Young Friends Of The Moma Meet In A Sweatshop

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=_zjfpdRlbbA[/youtube]

Well, kind of. "The Sweatshop" is an old, well... 'sweatshop' located on the 6th floor of 138 Mulberry st. in Little Italy. So why was it packed full of eccentric art-loving youngsters? Because it has recently been converted into a gorgeous yet rustic gallery space!

Upon entering the space and passing the bar compliments of Redbull and Belvedere (my favorite vodka), one could see videos of the featured artist Bill Shannon rehearsing his dancing on crutches. He also graced the audience himself with several live performances and tutorials that made the whole experience very personal. The things that man could do on his custom built crutches were phenomena - pirouetting around, sliding across the floor, catching airtime...

A notable piece of art was the giant retro flashing sign reading "MURDER." I even had to point it out to another party-attendant reassuring her that the flashing light was art and not her having a stroke. After the event I was lucky enough to have dinner with the lovely Sparrow and Guest of a Guest's Scott and Naeem. The after-party was held at a club called Santos in a basement nearby. Although the crowd was small, Mr. Shannon demonstrated that he is in fact a good dancer sans crutches, as well! I finished off the night drinking at "Upstairs" with party/PR boys Timo Weiland and Kristian Laliberte... Special shout-out to Mr. Charles Lorum for providing me with yet another amazing New York evening.

Written by Eric Spear