In the 1860s, the red brick building at 159 Pioneer Street in Brooklyn, NY echoed with the clang of metal as laborers turned out iron railroad tracks, boilers, and grain elevators for America’s industrializing landscape. The hammering sounds continued through the 1940s, with Pioneer Iron Works’ employees building ships for the war effort abroad.
Fast forward a few decades, and the building had gone quiet. Acquired by the TIME Moving and Storage company, stacks of legal documents stood silently from floor to ceiling for years at a time.
Life returned to the space in 2011, when artist Dustin Yellin purchased the warehouse and remade Pioneer Iron Works into the arts venue Pioneer Works. The 24,000 square foot building, with a 20,000 square foot garden, hosts hundreds of classes and events each year.
Second Sundays at Pioneer Works. Photographs by Ryan Muir.
The performance, workshop, and gallery venue now reverberates with the buzzing of synthesizers at music workshops, the swish of brushes across canvas during a painting class, or the sounds of animated voices at a lecture on urban guerilla gardening techniques. Creative process was revived at 159 Pioneer Street, but it’s one that no longer relies on foreman’s orders or blueprints.
“The whole idea is that our public lectures, classes, and concerts allow folks to think radically about the way that different disciplines can intersect, spark collaboration, and form new ideas,” says Christina Daniels, head of residencies and classes at Pioneer Works.
A space for artists to collide with destiny
This aforementioned collaboration process might mean attendees find themselves starring in a film. Spring 2021 artist resident Claudia Bitran has been using the space to produce a cut-for-cut remake of James Cameron’s blockbuster hit Titanic. The Chilean-born Bitran, who’s watched the film over 800 times, has been working on the project since 2014.
Filming is usually conducted on the second Sunday of the month, during Pioneer Works residents’ open studio hours, when New Yorkers can pop in for a tour to see what artists are working on.
A few rules apply to production: “She’s always the director and she always plays Rose [the film’s lead female character],” explains Daniels. “Then, anybody coming through can play a part.”
Residents like Bitran are at the core of Pioneer Works, which was founded partially with the hope to revive the ethos of the former Black Mountain College, a non-hierarchical school in North Carolina that centered artistic expression and cooperative labor.
Pioneer Works offers artists, musicians, and technologists studio space to grow their projects, use cutting-edge equipment, and also host classes for the public. Photographer Rachel Stern recently completed a residency at Pioneer Works, where she learned 3D printing, laser cutting, and how to use a risograph machine to produce prints.
“It’s a place that celebrates experimentation. This tone really inspired the work I did while in residence,” explains Stern.
Stern also ran a four-week workshop series on portraiture. Participants learned lighting, set-building, tricks of perspective, and the history of portrait-taking before snapping their own elaborately styled photo.
“The community fostered in my Pioneer Works courses was an uncommon and powerful place for serious engagement with arts education and community building outside of a traditional art school setting,” says Stern.
As Pioneer Works had envisioned early on, it was art school vibes without exorbitant art school fees or top-down instruction.
Fostering virtual connections
The COVID-19 pandemic has proved challenging for a space that prides itself on in-person connections, but it’s not the first catastrophe that’s tested the strength of the organization. In 2012, just a year after renovations to the building were completed, Hurricane Sandy swept through New York and flooded the building with five feet of water.
The venue had to be emptied almost entirely for clean-up. Taking advantage of the open space, Pioneer Works hosted a giant rave.
So, when the pandemic prevented gatherings, Pioneer Works made the best of it. They shifted to hosting classes and events online, including their 24-hour music festival which has been a yearly staple for almost a decade.
Ragas Live!, a marathon celebration of Indian music, began in 2012 as a radio event at WKCR before evolving into a live concert hosted by Pioneer Works. In 2020, the pandemic had the festival returning to its roots. Nearly 75,000 listeners tuned in for the 24 hour music broadcast from artists like Zakir Hussain, an Indian hand drum virtuoso, and Carnatic vocalist Roopa Mahadevan.
“There were people showing up from all over the world, people saying: ‘It’s four o’clock in the morning in India, and here I am,’” says Daniels. “Virtual events definitely lent themselves to being able to meet new audience members.”
Freeing minds and sparking inspiration through unique programming
With restrictions now eased, Pioneer Works is back open for in-person gathering – provided attendees bring proof of vaccination and a mask. Events like their popular pit-fired ceramics class, led by potter and former Pioneer Works resident Nicholas Oh, are underway.
Nowadays, most ceramics are glazed, then fired in a kiln. In pit firing, pieces are left unglazed and placed in a large open fire. Liquid clay or salts applied to the surface of a pot react to the extreme heat and mark the vessel with unusual coloration. It’s the oldest method for making ceramics, with evidence of the technique dating back over 20,000 years.
It’s also a prime example of the unique programming that Pioneer Works offers to urban residents: “People usually have to go far upstate to do pit fires, but we do them right here in the city in our backyard,” says Daniels.
Whatever class an attendee chooses, Pioneer Works is aiming to spark inspiration, Daniels says: “I’d like them to say: ‘I haven’t thought about it in this way,’ or ‘I didn’t even know this was possible.’ — For participants to have some sense of their mind opening.”
Interested in attending one of Pioneer Works’ events? Follow them on Eventbrite to be alerted when new events are added.
Up next: Read our creator spotlight on how Jewish Food Society creates community through storytelling and recipe archiving.
