Pioneer Works, a nonprofit space for art and science in Brooklyn, is reopening in September after a significant renovation and expansion. Located in the fast-evolving neighborhood of Red Hook, it has since 2012 been championing an impressive multidisciplinary program grounded in an extensive residency initiative that hosts visual artists as well as brilliant minds in tech, music and science. In advance of the September 6 reopening, we caught up with Pioneer Works’ two founders, artists Dustin Yellin and Gabriel Florenz, and the nonprofit’s newly appointed director, Mara Manus.
Recalling how Pioneer Works was conceived, Dustin Yellin told Observer that the genesis of space can be “gleaned from many nodes of reality. I dropped out of high school, moved to New York, and met many artists, scientists, writers and musicians. The people I encountered were my teachers. In my early 20s, I had a bunch of roommates in a loft, and we were all making things proximate to each other.”
They eventually built a small recording studio inside a painting studio, and the vibe of the space prompted Yellin to start thinking about what a space where all modes of cultural production could happen together might look like. He had no way of making his vision a reality at the time, but he kept dreaming and allowed his dream to evolve. A few years later, his studio was across from a beautiful building in Red Hook—the space that would become Pioneer Works.
He and Florenz started small, with a small exhibition space, one residency and Intercourse magazine. “I wanted to call the whole project ‘The Intercourse’ because it evoked this idea of all these disciplines coming together in one space,” Yellin said. “There was a lot of pushback because people thought the word Intercourse meant to fuck, and I thought it meant the exchange of ideas. In the end, we took the original name of the building, Pioneer Iron Works, and adapted that as a way to pay homage to the adaptive reuse of this Civil War-era factory.”
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“Initially, I was the director of the “Intercourse Foundation, which took around 1,000 hours of debating with Dustin to change,” Gabriel Florenz told Observer. From there, they considered the implications of the word pioneer, which speaks to breaking new ground, and Works, which suited the idea of a Museum of Process. “This demonstrated our focus on creation as much as presentation. We worried, especially thinking about what we could draw from those words that might sound cheesy, but we realized that by just calling it ‘Pioneer Works,’ we weren’t naming it at all; we were just transforming the building and creating a new universe within it.”
The program at Pioneer Works is multidisciplinary and multifaceted, aiming to foster innovative thinking across fields and encourage cross-pollination between disciplines. “We constantly think about how people learn and how culture affects society,” Yellin explained. “We don’t think of Pioneer Works as a museum; rather, we see it as a futuristic learning center where the seed of curiosity can lead to a garden of new possibilities.”
Yellin is an artist whose practice moves at the intersection of nature and art, exploring new extensions of our concept of humanity and human reality. For him, a project like Pioneer Works is an extension of that practice. He thinks of not only civilization but also reality itself as malleable. “The things that we think, we can invent,” in his words. Pioneer Works’ program strongly emphasizes the intersection between art and science. According to Yellin, the goal is to elevate technology to the level of art while also introducing film residencies and more writing residencies. Current residencies fall under umbrellas like visual arts, music and technology, though he noted that they are broad and flexible. “Rather than expanding to more disciplines at this moment like film, we aim to keep our frameworks open to various types of creatives who might not fit neatly into any category.”
The space is reopening with two shows developed by resident artists during their residencies: visionarily elaborated ceramics by Mexican artist Alejandro García Contreras will be accompanied by a video exploration, Le’Andra LeSeur’s Monument Eternal, which looks at how monuments erected to commemorate racist legacies have altered the mental psyche of Black communities.
It’s not unusual for Pioneer Works to show work by residents. “Pioneer Works is fairly unique among cultural institutions in its ability to offer artists both the resources to incubate their practice and the space to show or perform their art,” said newly appointed director Mara Manus Manus. The institution is privileged to observe the products of artists’ discoveries while tracing their processes over time.
Pioneer Works will also unveil Voyage Into Infinity, a newly commissioned large-scale performance by Narcissister, a New York-based performance artist whose multidisciplinary practice blends humor, fetish and social commentary.
When asked what motivated these inaugural shows, Florenz, who also serves as art space’s artistic director, admitted that there wasn’t a lot of pre-planning because they weren’t sure the main hall would be exhibition-ready in time. The ambitious performance commission with Narcissister ended up being the perfect fit. “We couldn’t have done this in the fall since we prioritized large-scale exhibitions then, and the performance needed extensive development and testing, which is challenging when we’re open to the public. It felt like the right opportunity to make it happen. Our upper-floor exhibitions featuring Le’Andra and Alejandro felt like a remarkable combination from the start. Their worlds are very different, and seeing how they will resonate with the public will be exciting.”
The renovation marks a significant achievement for the nonprofit, proving it can sustainably grow over time. But, as Florenz clarifies, “this expansion is less about growth and more about addressing long-standing issues we couldn’t afford to fix over the past decade. One of the critical interventions consisted of improving the accessibility of the upper floors for those who cannot climb the stairs. This renovation opens our world to many who haven’t been able to fully enjoy it before.”
Manus, who is now in charge of overseeing the efficient and sustainable functioning of the non-profit model, added that the structural improvements will close out the nonprofit’s five-year capital project, Pioneer Work For All. “This project has positioned us to deepen our roots in our local Red Hook community and expand our reach to various audiences and artists. It’s the purpose that guides my work.”
But even as the project ends, Pioneer Works’ leaders are still considering how to make the facilities more accessible and engaging to the general public. “We are planning on bringing more food programs, and we dream of a black box theater in the garden,” Yellin said. “Something on the horizon is New York City’s first public observatory, which will be a physical manifestation of our mission to bring the arts and sciences into one house.”
Additionally, they want to expand the support they can offer the artists in residence. “I’d love to increase the financial support each resident receives dramatically,” said Florenz. “Many talented individuals can’t participate in our program because they can’t afford an apartment in New York City or they have full-time jobs or they are parents who can’t pay for childcare. Our current level of financial support doesn’t make the program accessible to many who would benefit from it. We’re also looking into resources for professional development, for example, a paid internship program for each resident so they can mentor a student assistant if they wish. These will be the kinds of expansions that are more urgent and impactful.”
Pioneers Works reopens on September 6 with Alejandro García Contreras’s “Quien no ha intentado convertir una piedra en un recuerdo? (Who hasn’t tried to turn a stone into a memory?)” and Le’Andra LeSeur’s Monument Eternal. “Voyage Into Infinity” by Narcissister will show on September 14 and 15.