Som Arts

Som Arts
Name	Som Arts
Formation	2009
Type	Arts center; cultural nonprofit
Headquarters	New York City
Location	Brooklyn, Manhattan
Services	Arts programming; artist residencies; exhibitions; education; community outreach
Leader title	Executive Director
Leader name	Maria Y. Flores

Som Arts is a contemporary arts organization and multidisciplinary cultural center that operates artist residencies, exhibition spaces, educational programs, and community initiatives within urban arts ecosystems. Founded in 2009, the institution has hosted a wide spectrum of practitioners across visual arts, performance, sound, and new media, engaging with municipal cultural policy, philanthropic foundations, and academic partners to sustain creative production. Som Arts functions at intersections with borough-based creative networks, national artist-run collectives, and international biennials, emphasizing collaborative practice, experimental pedagogy, and public-facing events.

History

Som Arts was established in 2009 amid neighborhood arts growth during the late 2000s, drawing on precedents set by artist-run spaces like PS1 Contemporary Art Center, The Kitchen, and BRIC. Early years included curated projects referencing models from Whitney Museum of American Art satellite initiatives and collaborations with community arts funders such as the National Endowment for the Arts and local arts councils. Throughout the 2010s, Som Arts expanded through partnerships with institutions including New Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and academic programs at Pratt Institute and CUNY Graduate Center. Major shifts occurred after municipal zoning debates and cultural policy decisions influenced by reports from agencies like the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and commissions connected to the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. The organization weathered economic pressures tied to real estate dynamics alongside contemporaries such as Creative Time and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and adapted programming during public health crises that affected venues like Lincoln Center and Apollo Theater.

Philosophy and Techniques

Som Arts articulates a practice-led philosophy influenced by relational aesthetics and community-engaged models associated with figures like Nicolas Bourriaud and institutions such as Tate Modern. Techniques emphasize cross-disciplinary inquiry—merging methodologies from performance traditions exemplified by Merce Cunningham and sound practices related to John Cage with image-making approaches drawing on legacies from Kara Walker and Cindy Sherman. The center foregrounds process-based strategies used across artist residencies reminiscent of frameworks at MacDowell and Yaddo, and employs collaborative curatorial methods similar to initiatives at Hayward Gallery and Serpentine Galleries. Pedagogical approaches reflect influences from programs at Rhode Island School of Design, Yale School of Art, and Goldsmiths, University of London, incorporating critique sessions, peer-led workshops, and public interventions. Technical resources include fabrication support akin to facilities at The Fabric Workshop and Museum and audio-visual equipment standards used at BAM and MoMA PS1.

Programs and Education

Programmatic offerings at Som Arts span artist residencies, public exhibitions, youth workshops, and research fellowships, inspired by structures at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and Headlands Center for the Arts. Educational initiatives engage students from institutions such as Cooper Union, Columbia University School of the Arts, and School of Visual Arts, while community courses align with curricula developed in partnership with Brooklyn Public Library branches and local public schools. Residency cohorts often collaborate with grantmakers like The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Guggenheim Foundation for project funding. Som Arts curates site-specific commissions that reference programs at Public Art Fund and executes summer intensives modeled after festival formats like Frieze Art Fair satellite events and Venice Biennale collateral programming.

Notable Artists and Works

Over its history Som Arts has supported a diverse roster of practitioners whose practices intersect with established and emergent trajectories represented by artists associated with Pace Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, and alternative spaces like Recess and Flux Factory. Exhibitions have showcased work resonant with discourses involving figures such as Kara Walker, Jeff Koons, Marina Abramović, and lesser-known but influential peers trained at California Institute of the Arts and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Notable projects included multimedia installations, sound pieces, and participatory performances that dialogued with themes present in exhibitions at Dia Art Foundation and thematic programs at The Kitchen. Guest curators from institutions including ArtForum-affiliated editors and museum curators from Whitney and The Met Breuer have contributed to catalogues and public programming.

Community Engagement and Exhibitions

Som Arts programs prioritize local engagement through partnerships with neighborhood organizations such as Brooklyn Arts Council, Make the Road New York, and culturally specific centers like El Museo del Barrio and Asian American Arts Alliance. Exhibitions have been staged in nontraditional sites inspired by models used by Creative Time and Occupy Museums, producing public-facing work in parks, transit hubs, and community centers linked to municipal initiatives like those run by NYC Parks and Department of Transportation public art commissions. Collaborative exhibitions have intersected with festival platforms including Bushwick Open Studios and citywide events like Open House New York.

Impact and Recognition

Som Arts has been recognized by philanthropic bodies and arts journalism outlets, drawing coverage in publications alongside peers cited by Artforum, Hyperallergic, and The New York Times Arts section. Institutional recognition includes awards and project support from organizations such as National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, and corporate partners that sponsor cultural programming in cities like New York City and Los Angeles. The center’s alumni network has contributed to exhibitions at venues including MoMA, Brooklyn Museum, and international biennials influenced by curatorial discourses emerging from institutions like Tate Modern and Centre Pompidou.

Category:Arts organizations in New York City