GLOWLAB

Glowlab is a hybrid of an artist project space and gallery. It was founded in 2002 by Brooklyn artist and curator Christina Ray as an experimental, web-based multimedia arts lab created to support the visibility and expression of artists within her community. Although Ray’s Williamsburg space staged periodic exhibitions, the major concentration of Glowlab was nomadic artist projects in the urban environment, including performances and site specific interventions.

Glowlab has evolved into a gallery with an exhibition space at the edge of SoHo, and an interest in presenting artists exploring the convergence of art and technology. Glowlab’s mission is to show artists whose vision within the gallery space connects with the greater urban environment. Represented artists have opportunities to explore diverse spaces, creating unique installations both within and outside the traditional white-box, while benefiting from the guidance and support of the gallery. Glowlab projects and artists explore the individual experience of observing and living in the contemporary city, opening a creative dialogue interpreting everyday life, spontaneous interaction and moments in flux. While artists come from a variety of backgrounds and work in different styles and mediums, they are united in their exploration of spatial and social concepts related to cities and the urban landscape.

Glowlab has directly contributed to the support of non-profit projects created by legendary street artist Swoon and has worked to foster growth of emerging collectives including the United Kingdom-based CutUp group and many other international and New York artists.

In addition to solo and group exhibitions at Glowlab, Ray curates and produces art projects in public spaces and off-site locations, including partnering with host galleries and organizations. The Glowlab gallery has become an innovative model catering to the advancement of niche collective of creative artists, thinkers and technologists.

Glowlab gallery also houses the headquarters for Glowlab Productions which produces events including Conflux, a New York City urban art and technology festival and symposium attracting artists from all corners of the globe. Emerging from the collaborative development, production, and exhibition of projects inspired by psychogeography, Conflux has become an internationally acclaimed annual festival now in its sixth year.

Projects under the auspice of Glowlab Productions have been featured extensively in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal Online, The Economist, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The Village Voice, Time Out, New York Press, Flash Art, Art Review, Artnet, Adbusters and many others.

Glowlab founder and director Christina Ray recently became a founding member of the Advisory Committee of the new 92YTribeca arts and entertainment venue, which opened in the fall of 2008. She is currently serving as Key Artistic Advisor for Times Square Public Art Planning with the Times Square Alliance. Ray also sits on the advisory committee of the Queens-based arts organization Flux Factory. In 2009, Ray’s work will be included in the books A Guide to Democracy in America, published by Creative Time, and Critical Play, written by Mary Flanagan and published by MIT Press She is a frequent speaker on the intersection of art and emerging technology in public space. Most recently she presented at the CUNY Graduate Center’s Site-Specific Performance Symposium and spoke on an Ars Nova panel with Manish Vora of Artlog, Barry Hoggard of Culturepundits and Victor Samra of MoMA.