Art festival grows by the year

WASSAIC — Twice as big as last year, the Wassaic Project, which held its second annual summer festival the weekend of Aug. 13 through 15, drew throngs of people from far and wide who were interested in the unique cultural experience the event is becoming known for.

The festival was held in and around Maxon Mills, a former grain mill located in the center of the hamlet of Wassaic. The building’s unique architecture was often utilized by the participating artists, who took advantage of the nooks, crannies, stairs and salvaged feel that the building offered. A first-floor installation included an enormous beehive constructed from cardboard. The top floor was covered in sods of grass. The dozens of floors, landings and tiny rooms in between were a hodgepodge of everything else, from straight forward oil paintings on canvas to abstract performances involving actors with bullhead masks.

There was something for everyone to love, and just as much for everyone to hate, which usually is a telltale sign of a successful art show.

“Some of it’s amazing, and some of it’s appalling,� remarked Stuart Liebman from Manhattan.

For many, it was their first visit to the mill and the hamlet, where several Wassaic Project events have been held during the past two years. The artwork in the shows has a tendency to reflect the building’s ability to feel like an old abandoned factory and a recycled work-in-progress at the same time.

“It definitely has a folk flavor,� Liebman said, “and the conservationist impulse to reuse materials. There’s a lot of burned, aged, weathered and destroyed material here. And it’s interesting to me that they’re able to recycle the building in the same manner.�

More than 120 artists participated in this year’s event, twice as many as last year. Art covered nearly every square inch of the building while bands and musicians performed out on the deck.

The Wassaic Project was founded by New York City natives Bowie Zunino, Eve Biddle and Elan Bogarin, who said that the project has grown tremendously because of the success of last year’s event.

“We’ve continued to see more and more press,� said Bogarin, referring to the project’s recent write-up in The New York Times. “With that we meet more and more friends and crew and supporters. I think people are really into it.�

This year, with more artists and more festival-goers to accommodate, more of the building was made available. Entrance to the festival, as previously, was free, and any donations go directly towards the cost of running the event.

“We know we want to keep going,� Bogarin said. Wassaic Projects events have been held in New York City, mostly because the Maxon Mills building isn’t winterized, but the focus of the group’s projects moving forward will definitely involve the grain building, according to organizers.

“It’s crucial to our success,� she said. “We aren’t anything without this building. It helps shape how we move forward. It’s inspiring, and it’s not a traditional art space, to say the least.�

The goal of the festival, and other events put on by the Wassaic Project, is to offer stimulating art and culture outside of the perceived stuffiness of more city-based events and showings.

“The whole goal is that it’s very friendly,� Bogarin said. “And that’s not like the art world.�

Amenia town Supervisor Wayne Euvrard was spotted milling around the building, and he said he has always enjoyed the festival and the crowds it draws.

“It’s a little disappointing not to see more locals here though,� he acknowledged. “Everybody always says ‘There’s nothing to do around here,’ but look at all this. I think it’s great.�