The Chashama Art Gala and Party, an ‘immersive’ art event featuring over 200 performers last week was certainly other worldly. Deemed the “most outrageous art party,” (and I will not contest), two endlessly spanning floors equipped with labyrinthine installations, silent auction, food stations, extraterrestrial costumes, ball pit, wild cosmetic and makeup stations kept attendees entertained for hours. Attracting hundreds of NYC’s most ‘forward-thinking’ landowners, corporate execs, art industry insiders, and innovative creators, the event possibly even surpasses Moxy’s Times’ Square opening Burlesque all-nighter in terms of groundbreaking outlandishness and absurdity. Proceeds from the event go toward ultimately rendering ART more accessible. By funding artist workspaces, art classes, and supplying the most essential resource fathomable– Real-Estate– Chashama is doing good in the world. After all, Art lies at the epicenter of the city’s heart.
How I long to document the multitude of alien creatures, surreal characters, and fractalizing instances of sweet serendipity— but neither time nor words could pay enough due justice. There was the submission station for patrons to get tied up and turned upside down—@Joules.tv ‘s BDSM neon “Dungeon” that is. Equipped with neon ropes in a black room, only the brave and kinky surrendered. Then there was the candelabra Victorian wedding gown by @flambeuxfire—which truly has one wondering how she could ever use the bathroom or get to sleep.
Even wilder was the edible bug tasting by Samuel Ezra Fisch. Snatching what looked like a mini tartelette, I took a bite. “Wow, you went right in,” said the bemused server. “I mean, why wouldn’t I…” and then it hit! These were bugs baked into delicacies which appeared otherwise completely ‘normal’. Scorpion pie, ant-dusted crackers, bug decorated fruit slices…the options were limitless and admittedly tempting; nevertheless, I inherently remained hesitant and skeptical like most passersby. The ants tasting so lemony, like sumac—a beloved tangy middle eastern purple tang spice—was most thrilling.
Illuminating some serious societal ‘hang-ups’ and conditioning, Fisch clarifies that the word ‘bug’ is a ‘social colloquialism’ and not even a scientific term. We consider spider and mites ‘bugs, which are arthropods like lobster, shrimp, crab, and snail, so why don’t we eat them as we do the latter? After all, haven’t we been eating bugs on accident our entire life? It’s estimated that an individual consumes around 140,000 bites a year that contain bug parts; after all, they are considered the nutrient dense, ‘sustainable superfood’ of the future. Producing no greenhouse gases, and requiring less water and space, the options for diversification are also limitless. Eco friendly and quickly renewable, Fisch pushes for people to expand their “minds, palates, and diets! Most curious children try bugs, whatever happened to our curiosity?”
The Abeng Nsissm’s Beautiful Soul exhibit, where participants can dance while painting on the wall-surface was simultaneously exquisite, as was the ivory-clad Marie Antoinette @marie_antoinette_queenonsort boudoir, boasting ‘diamonds are a queen’s best friend’ in her private royal ivory chamber. Belly Dancers nearby shimmied to the clapping coins ribboning their thighs in a harem lounge setup seriously larger than my duplex. How? I don’t know, but I do know Chashama, founded in 1995, specifically partners with “property owners to transform unused real estate into usable space for artists, small businesses, community-centric art classes.” Chashama also
- Awards 11 million worth of real estate to artists
- Subsidizes 300 artist work spaces
- Provides over 215 free art classes
- Gives 200 artists free space to present
- Supports over 75 businesses with free space”.
Founded by Anita Durst nearly 30 years ago to produce and present new theater, Chashama recognized that “a lack of affordable space was the biggest threat to sustaining a diverse cultural environment in New York City.” Consequently, it began partnering with property owners to secure affordable space for ‘struggling artists’, and now boasts 150 events a year, workspace for 120 artists, and the development of 80 workshops in underserved communities. The purchase of gala tickets and participating in the silent auction worth several hundred thousand in lessons, experiences, and treasures are all ways we give back. After all, cities thrive and evolve from the energy and creativity of the artists at its center.
