WORTHLESSSTUDIOS fuels the flame in every artist. The Brooklyn-based not-for-profit was founded by artist Neil Hamamoto, who gained clarity through his own experiences, realizing that there was a pressing need to bridge the gap between accessibility and realization in the art world. WORTHLESSSTUDIOS provides artists tools and space to bring even the most fantastical and ambitious projects to life.
Although diminishing the hurdles that artists must navigate is imperative to a flourishing art community, perhaps the most resonant aspect of WORTHLESSSTUDIOS is the close-knit family that it created and continues to build upon. This family and their progress thus far was celebrated this past month upon the stunning backdrop of The Reform Club Inn in Amagansett with the studio’s second annual Summer Social, a night that honored the enigmatic creative community.
The night began with a panel in partnership with Fairchain, where Allison Glenn of Public Art Fund, Charlie Jarvis of Fairchain, Stephanie Dockery of Bloomberg, and artists Eric Fischl and Kennedy Yanko discussed why it is important to fund artist’s projects and inspire creativity, even amongst the madness of the contemporary world. “We exchange materials for time and creativity,” stated Neil Hamamoto, and it is through fostering this unbridled creativity that we can impact the world on a profound level.
The commemoration was well-deserved, as the past year has given WORTHLESSSTUDIOS a lot to be proud of. The organization spearheaded the fourth edition of its “FREE FILM” project earlier this summer, which began in 2019 after Neil journeyed on a road trip across the United States handing out free rolls of 35mm film to creatives and developing them in an Airstream converted into an on-the-go dark room.
A year later, as mass protests struck out combating institutional and systemic racism, the project continued as “FREE FILM: JUNE 2020,” giving photographers and artists an opportunity to document these turbulent times and provide visibility to the issues at hand. Simultaneously, during these times of unrest, WORTHLESSSTUDIOS facilitated the “Plywood Protection Project,” collecting leftover plywood from boarded-up businesses and redistributing it to artists who transformed them into beautiful pieces of public art.
