ABC No Rio 45 Years
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ABC No Rio 45 Years
April 5th through 26th, 2025
Emily Harvey Foundation -- 537 Broadway, 2nd floor, NYC 10012
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Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 12:00 - 6:00 PM or by appointment
Closed Sunday and Monday
Opening Reception: April 10th from 6:00 - 8:00 PM
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▪️Instagram: @abcnorio45 ▪️Bluesky: @abcnorio45years.bsky.social ▪️Inquiries: info@abcnorio45.org
▪️Art Gangs blog, ABC No Rio 45 posts ▪️Open History Database
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Artists who have worked and made ABC No Rio the iconic Lower East Side cultural center over these many decades will reassemble to exhibit work in this historical survey exhibition.
ABC No Rio 45 is an exhibition of artists who have worked at ABC No Rio over the decades and made it an iconic Lower East Side cultural center. They will reassemble to exhibit work in this historical survey presenting artworks old and new, and documents that show the many facets of ABC including the founding Colab years, during which artists of that group and others mounted politically charged theme exhibitions. Ephemera from No Rio’s archives and representations of its program areas including the silkscreen printshop, zine library, photo darkroom, punk/hardcore matinees and co-sponsored projects such as Books Through Bars and Food Not Bombs will be included. The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space will contribute materials from its collection documenting the squatters’ movement which battled Giuliani’s police in the 1990s, and the community garden movement. Events will include poetry, discussions and presentations, and screenings of underground film, video, and documentaries. Musical presentations will include the internationally famous hardcore punk matinees, and concerts reflecting ABC’s commitment to avant-garde directions in sound art.
As a collectively-run nonprofit arts organization on the Lower East Side, ABC No Rio is an institution like no other in the city. It has been a precious hub for DIY arts, activism, and community work since it opened its doors. With a plaque on its now-demolished building proclaiming, “The Culture of Opposition Since 1980”, ABC No Rio has been a sanctuary for New York activists, artists, and musicians, fostering a rich sense of community and collaboration. Now, as a new building rises at 156 Rivington Street, this exhibition shares the collective history and struggle to preserve a place for ABC No Rio in the New York City of today.
For 30 years, Steven Englander worked to secure a place for ABC No Rio in an increasingly unaffordable city. While his passing in December is a great loss to the ABC No Rio community, construction on the new building continues and Steven's work can be honored by contributing to the Steven Englander Memorial Fundraiser, with funds going directly towards the building’s completion. Learn more about donating or supporting ABC No Rio at www.abcnorio.org/.
“ABC NO RIO 45 YEARS” will function as a workspace and gathering place. A sub theme of the project is GayBC No Rio that explores the undercurrent of queer culture that has existed as a foundational and binding element in the history of radical art and activism. Throughout the run of “ABC NO RIO 45 YEARS” there will be Intersections of panels, art, music, and screenings at The Clemente, Emily Harvey Foundation, Anthology Film Archive and other sites to be announced.
From April 5th through 26th, 2025 “ABC NO RIO 45 YEARS” will be hosted at the Emily Harvey Foundation at 537 Broadway, 2nd floor in SoHo. The building was organized by George Maciunas as a Fluxhouse Cooperative in 1967, and stands as a representation of the social and esthetic objectives of the Fluxus movement towards a pragmatic and non-elitist conception of art.
From April 6th through May 31st, 2025 "Historietas: Latinx Comics as Alternative Histories” will be hosted in partnership with ABC No Rio 45 Years at The Clemente at 107 Suffolk St, NYC 10002 as part of HISTORIAS, a citywide initiative that celebrates the transformative impact of Latinx communities in New York City. ABC No Rio and The Clemente have intersected over the decades, currently with Clemente’s hosting of No Rio’s offices, zine collection, and archives during No Rio’s period in exile---and in the past with Clemente hosting performances, exhibitions, screenings, and special events.
¶*** At the Emily Harvey Foundation
Colab Coffee Klatch
Wednesday, Friday, and the next Wednesday, April 9, 11, 16 -- 4:00 - 6:00pm
Members of the influential artists' group Collaborative Projects (1977-89) might come around and hang out. Come to meet and greet, and learn about the artistic projects that launched ABC No Rio.... and what came afterwards!
From the Lockup: Words Fly Free
Saturday, April 12th TBD
On the occasion of the anthology Books through Bars: Stories from the Prison Books Movement (2024) edited by Dave "Mac" Marquis and Moira Marquis, a discussion of the movements around solidarity with incarcerated people.
Reading World War III Illustrated
Saturday, April 12th TBD
The radical graphic magazine is one year older than ABC No Rio (first published 1979). A day at the Emily Harvey event space will celebrate the many publications brought out by this group of graphic artists, many of whom have been closely associated with ABC No Rio. The World War III artists will table the journal and related zines, show slides, and stream in from afar.
“How can we be here free and secure?”, A discussion circle with Jack Bratich
Three Thursdays, April 10th (framing statements), 17th and 24th (circles) – 5:30 - 7:30pm
As institutional structures sway and melt, the autonomous “monster” institutions assume a more important role. How can ABC No Rio step into those new shoes which are growing larger every day? How can the network of resistant solidarity centers around the country and around the world understand itself as the ganglia of a new world brain? How can our will to freedom and bright living spread across borders as deftly as big capital? As for ABC No Rio, ruins, rebuilding, resistance, resilience -- What does it mean to return with a review/remembrance to re-establish something in these times, after a decade in exile?
Jack Bratich is an ABC No Rio Zine Library volunteer and professor of Journalism & Media Studies at Rutgers University. Texts, prompts and links will be posted at https://abcnoriosummerschool.blogspot.com/
A Fire in the Forest of Possibilities. Is ‘What If’ Now ‘What Was’? A Walk through the Utopian Loisaida Past and Present
Saturday, 19th April TBD
A key work in the 1980 “Real Estate Show” was Peter Fend’s proposal to replace Con Ed’s electric power with natural gas generated from algae cultivation in New York harbor. The Lower East Side has long been the focus of utopian dreams and projects. What are the prospects for that radical progressive urban change today?
Potential Panelists: Peter Fend, Matthew Mottel, Stephen Zacks, Paul Bartlett, Felicia Young, Robby Herbst, Emily Rubin
GAME DAYS
Tuesdays, April 15th and 22nd
Steven Englander, ABC’s longtime director, loved games. A few exhibitions engaged the theme, including one produced by the artists’ collective Artcodex. For the day, games will be played in the EHF gallery space. Board games that immerse players in ideas about fighting for social and economic change have a long history in the US.
On Activism, Friendships, and Fighting with Benjamin Shepard
Friday, April 25th, 5-7PM
Conflict and resolution are the lifeblood of social movements. How, and with whom, do we find lasting friendship, support, and joy in a world in need of so much repair? Benjamin H. Shepard will present his new book On Activism, Friendships, and Fighting: Oral Histories, Strategies and Conflicts (Common Notions, 2025) in conversation with Marnie Brady, Associate Professor of Politics and Human Rights at Marymount Manhattan College.
Poetry Event with Jennifer Blowdryer
Saturday, April 26th, 4-7PM
Jennifer Blowdryer will MC an Old School style Open Mic with no Features and, as always, some good music. "No list, just step up fast and don’t be a dick, say it in six. Just because I’m a woman, doesn’t mean I care!"
Other Events To Be Announced...
...might be yours. The ABC No Rio 45 Years exposition is designed to be a workshop space. If you want to propose an event to take place during the hours the EHF space is open to the public (see above), please send your proposal along to awm13589 [at] yahoo.com.
Colab Coffee Klatch
Wednesday, Friday, and the next Wednesday, April 9, 11, 16 -- 4:00 - 6:00pm
Members of the influential artists' group Collaborative Projects (1977-89) might come around and hang out. Come to meet and greet, and learn about the artistic projects that launched ABC No Rio.... and what came afterwards!
From the Lockup: Words Fly Free
Saturday, April 12th TBD
On the occasion of the anthology Books through Bars: Stories from the Prison Books Movement (2024) edited by Dave "Mac" Marquis and Moira Marquis, a discussion of the movements around solidarity with incarcerated people.
Reading World War III Illustrated
Saturday, April 12th TBD
The radical graphic magazine is one year older than ABC No Rio (first published 1979). A day at the Emily Harvey event space will celebrate the many publications brought out by this group of graphic artists, many of whom have been closely associated with ABC No Rio. The World War III artists will table the journal and related zines, show slides, and stream in from afar.
“How can we be here free and secure?”, A discussion circle with Jack Bratich
Three Thursdays, April 10th (framing statements), 17th and 24th (circles) – 5:30 - 7:30pm
As institutional structures sway and melt, the autonomous “monster” institutions assume a more important role. How can ABC No Rio step into those new shoes which are growing larger every day? How can the network of resistant solidarity centers around the country and around the world understand itself as the ganglia of a new world brain? How can our will to freedom and bright living spread across borders as deftly as big capital? As for ABC No Rio, ruins, rebuilding, resistance, resilience -- What does it mean to return with a review/remembrance to re-establish something in these times, after a decade in exile?
Jack Bratich is an ABC No Rio Zine Library volunteer and professor of Journalism & Media Studies at Rutgers University. Texts, prompts and links will be posted at https://abcnoriosummerschool.blogspot.com/
A Fire in the Forest of Possibilities. Is ‘What If’ Now ‘What Was’? A Walk through the Utopian Loisaida Past and Present
Saturday, 19th April TBD
A key work in the 1980 “Real Estate Show” was Peter Fend’s proposal to replace Con Ed’s electric power with natural gas generated from algae cultivation in New York harbor. The Lower East Side has long been the focus of utopian dreams and projects. What are the prospects for that radical progressive urban change today?
Potential Panelists: Peter Fend, Matthew Mottel, Stephen Zacks, Paul Bartlett, Felicia Young, Robby Herbst, Emily Rubin
GAME DAYS
Tuesdays, April 15th and 22nd
Steven Englander, ABC’s longtime director, loved games. A few exhibitions engaged the theme, including one produced by the artists’ collective Artcodex. For the day, games will be played in the EHF gallery space. Board games that immerse players in ideas about fighting for social and economic change have a long history in the US.
- Stephanie Wuertz will conduct sessions of Paul Ryan's "Threeing" game, a "calisthenics for collaboration" on the 22nd, 5-7PM
- Mike Estabrook of Artcodex, producers of “The Game Show” at ABC No Rio will roll out his "Analogue Rev: RPG for RVLT!"
- Games on hand: "Bloc by Bloc", "Uprising", and... BYOG
On Activism, Friendships, and Fighting with Benjamin Shepard
Friday, April 25th, 5-7PM
Conflict and resolution are the lifeblood of social movements. How, and with whom, do we find lasting friendship, support, and joy in a world in need of so much repair? Benjamin H. Shepard will present his new book On Activism, Friendships, and Fighting: Oral Histories, Strategies and Conflicts (Common Notions, 2025) in conversation with Marnie Brady, Associate Professor of Politics and Human Rights at Marymount Manhattan College.
Poetry Event with Jennifer Blowdryer
Saturday, April 26th, 4-7PM
Jennifer Blowdryer will MC an Old School style Open Mic with no Features and, as always, some good music. "No list, just step up fast and don’t be a dick, say it in six. Just because I’m a woman, doesn’t mean I care!"
Other Events To Be Announced...
...might be yours. The ABC No Rio 45 Years exposition is designed to be a workshop space. If you want to propose an event to take place during the hours the EHF space is open to the public (see above), please send your proposal along to awm13589 [at] yahoo.com.
¶ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE
Due to the age and character of the building, the space is not optimized for ADA accessibility. Elevator access is available with prior notification. If you have questions or access requests, please contact us at info@abcnorio45.org in advance of your visit and we will make every effort to accommodate you.
Due to the age and character of the building, the space is not optimized for ADA accessibility. Elevator access is available with prior notification. If you have questions or access requests, please contact us at info@abcnorio45.org in advance of your visit and we will make every effort to accommodate you.
¶*** Events at The Clemente
1) “Historietas: Latinx Comics as Alternative Histories”
April 6 - May 2025
The Clemente, 107 Suffolk St, 4th Floor
Curated by Carlo Quispe
Opening reception and comics slideshow
Sunday, April 6th at 2 PM
On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of ABC No Rio’s founding, Historias Sembradas—the research and public engagement phase of Historias, The Clemente’s multi-year initiative—presents Historietas, an exhibition of Latinx comic book artists whose work weaves together multi-generational narratives of survival, resilience, and coming-of-age in NYC’s neighborhoods.
Curated by Peruvian cartoonist and educator Carlo Quispe, with ties to ABC No Rio and WW3 Illustrated magazine, Historietas brings together seven contemporary Latinx creators whose work spans from the Bronx to the Lower East Side, tracing histories across public schools, prison libraries, community spaces, homes, and streets. These artists—Ivan Velez Jr., Sandy Jimenez, Carlo Quispe, Sharon De La Cruz, Ivan Monforte, Medar De La Cruz, and Daisy Ruiz—challenge dominant narratives through the immediacy of comics, using the medium to document lived experiences and create informal yet powerful counter-histories. The Spanish word Historietas translates to “little histories” or “short stories,” but despite their modest size, these comics serve as potent tools for self-representation, storytelling, and political discourse. Through independent and mainstream publishing, the featured artists ensure that their voices and perspectives are seen, read, and remembered.
2) Uptown/Downtown: When Boroughs Collide
DEI Warriors on the Culture Front
at The Clemente
Monday, April 28th, 3 to 6pm
Austrian emigre artist Stefan Eins opened the Fashion Moda experimental art space in the South Bronx in 1978. ABC No Rio opened two years later in Loisaida, after a building occupation. Several of the artists from “the Moda” came down for the Real Estate Show, and later showed at ABC. Artists from ABC went uptown to the Moda regularly. This crosstown traffic continued throughout the 1980s. One of the okupas of the squatting movement in the Bronx had a zine library; when that squat was evicted the zine library came to ABC No Rio, the seed of the present-day collection. This artistic traffic between boroughs was crucially important in laying the foundations for the diverse multi-cultural artworld of the present-day.
Questions around intersectionality have dogged the cultural world in NYC for at least a century.* The axis of Colab, through Fashion Moda and ABC No Rio, set out to intervene in this by siting experimental cultural centers in peripheral barrios of the city in the late 1970s and through the '80s. These centers welcomed artists of color. How did that work? And did it work to build the artworld of today? The question is especially urgent given the recent federal government's all-out attacks on "DEI" funding in all sectors. The time is now urgent for this important history to be better known.
Slide presentation about Fashion Moda by Lisa Kahane (confirmed). Presentations and round table discussion – invitees include: Joe Lewis, Lisa Kahane, Jane Dickson, John Ahearn, Charlie Ahearn, John “Crash” Matos, Frank Morales, Yasmin Ramirez, and Betti-Sue Hertz, Libertad Guerra, Amy Starecheski
ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE
Unfortunately, as construction at The Clemente proceeds, there is no elevator access to the upper floors at The Clemente. The fourth floor can be accessed via a wide staircase with three flights of stairs.
1) “Historietas: Latinx Comics as Alternative Histories”
April 6 - May 2025
The Clemente, 107 Suffolk St, 4th Floor
Curated by Carlo Quispe
Opening reception and comics slideshow
Sunday, April 6th at 2 PM
On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of ABC No Rio’s founding, Historias Sembradas—the research and public engagement phase of Historias, The Clemente’s multi-year initiative—presents Historietas, an exhibition of Latinx comic book artists whose work weaves together multi-generational narratives of survival, resilience, and coming-of-age in NYC’s neighborhoods.
Curated by Peruvian cartoonist and educator Carlo Quispe, with ties to ABC No Rio and WW3 Illustrated magazine, Historietas brings together seven contemporary Latinx creators whose work spans from the Bronx to the Lower East Side, tracing histories across public schools, prison libraries, community spaces, homes, and streets. These artists—Ivan Velez Jr., Sandy Jimenez, Carlo Quispe, Sharon De La Cruz, Ivan Monforte, Medar De La Cruz, and Daisy Ruiz—challenge dominant narratives through the immediacy of comics, using the medium to document lived experiences and create informal yet powerful counter-histories. The Spanish word Historietas translates to “little histories” or “short stories,” but despite their modest size, these comics serve as potent tools for self-representation, storytelling, and political discourse. Through independent and mainstream publishing, the featured artists ensure that their voices and perspectives are seen, read, and remembered.
2) Uptown/Downtown: When Boroughs Collide
DEI Warriors on the Culture Front
at The Clemente
Monday, April 28th, 3 to 6pm
Austrian emigre artist Stefan Eins opened the Fashion Moda experimental art space in the South Bronx in 1978. ABC No Rio opened two years later in Loisaida, after a building occupation. Several of the artists from “the Moda” came down for the Real Estate Show, and later showed at ABC. Artists from ABC went uptown to the Moda regularly. This crosstown traffic continued throughout the 1980s. One of the okupas of the squatting movement in the Bronx had a zine library; when that squat was evicted the zine library came to ABC No Rio, the seed of the present-day collection. This artistic traffic between boroughs was crucially important in laying the foundations for the diverse multi-cultural artworld of the present-day.
Questions around intersectionality have dogged the cultural world in NYC for at least a century.* The axis of Colab, through Fashion Moda and ABC No Rio, set out to intervene in this by siting experimental cultural centers in peripheral barrios of the city in the late 1970s and through the '80s. These centers welcomed artists of color. How did that work? And did it work to build the artworld of today? The question is especially urgent given the recent federal government's all-out attacks on "DEI" funding in all sectors. The time is now urgent for this important history to be better known.
Slide presentation about Fashion Moda by Lisa Kahane (confirmed). Presentations and round table discussion – invitees include: Joe Lewis, Lisa Kahane, Jane Dickson, John Ahearn, Charlie Ahearn, John “Crash” Matos, Frank Morales, Yasmin Ramirez, and Betti-Sue Hertz, Libertad Guerra, Amy Starecheski
ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE
Unfortunately, as construction at The Clemente proceeds, there is no elevator access to the upper floors at The Clemente. The fourth floor can be accessed via a wide staircase with three flights of stairs.
¶MAIL ART
We are looking for your personal impressions of ABC No Rio from the last 45 years….? Remembrances of people, exhibits and performances, reproductions or images of work that were exhibited in the space, text of poetry or spoken word. The call is still out! MAIL ART received for exhibition at the Emily Harvey Gallery NYC April 2025 has been posted to Flickr – #abcnorio45
Send mail to be received by March 23, 2025 to:
ABC NO RIO 45, 123 Scribner Avenue, Staten Island, NY USA
Please include your email address on any mailed works for confirmation of receipt. This will be an informal showing, no framing necessary. Email submissions can go to abcnorio45@yahoo.com – Work received by email will be printed at 8 ½” x 11”
Beyond the April exhibition….
We are looking for your personal impressions of ABC No Rio from the last 45 years….? Remembrances of people, exhibits and performances, reproductions or images of work that were exhibited in the space, text of poetry or spoken word. The call is still out! MAIL ART received for exhibition at the Emily Harvey Gallery NYC April 2025 has been posted to Flickr – #abcnorio45
Send mail to be received by March 23, 2025 to:
ABC NO RIO 45, 123 Scribner Avenue, Staten Island, NY USA
Please include your email address on any mailed works for confirmation of receipt. This will be an informal showing, no framing necessary. Email submissions can go to abcnorio45@yahoo.com – Work received by email will be printed at 8 ½” x 11”
Beyond the April exhibition….
¶ABC No Rio: A Culture of Opposition Or Mixtapes And Celluloid 1980 - 2025
May 11-13 2025 at Anthology Film Archives
In conjunction with the exhibition “ABC No Rio 45 Years” taking place in April at the Emily Harvey Foundation, this series presents film and video output spanning several eras of the alternative art space ABC No Rio, offering a window into the creative and political practice that has sustained the space for 45 years. As their new building at 156 Rivington Street approaches completion, ABC No Rio’s legacy as a catalyst for oppositional culture provides a vital source of inspiration for expanding the political imaginary of the speculative, hyper-gentrified city we find ourselves in today.
May 11-13 2025 at Anthology Film Archives
In conjunction with the exhibition “ABC No Rio 45 Years” taking place in April at the Emily Harvey Foundation, this series presents film and video output spanning several eras of the alternative art space ABC No Rio, offering a window into the creative and political practice that has sustained the space for 45 years. As their new building at 156 Rivington Street approaches completion, ABC No Rio’s legacy as a catalyst for oppositional culture provides a vital source of inspiration for expanding the political imaginary of the speculative, hyper-gentrified city we find ourselves in today.