A visit to CLLCTV.NYC

Text and photos by Stacie Joy 

I’m meeting with the CLLCTV.NYC (pronounced “collective dot NYC”) team behind the new flex space for events, art shows and pop-ups at 209 E. Third St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.

Edward Rivera, Johanna Vizueta, Amir Hoskins and Kelly J. Glusovich are preparing the space to receive visitors for the Danny Cortes show, Big Time Miniatures, a nostalgic look at quotidian old-school NYC locations and objects.

Cortes and Rivera...

Fire hydrants, ice machines, dumpsters, mailboxes, bodegas and stoops all factor heavily into the miniatures hand-crafted by the artist. Since there is a line forming outside of folks waiting to get in, I try to grab a few minutes with Edward Rivera to talk about the space, the collective and the show.

How did the idea of the collective come about? What prompted you to select the space it’s in? 

As with all of our decisions, we came upon the name as we are a collective. We aspire to weave art, education and community into our work — collectively. 

Why is staying in the East Village/Lower East Side so important to you?

Three of the partners have deep roots in the LES. It ain’t hard to tell. We all very much respect and move fluidly throughout the LES with our own individual networks that combine (of course) to be yet another collective effort. 

Was this the first show you featured? 

Our first show effort was for our partner Kelly’s brand officialhipost.com. It served as much as a dress rehearsal as a pop-up and an opportunity to touch the community with far more than a retail event. 

As with many events we develop, we do a community-based Q&A during the show about the work and the artist/designer. We enjoyed a big success and turnout even though we were only 70% operational in November 2021. 

How did your collaboration with Danny Cortes come together? 

We approached Danny to do a show because his work is super dope, which is our lane of content and that which we wish to display, develop, and help blow up. We put him on our “hit list” and forwarded him a proposal regarding our abilities and future plans. He took our meeting, and the vibe was cosmic and well communicated from start to finish. 

How was the opening weekend of the Big Time Miniatures show? 

Big Time Miniatures was nuts! Danny’s VIP reception was packed and we saw better numbers each night. Individuals in attendance are not into identification as they honor a different code, which we respect, so name dropping is nil. We credit our individual networks’ ability to cross-pollinate, as we don’t rely on formal advertising and promotions.

You decided to extend the show? What are the dates and hours that it’s open to the public? 

We decided to open Tuesday and Wednesday (Feb. 22 and 23, from 1-8 p.m.) as Danny and the CLLCTV saw fit to offer additional hours. Info will be posted to our Instagram. 

What’s next for the space? 

Wish we felt like discussing it, but talent and entities we work with agree with our preference to remain mum until 4 to 5 weeks from any given event date, though our planning process is an intensive 8- to 10-week journey. We turn our modest 1,100-square-foot space into the world of the artist or entity, and we do it respectively; collectively.