Press Release (pdf: 28k)
Artist Bio
Sponsorship
Location

The Muster is a one-day, open-air celebration centering on the question "What are you fighting for?" posed by artist and self-appointed Mustering Officer Allison Smith. This public art event takes place on Governors Island, the former national military post located in New York Harbor. Once there, visitors can tour an encampment of more than 50 campsites and art installations, created by an army of "enlisted troops" selected by Smith and the Public Art Fund. The afternoon includes an array of activities--mock battles, American Folk portrait painting, magic shows, quilting bees, soapbox speeches, and more--culminating with a formal "Declaration of Causes" on a central stage.

As a military term, muster refers to a gathering of troops for the purposes of inspection, critique, exercise, and display. The Muster adopts the language and aesthetic of a Civil War reenactment. Like Civil War reenactors, participants in The Muster engage in the articulation of identities through performance and expand on the reenactor's belief that events lost to history can gain meaning and contemporary relevance when performed live in an open, participatory manner. However, The Muster does not involve enacting a specific war from the past; instead, Smith uses the format to create an occasion and a forum for individual expression of diverse causes.

Beyond its military roots, The Muster also bears a resemblance to a country fair or an early 20th-century carnival. Blending art, craft, culture, history, and social activism, the event embodies Smith's interest in community and freedom of expression. The causes of the participants vary widely, from the political to the whimsical, addressing art history, technology, gender, democracy, and sociology.

For more information visit www.themuster.com.

Artist Bio
Allison Smith is a Brooklyn-based artist. The Muster on Governors Island is Smith's second such event: over the summer of 2004, she organized a weekend encampment on the Catskills property of Mark Dion and J. Morgan Puett. Smith was born in Manassas, Virginia in 1972. She received a BA in psychology from the New School for Social Research (1995), a BFA from Parsons School of Design (1995), and an MFA from Yale University School of Art (1999). She participated in the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program (1999-2000). She has had solo exhibitions at Bellwether Gallery (2002) and the Eldridge Street Project (2001); her next show at Bellwether Gallery opens May 26, 2005.

Sponsorship
Special thanks to Governors Island Education and Preservation Corporation (GIPEC), the National Park Service, and Bellwether Gallery.

Location

The Muster takes place on Governors Island. The Governors Island ferry is free-of-charge and departs from Slip 7 of the Battery Maritime Building on FDR Drive (South Street) at Broad Street. By subway: 1, 9 to South Ferry; 4, 5 to Bowling Green; R, W to Whitehall Street. No public parking is available at Slip 7. Please note, no pets allowed.

Schedule for Saturday, May 14, 2005:
11:45am - Ferries begin running between Lower Manhattan and Governors Island Noon-5pm - The Muster is open to the public 2pm - Declaration of Causes takes place on stage 5:45pm - Last ferry departs

Press Release (pdf 28k)