Silent Barn: Brooklyn’s Latest Collective
Katie McVeay — PR Chef/ CannedHam/ Resident
-How long have you been living in Brooklyn?
I moved from Mississippi to Queens in 2006, after college I moved to Manhattan for 6 months and hated it so I moved to Brooklyn in 2010
-What brought you here?
I was spending most of my time in Brooklyn and got tired of riding my bike across the bridge, it was more affordable and it felt like home + my apartment was next to a really delicious tortilla factory + rooftop access + bodega employees are your friends
-What do you find to be unique about the artistic community in Brooklyn?
It’s like a magnetic force that brings people together. I’m constantly meeting new people with brilliant ideas, it’s more than inspiring…. if you open your mind the resources are endless. I’ve heard some people say Brooklyn can be stiff… but that’s just what they’re attracting… everyone I’ve met is amazing, kind, welcoming. I feel like I’m part of a family.
-What are some of your inspirations—both in your art/career and just in your everyday life?
Evolution, technology, being surrounded by music and art constantly
-Do you see yourself staying in Brooklyn?
I traveled around for a year, moved to San Diego for a few months.. I didn’t feel comfortable anywhere else. I got really use to living on the road, traveling. Ideally, I will always have a home here in Brooklyn and will have the means to travel at my leisure.
-What’s a perfect Brooklyn day for you?
Summer, nice breeze. Hop on my bike with a picnic and some tallboys, explore with a friend… end up at a rooftop potluck show.. come home drunk and paint something.
-What are the challenges inherent to being an artist in Brooklyn?
I’m not really sure… I mean I guess money is really the only challenge in my life that makes it not perfect.
Nina Mashurova- Resident
-How long have you been living in Brooklyn?
I grew up in Brooklyn, but I moved back here on my own terms this past September.
-What brought you here?
Restlessness, circumstance, the magnetic pull of the artistic community, needing to come home. Silent Barn. Dollar stores. Infinite ideas.
-What do you find to be unique about the artistic community in Brooklyn?
Scale, forward momentum, resilience, resourcefulness, business sense, ability to construct self-sustaining worlds.
-What are some of your inspirations—both in your art/career and just in your everyday life?
I’m a journalist at heart so I’m inspired by meeting people and hearing their stories and ideas and perspectives. Shows and events that take place in unexpected places and reclaim urban space. Community. Connection. Conversations. Road trips. Bike rides. Bodies of water. People who have reservations about pursuing what they believe in, but then do so anyway.
-Do you see yourself staying in Brooklyn?
As long as I live in New York I see myself living in Brooklyn, but I see myself leaving and returning to New York New York a few more times.
-What’s a perfect Brooklyn day for you?
Discovering a hole-in-the-wall bodega that has amazing bagels or burritos. Putting in work on a project. Going to a show and running into friends and interesting strangers. Also, in the summer, rooftop parties.
-What are the challenges inherent to being an artist in Brooklyn?
Money. Sensory overload. There is always so much to see and do that it can be hard to focus on your own work. Lack of nature. Money.