Anyone who lives in New York knows that it’s more common than you’d expect to see some pretty outlandish things, but every October, 14th Street gets even more interesting. The organization “Art in Odd Places,” as the name suggests, brings visual and performance art to unexpected public spaces through a weekend-long festival.
Ed Woodham founded “Art in Odd Places” as part of the ‘Cultural Olympiad’ of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Since 2008, the show has taken up permanent residence along 14th Street in New York. Woodham himself reveals the essence of the festival: “The idea is that it becomes part of the daily fabric of 14th Street. The streets are never closed, there is no street food or gadgets. It is art that is gently inserted into the city routine.”
After all, it is precisely the surprise that makes the discovery of “Art in Odd Places” special. Patricia Miranda, co-curator of this year’s edition, emphasizes it: “At first, you think it’s just an anonymous day in New York, then you realize that there is this group of people who are doing something interesting.” Imagine, for example, finding yourself in front of a woman, equipped with a futuristic costume, who blends in with the crowd of a subway station: an image that would surely capture anyone’s attention!
To direct the festival, Woodham appointed Patricia Miranda and her husband Chris Kaczmarek, who had been participants in the previous edition. They presented a unique performance art piece: Kaczmarek, 6 feet 3 inches tall, was hidden in a layered costume of orange skirts.
“We thought Chris was intimidating because he was so tall,” Miranda says, “but it actually turned out to be a real eye-catcher. Kids would come up and say, ‘What’s in there?’ There was this playfulness that surprised even us.”
“Art in Odd Places” thus offers unexpected artistic suggestions, “disturbing” the daily life of the metropolis. Those who come across the festival often do so by pure chance, unaware of what is happening. Some continue their day undisturbed; others, intrigued, stop to admire the work or return later to explore the festival more calmly. “It is an interruption that questions our daily habits,” says Woodham. “It is also a conscious offering, art is not imposed on anyone.”
At the same time, “Art in Odd Places” aspires to be an easy access to art, open to everyone. There is no need to be an expert in the field, with art in the heart of the urban fabric everyone can discover, interact and play with it. In conclusion, “Art in Odd Places” is not a regular art festival, but an everyday art experience, an improvised journey through unexpected art, which captures, surprises and engages.
