The Anarchist Switchboard retrospective exhibit opens today at MoRUS

Today (Saturday) is the opening of the Anarchist Switchboard Retrospective exhibit zine release event at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) on Avenue C. 

The opening coincides with the annual Anarchist Bookfair, which will take place at La Plaza Cultural on Ninth Street and Avenue C from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Info via the EVG inbox...

The Anarchist Switchboard was a political organizing space on the Lower East Side from late 1983 to 1989. It was located at 324 E. Ninth St. and was started by activists associated with The Libertarian Book Club, Alchemical Theatre, Freespace and The Living Theatre. 

After the 1988 Tompkins Square Park Police Riots, it was taken over by a new generation of activists. Due to several incendiary factors, the Switchboard was contentiously shut down in the summer of 1989. Some regulars decided to immediately open a new space, which they turned into an Anarchist Bookstore.

The exhibition of Switchboard-related flyers and documents specifically chronicles the years 1983 to 1987. It opens during the Anarchist Bookfair today (Sept. 21). There will be a presentation/talk/moderated group discussion featuring several people who organized at the Switchboard throughout the years. Event seats at 5 p.m.; discussion at 5:30 p.m.

 The exhibit stays up through Oct. 5. 

Additional exhibit hours: 

• Sept. 21: noon – 7 p.m.

• Sept. 22: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. 

• Sept. 28: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. 

• Sept. 29: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. 

• Oct. 5: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. 

Sales and proceeds will benefit the War Resisters League/A.J. Muste Institute.

MoRUS is at 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street.  

The 12th annual MoRUS Film Festival coming to a community garden near you

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) on Avenue C is once again hosting its end-of-summer tradition — its annual film fest, a four-evening event at different community gardens in the neighborhood. 

The festival, titled "Every Little Thing Adds Up," highlights "urban grassroots environmental activism — revealing how community organizing, direct action and education have led to a more sustainable city and helped to combat climate change." 

The films begin tomorrow evening at La Plaza Cultural on the SW corner of Ninth Street and Avenue C. 

In addition, on Saturday afternoon, the annual NYC Anarchist Book Fair will take place at La Plaza Cultural. That evening, MoRUS is collaborating on the Emma Goldman Film Festival, which is set for Tompkins Square Park. 

You can find more details on the festival and the featured films right here. Advance tix are available at Eventbrite. You can also buy tickets on the evenings of the screenings in the garden venues. (There isn't any admission for the films in Tompkins.)

Masato Okano's punk poster exhibit at MoRUS ends this weekend

Photos by Stacie Joy 

"Art Speaks More Than Words," a hand-painted punk poster exhibition by illustrator-musician Masato Okano, remains up at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) through tomorrow (Sunday!).

You can check out the large canvas banners, including the matinees by NYHC Chronicles at Niagara and Bowery Electric, today and tomorrow from 1-5 p.m. (There's no admission charge.) 

Here's a look at some of the work...

MoRUS is at 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

Check out the hand-painted punk posters of Masato Okano

This afternoon, the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) unveils a hand-painted punk poster exhibition, a collection featuring the unique work of illustrator-musician Masato Okano. 

The show, "Art Speaks More Than Words," will feature his large canvas banners, including the free matinees by NYHC Chronicles at Niagara and Bowery Electric. 

The opening is today from 3 to 9 p.m. Okano will paint live at 6 (accompanied by saxophonist Johnny Butler) following the hardcore show scheduled in Tompkins Square Park. (See flyer below.)

Viewing hours: today, 3-9 p.m.; tomorrow, 1-5 p.m. June 1/8: 1-5 p.m.; June 2/9, 1-9 p.m. 

MoRUS is at 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street. 

And here's info about today's show in Tompkins...

'Here & Now' this weekend

Members of Women of the Pit are hosting an art and photography exhibit, titled "Here & Now," this weekend at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space/C-Squat on Avenue  C.

There's live music this afternoon featuring Kate Reddy (of the band 108) and tomorrow (2-6 p.m.) brings a live-painting event.

You can access the free show via MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street. 

A photo exhibition of the Italian hardcore punk scene at C-Squat

Over the next few days, you can check out photography documenting the 1980s and 1990s Italian hardcore punk scene at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space/C-Squat on Avenue C.

Here's more about "Collezione di Attimi: A Photography Exhibition, Tribute, and Book Presentation" via the EVG inbox...

This photo show was initially set up in Berlin back in June. It debuted in New York as part of the Anarchist Bookfair, and after this weekend, it will be shipped back to travel across Italy. 

The photo selection is based on the 370-page Negazione photo book by DeeMo. It primarily focuses on the community surrounding the band Negazione, but there are also photos of other iconic Italian hardcore punk bands like Raw Power, Wretched, Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers, and Bedboys. 

Show curator and former Negazione band member Michele Barox will be doing a discussion on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 1:30 and 6:15 p.m.

Photo exhibit gallery hours: 

• Thursday: 5-7 p.m.
• Friday: 4-6:30 p.m.
• Saturday: Noon-7 p.m.
• Sunday: Noon-3:30 p.m. 

You can access the free show via MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street. 

Details on the 11th annual MoRUS Film Festival, taking place in community gardens near you

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) on Avenue C is once again hosting its end-of-summer tradition — its annual film fest, a four-evening event that will provide perspectives on urban housing solutions.

The the Brick by Brick Film Fest starts on Thursday evening at the Green Oasis Community Garden on Eighth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D.

In addition, on Saturday afternoon, the annual NYC Anarchist Book Fair takes place at La Plaza Cultural, the community garden on the SW corner of Ninth Street and Avenue C. That evening, MoRUS is collaborating on the Emma Goldman Film Festival set for Tompkins Square Park.

You can find more details on the festival and the featured films right here. Advance tix are available at Eventbrite. You can also buy tickets on the evenings of the screenings in the garden venues.

At MoRUS, a new exhibit explores the network of community fridges in NYC

Photos by Stacie Joy 

"Fridge Street: Bridging Sites of Mutual Aid," a new exhibit at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS), explores the community fridges that emerged in New York City amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

Here's more about the work, curated by (from left) Yiya Wang, Xiran Luo and Xiaoya Yuan...

"Fridge Street" dives into the network of community fridges across New York City as they work toward food security, community building and sustainable practices. 

With primary and secondary data gathered from volunteering, field trips, questionnaires, interviews, and literature over the past six months, "Fridge Street" archives the network of community fridges across New York City. 

Through visual representations, individual narratives, and interactive displays, the exhibit showcases the resilience and resourcefulness of communities, providing visitors with an understanding of mutual aid within this grassroots movement. 

Ultimately, "Fridge Street" hopes to call attention to food insecurity as a systemic problem and inspire action that helps build more just and inclusive food systems.

 Here are a few photos from the opening last Saturday...

"Fridge Street" is open for viewing Friday-Sunday from 1-5 p.m. ... and here through July 30. Free admission.

MoRUS is at 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

Details about an art show to benefit Ukraine this weekend at C-Squat

This weekend, Seth Tobocman and Tamara Wyndham are hosting a benefit titled "STOP THE INVASION! An Exhibit of Artists Protesting the Russian Invasion of Ukraine" at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space/C-Squat on Avenue C.

Here's more about it via Facebook:

This is a traveling exhibit, which was first shown in New York at the First Presbyterian Church on 12th Street and then again at the Unitarian Church of Staten Island. The show is now making its way to the Lower East Side.

This art show includes artists holding many different political and philosophical beliefs, working in different styles, from graphic novels to photojournalism, from Fusionism to fashion design, and more abstract pieces. The artists come from many different countries including Ukraine, Russia, Italy, France, the UK, the USA, Israel, and Palestine.

All are united on one point: The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a catastrophe with repercussions felt far outside of Ukraine. The only resolution is for the Russian military to leave Ukraine completely, to return illegally occupied territories, answer for crimes they continue to commit, and pay reparations for the damage they continue to cause. This — and only this — will end the violence and suffering.

The purpose of the show is to demonstrate that all over the world, people of good conscience condemn this invasion.

Attendees can find a variety of items for sale, including zines, cassettes (Band Together donated a collection) and some rare World/Inferno Friendship Society vinyl records. All proceeds are going to benefit Razom for Ukraine.

The space is open from 2-8 p.m. this weekend. You can access the free show via MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street.  

A photo exhibition of hardcore, punk and metal at C-Squat

You can check out the photography of the Worldwide Hardcore Firing Squad at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space/C-Squat on Avenue  C this weekend.

The exhibit features the work of Tim Daley, Rich Zoeller and Steven Messina. Per the invite: "These three photographers (collectively known as the Worldwide Hardcore Firing Squad) have been standing side by side in various photo pits and mosh pits for many years." 

The space is open from 2-5 p.m. this weekend. You can access the free show via MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street. 

Meanwhile, here's a look at the photos and space via EVG contributor Stacie Joy ...

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space turns 10

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) is marking its 10th anniversary over the next few days.

Via the EVG inbox...

To celebrate this landmark year, MoRUS, along with partners The Anarchist Book Fair, The Emma Goldman Film Festival, Green Oasis Community Garden/Gilbert’s Garden, La Plaza Cultural Community Garden, Nublu, and Time's Up, is set to present a four-day slate of events revisiting some of the museum's most gripping films, in-demand workshops, beloved walking tours and dynamic speakers.

There are a lot of events. You can find more info at this link. 

Originally slated to open in mid-November 2012, MoRUS was forced to push back its grand opening date by a month due to flood damage from Hurricane Sandy. In the days following the storm, MoRUS created a cell phone charging station for the community using a bike generator lent to the museum by Time's Up!

MoRUS, which chronicles the East Village community's history of grassroots action and activism, is located at 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street. 

A 'Grave New World' at MoRUS

A new group show is now on view at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) as part of the ABC No Rio In Exile series.

Some info via the EVG inbox about the exhibit that opened yesterday:

"GRAVE NEW WORLD: Death. Destruction. Decay. Dystopia." 

With work by Kelly Boehmer, Anastasia Clarke, Alexis Karl + Adam Torkel, Kristen Leonard, Caitlin McCormack, Kit Mills, Tom Prinsell, and Kate Stone. 

You can check it out Saturdays and Sundays from 3-6 p.m. The closing-night reception is June 24 from 6-9. 

MoRUS is at 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

Last 2 days for the 'Rotten to the Apple' NYC punk photo show at C-Squat

Photos by Stacie Joy

There are two days left to check out "Rotten to the Apple" an NYC punk photo show featuring the work of 30-plus photographers at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space/C-Squat on Avenue C. (Previously.)

The show ends tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy recently stopped by the space...

... lots of great work here, including EVG friend Walter Wlodarczyk...

You can access the free show, curated by Destiny Mata and David Siffert, via MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street. 

Today's hours: 1-6 p.m. ... and tomorrow noon to 4 p.m.

Take a look at the 'Rotten to the Apple' NYC punk photo show at C-Squat

Today (Saturday!) is the opening of "Rotten to the Apple," an NYC punk photo show at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space/C-Squat on Avenue C.

Here's some info via the EVG inbox: "It's an all-NYC punk photo show with 30-plus photographers, many of which are from an up-and-coming generation of talented punx who are taking photos at shows all across the city." 

The hours today: noon to 4 p.m. (They are closing early so people can go to the memorial show for Al Landess in Tompkins Square Park. Photos of Al are included in this exhibit.) 

The exhibit, curated by Destiny Mata and David Siffert, runs through May 28. You can access the free show via MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

New at MoRUS: 'Fighting Words: Political Pictures (New Voices in Comix)'

Here's info about a new group show that opens this afternoon at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS). 

Details via the EVG inbox... 

MoRUS celebrates the subversive power of comics with a group show of works by artists who participated in ABC No Rio’s Comix as Political Expression course at the museum. "Fighting Words: Political Pictures (New Voices in Comix)" will open on Saturday, March 19 with a reception beginning at 4 pm. The show will be available for viewing through Sunday, April 3 on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m., or by appointment. 

Participating artists are Yasmeen Abdallah, Mark He, Annabelle Heckler, Vanessa Glynn, Sam Johnston, Ariel Kleinberg, Adi Talwar, Seth Tobocman and Tamara Wyndham. 

Varying in focus and medium, the works were created during the ABC No Rio course led by Tobocman at MoRUS in the fall of 2021. The exhibited works grapple with and uplift contemporary social and political struggles from the climate crisis, police brutality and worker organizing to emotional and physical health and social isolation. 

MoRUS is located at 155 Avenue C between 9th Street and 10th Street.

Poster by Mark He

The 9th annual MoRUS Film Festival arrives in community gardens tomorrow evening

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) on Avenue C is once again hosting its end-of-summer tradition — its annual film fest, a four-evening event titled "Steal This City: NYC Urban Occupations on Film" that starts tomorrow evening in local community gardens.

For its ninth iteration, MoRUS teamed up with the Loisaida Center, with additional support from ABC No Rio, to present the curated collection of films and guest speakers that will examine "how in a city where real estate dominates spatial reality, activist-driven occupations show how another world is possible."

Here are highlights for tomorrow night:

Thursday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m.

"Steal These Walls: Graffiti and the Fight for Free Expression"

Green Oasis/Gilbert’s Community Garden, 370 E. Eighth St. b/t Avenue C and Avenue D

This night explores the cultural complexities of graffiti and the use or occupation of public walls, spaces and structures to create a space for alternative communities and foster the rise of new art forms, from graffiti to murals to hip-hop.  

• "Graffiti/Post-Graffiti" (1985, 30 minutes). Directors: Marc Miller and Paul Tschinkel 

This documentary captures a key moment in the evolution of graffiti from illegal street art to rarified commodity exhibited in high-profile galleries.  

• "Girl Power" (2016, 92 minutes). Directors: Sany and Jan Zajíček

Following female graffiti writers from 15 cities — from New York to Prague to Cape Town and all the way back to New York, the documentary illuminates their paths as they navigate this predominantly male world where men often share the view that graffiti is not for girls. 

Just added! "We have the honor to host the esteemed "first lady of graffiti," Lady Pink, and SoHo Renaissance Factory co-founder Konstance Patton in a panel for our opening night." (Thursday's rain date: MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street.)

You can find more details on the festival right here. Advance tix are available at Eventbrite. You can also buy tickets on the evenings of the screenings in the garden venues. (They offer sliding-scale pricing.)

A holiday market this weekend at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space on Avenue C

The second annual MoRUS holiday market takes place tomorrow (Saturday!) and Sunday from 1-6 p.m. ... featuring zines, postcards, prints, patches, jewelry, hand-knitted hats, books and more by artist-activists Fly Orr, Carla Cubit and Seth Tobocman. 

Stacie Joy took these photos during a trip to MoRUS this past weekend...

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space is at 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

Take 2: the MoRUS film festival is THIS weekend

After a brief tussle with the NYC Parks GreenThumb, the entity overseeing community gardens, the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) is excited to (once again) present their eighth annual film festival.

It started last night — sorry! I only received this info at the last minute! Via the EVG inbox:

This year's festival — Reel Ecologies: Films for a Sustainable City — focuses on small-scale sustainable agriculture in urban environments, topics range from community-compost programs to community gardens to roof-top farms and more. 

Reel Ecologies: Films for a Sustainable City is presented in conjunction with our collaborative exhibition How Green Is My City? with the Green Map System, on display at MoRUS through the end of the year.

Please join us, for free, on Sunday at 6 p.m. at Green Oasis Garden, in partnership with Reclaimed Organics, for a kid-friendly Adopt-a-Worm program offering an opportunity to drop off your compost scraps and learn about the important work earthworms do!

Ticket proceeds will benefit Sixth Street Community Center's emergency food distribution efforts.

Check our our website for more details.

City nixes MoRUS Film Festival this weekend at the Peachtree Community Garden

Updated 2 p.m.: Green Thumb now says that MoRUS can complete the last three nights of the festival on Oct. 2-4.

The four-night MoRUS Film Festival is now down to one evening.

According to a MoRUS spokesperson, the NYC Parks GreenThumb, citing COVID-19 concerns, are now prohibiting the screenings Friday through Sunday at the Peachtree Community Garden on Second Street.

MoRUS is refunding tickets for those nights.

Tonight's screenings at Le Petit Versailles on Second Street near Avenue C are still a go:

• Thursday, Sept. 10: "InSects & FlowerSex (The Birds & The Bees)"
Le Petit Versailles, 247 E. 2nd Street, 8 p.m.

A lively, living mixed-media series of shorts featuring films from 1930s to 1970s. In keeping with Le Petit Versailles' legacy of creative disruption, the evening will include avant garde movies such as "Killers of the Insect World" and "Woody Woodpecker & The Termites from Mars" with live sound by LeLe Dai aka Lullady, a radio collage soundtrack by Jeanne Liotta and live soundtrack performances by Pinc Louds and by Richard Sylvarnes.

The viewing for these screenings will be on the sidewalk outside the space.

This was the eighth annual Film Festival for the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, which archives urban activism from 155 Avenue C.

[UPDATED] MoRUS returns with its community garden film festival starting on Sept. 10

Updated 9/9: The NYC Parks GreenThumb, the entity overseeing the community gardens, has nixed the screenings Friday through Sunday at the Peachtree Community Garden over concerns about COVID-19.

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) on Avenue C is hosting an end-of-summer tradition — its 8th annual film fest, a four-evening event titled "Reel Ecologies: Films for a Sustainable City" that starts on Sept. 10 at Le Petit Versailles.

Here's the festival schedule with details via the EVG inbox:

• Thursday, Sept. 10: "InSects & FlowerSex (The Birds & The Bees)"
Le Petit Versailles, 247 E. 2nd Street, 8 p.m.

A lively, living mixed-media series of shorts featuring films from 1930s to 1970s. In keeping with Le Petit Versailles'legacy of creative disruption, the evening will include avant garde movies such as "Killers of the Insect World" and "Woody Woodpecker & The Termites from Mars" with live sound by LeLe Dai aka Lullady, a radio collage soundtrack by Jeanne Liotta and live soundtrack performances by Pinc Louds and by Richard Sylvarnes.


• Friday, Sept. 11: “The End of the World As We Know It”
Peachtree Community Garden, 236 E. 2nd St., 8 p.m.

Two short documentaries about sustainable farming in NYC — "Guerrilla Gardeners in Queens" and "Feeding the Future, New York City’s Experiment in Urban Agriculture Part 1: Grow" that show that urban agriculture is sustainable and doable — will serve as the introduction to the classic, dystopian food thriller, "Soylent Green" in an effort to provoke conversations around the long-term effects of big agriculture.

• Saturday, Sept. 12: "Food Justice in a Pandemic Society"
Peachtree Community Garden, 236 E. 2nd St., 8 p.m.

The documentary "Soul Fire Farm" examines the eponymous BIPOC-centered community farm in Upstate New York, which was created to end food apartheid. Marisa DeDominicis, who began her urban gardening exploits in the vacant lots next to the 13th Street squats, will introduce the film. Saturday's feature film is "A Place at the Table," a documentary nominated for Grand Jury Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival that explores the economic, social and cultural damage caused by hunger in America.

• Sunday, Sept. 13: "Bee the Change"

Peachtree Community Garden, 236 E. 2nd St., 8 p.m.

The noble honeybee gets its own night with the screening of a film from educational leader "Bullfrog Films: Honeybees" is a short exploring the role of honeybees in a common garden. It will be introduced by a neighborhood beekeeper ... followed by "Dirt," a 52-minute documentary that chronicles the history of East Village community gardens.

You can find ticket info here. Pre-registration is required, and there is very limited seating for the Film Fest.