Participant Inc.

Founded in 2001, Participant Inc. is an educational corporation and not-for-profit alternative exhibition space. After over fifteen years in LES, Participant relocated to a 3,000 sf space at 116 Elizabeth Street to launch a multi-year project to strengthen their program and envision a sustainable future. The new space aims to re-envision Participant’s workspace and provide public accessibility to their archives, artist estates, and exhibition venue. The design goal during this phase was to unite their exhibitions and estate programs under one roof, offering a picture of the promise their future holds: a space that encourages cultural transformation while providing research and care for prior experimental artistic practices, a repository of intergenerational memory. 

Upon entrance, a generous ramp provides accessibility to the main space. Aligning with the ramp, the space is divided into two sections: an area for archives, artist estates, and a workplace on one side and an exhibition space on the other. A modular steel frame with expanded metal infill provides storage for Archive and Artist Estates’ materials while keeping visual and physical access from the exhibition space, thus the design aims to provide a fluid relationship between exhibitions, archives, storage, and workplace.

Status

Completed January 2024

Program

Gallery, Archive, Art Storage, and Workspace

Area

1,500 sf

Location

New York, NY

Team

Koray Duman, Caitlin Dippo, Seoun Park, Hyunjoo Park