[3 articles] Free Store Gives It Away
http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/free-store/6573 By John Clarke Jr. February 27, 2009 Years ago when I lived in Durango, Colorado, I used to pack up my dog Gunner and Jeep over Ouray Pass to visit Telluride almost weekly. Great town. Or used to be. Anyway, if you've spent a little time there, you probably have seen the famed Free Box, where locals donated sweaters, pants, fleece, jackets, boots, and other random clothing for anyone to take. It's literally a few stacked bins on a side street under an overhang to protect from the weather. It was a total 1960s concept, first created by the Diggers in Haight-Ashbury, and people loved it. Friends would always show me all sorts of cool stuff like vintage down vests or ski pants from the 1970s. It wasn't a low-rent Goodwill teeming with bedbugs. Sometimes the stuff was really nice, nearly brand new. It made sense for a town like Telluride back then, when the mayor was a laid-back pot-head activist named Dreadlock Stevie. But a "Free Box" in New York's Financial District is another story. Located at 99 Nassau Street, the Free Store certainly offers more than ski boots and sweaters. The finds have included jewelry, vintage clothing, books, DVDs, video cameras, and cutlery. But nothing, ultimately, is for free; the store needs to pay rent and managed to secure a $9,000 Grants for Arts in Public Spaces grant and additional funds from the 9/11 Fund. Athena Robles, who opened the store with fellow artist Anna Stein, told the New York Post, "It's amazing when we tell customers, 'Yes, you can take anything and it's free. ... It's a good time to do a project like this, especially near Wall Street. No one has any money now." "Alternative and generous systems such as bartering have long been used in times of financial hardship," said the store owners in a statement. "Artists, in particular, are familiar with having to be creative to make ends meet and have functioned on generous systems, especially artist-to-artist. Free Store aims to broaden this circle of trust and exchange by including the general public." Why choose the Financial District? My guess: unemployed bankers. -------- THIS STORE'S FREE FOR ALL http://www.nypost.com/seven/02272009/news/regionalnews/this_stores_free_for_all_157240.htm '60S 'TAKE ALL YOU NEED' SPIRIT DOWNTOWN By AMBER SUTHERLAND and JEREMY OLSHAN February 27, 2009 Free trade is flourishing once more in the Financial District - the hippie commune variety, that is. No money is exchanged at the Free Store, which recently opened at 99 Nassau St., and all the merchandise - which ranges from jewelry and vintage clothing to knickknacks - is literally priceless. To New Yorkers hit hard by the recession, the price and the timing couldn't be more right. "It's amazing when we tell customers, 'Yes, you can take anything and it's free,' " said Athena Robles, who opened the store with fellow artist Anna Stein. "It's a good time to do a project like this, especially near Wall Street. No one has any money now." As they entered the store, which was funded by a $9,000 grant from Grants for Arts in Public Spaces, many shoppers seemed puzzled by the concept. "When my friend told me about this I said, 'What's the catch?' " said financial analyst Lee Eskin, who snagged a book, corkscrew and notebook, and donated his mother's vintage dress in return. Donations are optional, but Eskin said he felt uncomfortable walking off without paying a penny. "The idea of bartering rather than spending money is really nice right now," he said. Free stuff seemed downright un-American to some. "It feels like shoplifting with permission," said Peter Tambini, 35, a lawyer from Westchester. "This is an odd idea," he said, perusing the goods. "I think I'll help myself to the colored pencils. I have a 4½-year-old daughter that loves to draw." The "free store" concept is not new - it was invented by the radical group the Diggers, who opened branches in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district and on East 10th Street in Manhattan in 1967. "Alternative and generous systems such as bartering have long been used in times of financial hardship," Robles said. The inventory is carefully monitored, and even though no money is exchanged, "purchases" are documented with receipts. The ever-changing merchandise has included a cutlery set, books, DVDs, a video camera and a pair of blue '20s-style drop earrings that a woman brought in because they had been a gift from her ex-fiancé and she wanted them out of her life. -- [email protected] -------- Free Store Info http://www.doubleaprojects.artlog.com/ by doubleaprojects 2/25/09 FREE STORE OPENS IN DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN AND OFFERS VISITORS A PRICELESS EXPERIENCE Storefront Art Exhibition Created to Distribute and Collect Everyday Goods at No Cost in the Heart of New York City's Financial District Press Preview, Thursday, February 19, 5PM at 99 Nassau Street NYC NEW YORK, NY (January 27, 2009) Artists Athena Robles and Anna Stein will present Free Store, an exhibition and non-commercial storefront installation, in lower Manhattan. Part cultural pop-up shop, part second hand boutique, the project is a networking model of economic sustenance that can be used in cities worldwide. This first Global Free Store will open on Thursday, February 19th and remain open until Sunday, March 22nd. As evidenced by record lows in consumer confidence in January, consumers have had to curb spending habits, yet still find ways to maintain their lifestyle. Free Store demonstrates how community and mutual support can be used to fulfill some of these needs. How Free Store Works: Free Shopping Using the barter and exchange system, visitors can give something useful or get something useful at Free Store. Located at 99 Nassau Street (between Fulton and Ann Streets), blocks away from Wall Street, Free Store will accept donations of items such as books,housewares and art supplies, offer these items for the taking, and stock a few items produced inhouse by the artists. One World Currency Free Store will distribute World Bills, a global currency that potentially could be used at any free store in the Global Free Store chain. Contributors to Free Store will receive World Bills for services donated to the store. They can then use these bills to trade with other participants or in future free stores in this series. Events and Performances Free Store will host special events by invited curators Felicity Hogan, Edwin Ramoran, Julie Sengle and Herb Tam. These events include a curator's talk, open office hours for artists to get feedback on their work, and interactive artist performances. "Alternative and generous systems such as bartering have long been used in times of financial hardship," said the artists Athena Robles and Anna Stein. "Artists, in particular, are familiar with having to be creative to make ends meet and have functioned on generous systems, especially artist-to-artist. Free Store aims to broaden this circle of trust and exchange by including the general public." About the Artists Artists Athena Robles and Anna Stein (aka Double A Projects) work in collaboration, bringing together their sculptural practices using historical and cultural references, public space and paper media. Their project Counter Culture Cash: Local Currency in Jamaica, NY examined counter culture systems and was featured on artnet.com. In addition, work by Robles and Stein was exhibited at Fountain Art Fair in Miami, Front Room Gallery in Brooklyn, and University of Massachusetts Gallery. Individually, they have shown at the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, American Museum of Natural History, NY; NURTUREart, Brooklyn, NY; the New Museum of Contemporary Art, NY; and Residencia Corazón in La Plata, Buenos Aires, among other locations. Hours and Location Free Store is located at 99 Nassau Street, New York, NY (between Fulton and Ann Streets). The store will be open from February 19 to March 22, 2009 with a grand opening reception on Thursday, February 19, from 69PM. Exhibition hours are ThursdayFriday, 127PM; Saturday-Sunday 125PM and by appointment. To get there by subway, take the 4, 5, 6, J, M, Z to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall or Fulton/Broadway-Nassau Street; or A, C, 2, 3 to Broadway-Nassau Street. Free Store is sponsored in part by The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and The September 11th Fund. . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
