The Ely Center for Contemporary Art is dedicated to nurturing creative collisions: the creative sparks that arise when artists are empowered to cross the boundaries of different disciplines. For ECOCA’s 2019–2020 season, we were granted a Project Grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts to help support the start of a new creative project space called the “Collision Room.” In this space our mission and methods of creative collision are consolidated into an area dedicated explicitly to that purpose. As a new platform the Collision Room is the culmination of the artistic, social, and political goals of our organization, into which we will welcome artists of different disciplines to co-exist, co-create, and collaborate. 

The Collision Room is many things: a studio and gallery space, rehearsal room and recording studio, and a site of living installation and performance art. Artists for the Collision Room are selected based on their interest/experience in collaborative and multidisciplinary arts, and inclusive and diverse community-building. Collision artists will spend approximately 8 hours within the space weekly — creating, interacting, and letting new ideas and forms come to fruition.

We believe that breaking down the boundaries between different types of artistic disciplines is part of the same work as breaking down boundaries between communities of people. The Collision Room creates synergy between artists and between communities, as it’s fundamentally an opportunity for dialogue between artists of diverse creative interests as well as social-political backgrounds.  In this way, collisions are collaborations that bring something intrinsically contemporary to the foreground; by striking two differing ideas against one another, something unexpected and unique is born, and new community-coalitions arise. Participating artists explore how interdisciplinary work builds on their skill sets and deepens connection to the source material, in order to encourage multiple perspectives and talents while also furthering our mission of community activation.

We envision the Collision Room as a space where artists can create in tandem and let their work respond to and influence their collaborators, the current exhibition and programmatic concepts pertaining to urgent global-political themes and issues.

Collision Room Requirements:

• You must be able to spend approximately 25 hours on-site a month for 6 months.

• Individuals and groups/collectives may apply.

• If you are an individual, you are required to collaborate or partner with other artists and groups.

• Your project must invite community involvement and participation.

Apply for the Collision Room here!