Knockdown Center in Maspeth is a new art venue and performance space

Image source: DNAinfo

DNAinfo reports on a new art center called Knockdown Center, located in Maspeth (52-19 Flushing Ave – GMAP), just over the border from Ridgewood and not far from Bushwick. The venue, which was originally a glass factory, is three acres and size and can hold 5,000 people. The organizers have been holding arts events and huge parties, including Rubulad, an underground party that usually happens in BK.

Kate Watson, who works on programming at Knockdown Center, is eager to connect these borderlands between Queens and Brooklyn. She says, “We kind of fit in this interesting in-between space, and we can actually do some interesting bridge work between the two boroughs.” It really was only time before something like this happened. Here are some of the things that have happened there recently:

• Rehearsal, a work-in-progress performance art show organized by Sophia Cleary
• An artist-designed mini golf course
• Experimental music played by women
• Bring Your Own Beamer (BYOB) night, where “a group of about 20 artists came with their own projectors to show videos”
• Readings from New York-based poets, including Eric Amling, Dan Ivec and Levi Rubeck
• The aforementioned Rubulad party, which featured “a 50-woman drum band, a film festival and DJs, [which] attracted about 1,000 people,” according to Watson.

Some of the future plans for the space are “performances by Cupola Bobber, two performers who make visual art, and a site-specific show of sound art in April.” They are also planning for events for next summer, and hope to install a bar as well.

Old Glass Factory Molded into Queens Art Venue With Brooklyn Vibe [DNAinfo]