BY BILL PARRY
Flux Factory is not only
staying put in Long Island
City, the artist-led nonprofit
organization will expand to a
second location on the Hunters
Point waterfront next year.
After facing displacement
since its founding in 1994,
Flux Factory announced it has
recently purchased the space
they have rented since 2009.
The purchase of the building
will allow Flux Factory to
deepen the affordability of its
Artist-in-Residency program
and make long-term investments
in the quality of its
space.
“When I was hired as executive
director at Flux Factory
seven years ago, we were
facing imminent buyout. We
were broke and didn’t have
much of a plan, but everybody
knew that Flux was important
and unique enough that it had
to somehow survive,” Flux
Factory Executive Director
Nat Roe said. “We’ve turned
over every stone since then
to somehow put the pieces together.
The notion of owning
two buildings seemed impossible
until it was suddenly
inevitable.”
Thanks to recent allocations
from Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer, former
Queens Borough President
Melinda Katz and the Department
of Cultural Affairs, Flux
Factory purchased its location
on 29th Street in Dutch Kills,
and next summer it will open
its new location, Flux IV, in
a 3,000-square-foot space on
the ground floor of Gotham
Point, a massive development
currently under construction
in Hunter Point South. It will
become the fourth space it has
operated.
“Only in New York could
this transformation be possible,
and it’s primarily thanks
to Jimmy Van Bramer’s trust
in our vision,” Roe said. “With
this sustainability comes new
accountability: We have to
find a way to grow into larger
TIMESLEDGER | Q 4 NS.COM | DEC. 3 - DEC. 9, 2021
shoes through providing better
artist stipends, expanded
staff and better equipment
and facilities. Support toward
the pilot year of the Flux IV
space will make all the difference
toward doing full justice
to Flux’s potential and avoid a
threadbare reopening, risking
stunted growth for years.”
Flux Factory lost its initial
home in Williamsburg,
Brooklyn, in 2002, and moved
to 43rd Street in Sunnyside.
They were displaced through
eminent domain in 2009 and
moved to its current location,
an old greeting card factory located
at 39-31 29th St. in Dutch
Kills.
“Flux Factory’s legacy as
an artist-run nonprofit that
supports new and emerging
creators makes them an invaluable
neighbor in our community,”
Van Bramer said.
“After more than 20 years
of multiple moves throughout
Brooklyn and western
Queens, I’m happy to say
that with the help of funding
Flux Factory announced it will stay in Long Island City after
purchasing the building has rented since 2009 and it will expand
into Gotham Point space in summer 2022.
secured through my office,
they’re now able to put down
permanent roots in the 29th
Street location and expand
their footprint in Long Island
City with a new satellite site in
Gotham Point.”
Flux Factory is temporarily
closed for renovations,
but when it does reopen, they
promise to never close their
doors again. The organization’s
founder, Morgan Meis,
grew emotional when he
learned the nearly three-decade
Courtesy of Flux Factory
long search for a permanent
had finally been realized.
“I have to say I got choked
up reading this … but it’s
been a long time coming,” he
said. “Anyway, you guys have
finally done it. I can’t do justice
to my feelings about this,
but thank you all for your
work.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
Flux Factory will stay rooted
in LIC, open second venue
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