janice Guy, Gregory Volk, Cecilia Alemani, Elizabeth Ferrer, Daniel Kunitz, Leslie Kerby, Marie Christine Katz, Yumi Roth, Chris Havens, Glenn P. Eisen, Eugenie Tung, Esa Nickle, eteam, Jennifer Wingate, Kako Ueda, Esperanza Mayobre, Tamar Gressel, Melissa Dubbin, Pablo Helguera, George Pfau, Gretchen Bennett, Chuck Chatlynne, Daisy Montalvo, Pawel Wojtasik, Angela Zammarelli, Lisa Crafts, Ja-Young Yoon, Bridget Donlon, Matthew Wilson, Jessica Cannon, Gelah Penn, Ardele Lister, Antonia A. Perez, Eric Deutsche, Valerie Hegarty, Claudia Sbrissa, Rabbi Ralph Kingsley, David Court, Cheryl Austin, Eve Andree Laramee, Ron Baron, Andrea Loefke, Victoria Calabro, Eugene Storefront Art Project
Volunteers:
Jessie Auritt, Erik Benson, Lea Bertucci, Jed Bickman, Eve Biddle, Sonya Blesofsky, George Boorujy, Lee Boroson, Jeff Brandsted, Susan Bricker, Victoria Calabro, Ananda Day Cavelli, Adriane Colburn, Melissa Cooke, Prianka Dasgupta, Jennifer Dalton, Travis Deseran, Jessy Diaz, Peter Donatich, Melissa Dubbin, Danielle Durchslag, Karl Erickson, Skylar Failla, Bradley Fesmire, Josh Frankel, Kate Gavriel, Susan Hamburger, Kirsten Hassenfeld, Elana Herzog, Zeynab Izadyar, Chris Jordan, Lisa Kim, Corinna Kirsch, Damon Leary, Mandy LeBoeuf, Sujin Lee, Frank Lentini, Michelle Levy, Maksim Lipyan, Joshua Mackley, Amanda Mathis, Summer McCorkle, Jennifer McCoy, Dennis Metoyer, Cheryl Molnar, Jason Mortara, Natalia Nakazawa, Anna Ogier-Bloomer, Diego Nolasco, Janet Nolasco, Julia Pagnamenta, Nerina Penzhorn, Megan Petras, Rigoberto Portillo, Stuart Post, John Powers, Hanna Pylvainen, Jeremy Reed, John Ros, Sarah Sandman, Raphaele Shirley, Diana Shpungin, Andrew Sokol, Robert Strong, Monika Sziladi, Sally Szwed, Rambod Vala, Marta Variara, Katie Vida, Annelise Whitley