Volunteers are needed for special public art project on Saturday (artwork: Join Together, 2026, by Debra Pearlman)
TAKE ONE ACTION
Cristin Tierney Gallery, 49 Walker St., and other locations
Saturday, October 3, free, noon – 6:00
Volunteers needed: info@artatatimelikethis.com
artatatimelikethis.com
cristintierney.com
Two weeks ago, Art at a Time Like This (ATLT) kicked off its “Take One Action” public art project programming with a panel discussion in Brooklyn, focusing on how to resist current US immigration policies. The next phase launches on October 3, when six mobile LED trucks hit the streets, featuring original work by Shaun Leonardo, Marilyn Minter, Robert Longo, Sasha Stiles, Jonathan Allen, Marka27, Janet Biggs and Terry Berkowitz, Debra Pearlman, Autumn Savage, Kiyo Gutiérrez, and Julian Alexander, as part of Fall of Freedom, “an open instigation to artists, venues, and institutions across all disciplines to put your work in the world on October 2, 3, and 4, countering fascist repression and censorship with joyful communities of defiant creativity.” The ATLT works examine patriotism, immigration, the climate crisis, and a call to participate.
The day begins at noon at Cristin Tierney Gallery on Walker St., where many of the artists will be available for a meet-and-greet. The other trucks will depart from the Studio Museum in Harlem, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and MoMA PS1 at 11:00, and Columbia University and the Bronx at noon. Each truck will follow a unique route; maps will be available.
“I often hear people say, but what can we do? We believe that taking one small action can make a difference, create a snowball effect, and restore a sense of empowerment and hope,” ATLT cofounder and director Barbara Pollack said in a statement.
ATLT considers the project “an antidote” for what is happening around the globe today, where freedom finds itself facing more frightening barriers every day. The organization, which was formed at the beginning of the pandemic, is looking for volunteers to be onsite and share information about the project with pedestrians and viewers and take photographs at two of the stops. If interested, please send an email to info@artatatimelikethis.com.
The event concludes at Cristin Tierney at 6:00, where people will gather for a celebration amid Biggs’s terrific “Path of Totality” exhibition, which includes two stunning short films, the 2022–24 Eclipse (Antarctica, December 4, 2021) and the 2025 three-channel Eclipse (Amazon, September 7, 1858), in addition to fascinating related ephemera.
What can you do? You can volunteer for this exciting project and/or check out several of the trucks as they campaign for change one month before the extremely consequential midterm elections.
As Pollack told twi-ny a few months ago, “At the very beginning of a worldwide pandemic, we asked a simple question: How can you think of art at a time like this? The question is now more relevant than ever, which presents both a tragedy and an opportunity for creative solutions.”
[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer; you can follow him on Substack here.]