BOFFO is a nonprofit arts community and organization in
Fire Island Pines, New York. Since 2009, BOFFO has presented the work of 700+ artists across a breadth of disciplines to share and perform work during the summer months. The multidisciplinary organization has aspects of both an artist residency program, with workshops and artist lectures, and a performance festival. At the end of each summer, the program hosts the Boffo Fire Island Performance Festival, which showcases experimental dance, performance, and music. Previous collaborators for the Performance Festival include
OCDChinatown and
Tavia Nyong'o. Notable past residents include
Jeremy O'Harris,
Robert Yang,
Puppies Puppies,
Ryan McNamara, Malik Gaines and Alexandro Segade,
Precious Okoyomon, and
House of Ladosha.
About
BOFFO was founded in 2010 by architect Faris Al-Shathir. In its earlier days, the organization paired designers, like
Nicola Formichetti
Nicola Formichetti (; born 31 May 1977) is a fashion director and fashion editor. Born in Japan, he is most widely known as the artistic director of the Italian fashion label Diesel and for being a frequent collaborator with singer-songwriter Lad ...
, with interdisciplinary artists, like Gage/Clemenceau, to create thoughtful pop-up art installations.
For BOFFO's inaugural season in 2012, curated by Cay Sophie Rabinowitz, the organization invited such artists as
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, United States. The event began as an annual exhibition ...
participant
K8 Hardy and
MoMA PS1
MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution located in Court Square in the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York City. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution organizes the Sunday Sessions performance series, the ...
2010 Greater New York participant
Ryan McNamara. Guest lecturers included architect
Charles Renfro
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
and art historian
Douglas Crimp
John Douglas Crimp (August 19, 1944 July 5, 2019) was an American art historian, critic, curator, and AIDS activist. He was known for his scholarly contributions to the fields of postmodern theories and art, institutional critique, dance, fi ...
. In 2019, playwright Jeremy O'Harris hosted a one-night revival of ''Water Sports; or Insignificant White Boys'' (2015), the first script written by the artist.
Notable Participants
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Tyler Ashley
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Math Bass
Math Bass (b. 1981, New York, New York) is an artist known for fusing performance with paintings and sculptures using formal elements like solid colors, geometric imagery, raw materials, and visual symbols. Bass has exhibited at Overduin & Kite, H ...
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Boychild
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Hannah Black
Hannah Black is a visual artist, critic, and writer. Her work spans video, text and performance. She is best known for her open letter written with Ciarán Finlayson and Tobi Haslett, ''The Tear Gas Biennial'', criticizing co-chair of the board o ...
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Meriem Bennani
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Jonathan Lyndon Chase
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TM Davy
TM Davy (born 1980) is a New York-based painter. Davy paints and draws in the style of social realism and portraiture, recognizable for his keen sense of light and color depicting both the human and non-human.
Early life and education
Davy was b ...
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DIS
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Queer Ecology
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Nicole Eisenman
Nicole Eisenman (born 1965) is French-born American artist known for her oil paintings and sculptures. She has been awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship (1996), the Carnegie Prize (2013), and has thrice been included in the Whitney Biennial (1995, 20 ...
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House of Ladosha
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Gogo Graham
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K8 Hardy
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Lyle Ashton Harris
Lyle Ashton Harris (born February 6, 1965) is an American artist who has cultivated a diverse artistic practice ranging from photographic media, collage, installation art and performance art. Harris uses his works to comment on societal constructs ...
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Jeremy O. Harris
Jeremy O. Harris (born ) is an American playwright, actor, and philanthropist, known for his plays ''"Daddy"'' and '' Slave Play''. The latter received 12 nominations at the 74th Tony Awards, breaking the record previously set by the 2018 reviva ...
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Kia LaBeija
Kia LaBeija (born Kia Michelle Benow; March 18, 1990) is an American fine artist. Her most well known series, ''24,'' is a sociopolitical commentary on the effects of growing up as a young woman of color with HIV. She is a former Mother of the ...
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Wardell Milan
Wardell Milan is an American visual artist residing in New York City. His work consists of drawing, painting, and photography, as well as constructing three-dimensional dioramas. According to the artist, he considers his work to be "visual narrat ...
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Carlos Motta
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Ryan McNamara
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Raúl de Nieves
Raul de Nieves (born 1983, Michoacán, Mexico) is a multimedia artist, performer, and musician. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Early life
De Nieves grew up in Michoacán, Mexico. His father passed away when de Nieves was two. Sever ...
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Puppies Puppies
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Brontez Purnell
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Ser Serpas
Ser Serpas (born 1995) is a visual artist from Los Angeles, California. Serpas is known for her earth-toned paintings, installations, and sculptures made from found objects.
Early life and education
Serpas grew up in the Boyle Heights neighborh ...
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Casey Spooner
Casey Spooner (born February 2, 1970) is an American musician and artist. He resides in Paris, Los Angeles, and New York City.
Early life and education
Spooner was born in Athens, Georgia. He attended University of Georgia and later went on to ...
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Ssion
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Tabboo!
Stephen Tashjian (born 1959) is an American artist. His drag queen character Tabboo! became known in the East Village underground scene of New York City in the 1980s. He is also a puppeteer, painter, and singer.
Biography
Stephen Tashjian was ...
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Telfar
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Wu Tsang
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Matt Wolf
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Robert Yang
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Young Boy Dancing Group
References
External links
* {{Official website, https://boffo.art/
Fire Island, New York
Non-profit organizations based in New York (state)
Arts organizations based in New York (state)