WSA Inaugurates Hip New Space with Two Free Art Exhibitions

If you’ve followed New York’s art, fashion, food or real estate scene over the past year, you’ve probably heard about WSA (161 Water St.), the ultra-cool office building in Lower Manhattan with a wait list. The 31-story skyscraper bills itself as a “new downtown hub blurring the lines of the arts production, working space, food, play and culture,” and part of that pedigree includes free exhibitions by Water Street Projects, the building’s non-profit cultural organization. On view now through October 20, Water Street Projects launched two new shows situated within the new skyscraper’s purpose-built flexible exhibition spaces.

The first, “Group Hug,” is an exhibition of large-scale, site-specific video game installations. Presented in collaboration with Onassis ONX, curators Julia Kaganskiy, Serpentine Arts Technologies and Rhizome, the exhibition invites visitors to play together and experience the multi-sensory worlds of each game. “Group Hug” is open Thursday to Sunday, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

And, as part of a larger, year-long cultural program called FEAST, “YES, CHEF” explores the intersections of food, power and ritual through contemporary art. Curated by Water Street Project’s curator-at-large, Zoe Lukov, this exhibition on the 5th and 6th floors features site specific commissions by artists Chloe Wise, Jeffrey Meris, Devin B. Johnson, Lucia Hierro, Tavares Strachan, Kiyan Williams and more. The holistic public programming components include workshops and a pop-up restaurant called Black Caesar, featuring a North African and Roman Italian fusion menu inspired by Tavares Strachan’s artwork. “YES, CHEF” is open to the public from Friday to Sunday, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Black Caesar is open for lunch, afternoon tea and dinner service starting at 2:30 p.m. on the same days. For food reservations, email [email protected].

These exciting events mark the opening of WSA’s new cultural space, all free and open to the public through October 20.

photo: Lauren Halsey, “Eastside MLK + Malcolm,” 2020. Image credit: Jeff McLane. Courtesy David Kordansky Gallery