Ever since CPW, a nonprofit formerly known as the Center for Photography at Woodstock, bought and renovated the historic Van Slyke & Horton building in Midtown, the former cigar factory has become an inspirational hub for creativity.
You can feel the energy as you walk through the 40,000-square-foot space, which opened in January, and now features a photography museum, four exhibition galleries, and a library, housing over 3,000 photography books, critical texts, exhibition catalogs, and periodicals. The permanent collection features 4,500 works by over 400 photographers, as well educational facilities, photography classes, a digital media lab, and such community resources as printing services and workshops.
Opening this spring, The Rose exhibition explores contemporary feminist collage artists, curated by noted photographer Justine Kurland and Marina Chao, CPW’s curator. Larry Fink: Sensual Empathy will also be on view, featuring a collection of images from the prominent social movement photographer, guest curated by writer Lucy Sante.
In addition, the community gallery can be used by local organizations who petition to install their own shows. “This has proven to be our most exciting and successful initiative,” says Brian Wallis, CPW’s executive director. “It’s been a great opportunity to engage with the artists around us and see their work on the walls together.”
CPW supports public art as well, through projects like Sanctuary City: Stories of Immigration and Community, led by artist Wendy Ewald. This year-long collaboration engages Kingston High School ENL (English as a New Language) students through photography and writing, culminating in a public installation, gallery exhibition, and a book showcasing their work.
“This program is designed to help these students understand the foreign community in which they’re being raised,” Wallis says. “Wendy gives the students cameras and directs them in documenting their lives. Kingston is a city of immigrants, so it’s the perfect place for this.”
The building itself exudes an industrial chic vibe. “I find it thrilling, architecturally,” says Wallis of the four-story structure that was built in 1907 and transformed from its most recent incarnation as a plumbing supply warehouse. “It was very lucky for us to find it, one of the last major industrial buildings in all of Kingston.”
Ultimately, the move to Kingston was a perfect next step in the long history of the nonprofit, originally founded in 1977. “Over the past decades, Kingston has become a growing mecca for artists, photographers, and other creative people,” Wallis says. “The city itself has really encouraged this with their arts and culture plan and with support for artist housing and studios. We’re so glad to be here.”
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