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

* Tyler Ashley *

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 ...

* Boychild *

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 ...

* Meriem Bennani * Jonathan Lyndon Chase *

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 ...

* DIS * Queer Ecology *

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 ...

* House of Ladosha * Gogo Graham * K8 Hardy *

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

* Carlos Motta * Ryan McNamara *

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 ...

* Puppies Puppies * Brontez Purnell *

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 ...

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 ...

* Ssion *

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 ...

* Telfar * Wu Tsang * Matt Wolf * Robert Yang * 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)