Dear Special Special Friends,
On Saturday June 4th, 2022, Special Special celebrated our ‘graduation’ from our beloved storefront in the East Village. After over five and a half years, with 43 exhibitions and experiences, we have earned our full course credits and have made lifelong friendships. Happy to see so many artist collaborators, friends and family of Special Special come out to celebrate and share memories. In the full Special Special swing of things, we compacted as much as we could all at once, including:
- Darts became Extreme Darts (cough, Patrick)
- Backyard Mahjong
- Self oracle readings with The Deck of Character
- Coffee mocktail “44” by our friends at Bungee space (Shisi and Fiona)
- Coffee infused soju by DEALT (Bill and Yuzo)
- Ramen (giving y’all what you asked for)
- Our final and first interspecies exhibition The Artist is NOT Present by Wolfie, a rabbit
I never could have imagined where we would be now. What started as a concept to make art more accessible to the everyday through functional editions grew into a shared experience and dialogue fueled by our playful creations. We never set out to be just a gallery or a shop, instead we explored possibilities outside of what is conventional. With a naïve sensibility the storefront became our laboratory where we explored what seemed curious to us. I am always humbled by the pleasant surprises that through openness and humor, we can share so much to elevate one person’s idea to something that perhaps an individual could not have conceptualized alone (or at least, the process brings more joy when shared.) Special Special has become a platform and community for creative and open-minded spirits.
None of the past five years in our space could have happened without all the artist collaborators, special agents (our 23 present and past team members), and our special specialists (the like-minded spirits that consistently come and play with us.) Together we enriched our conceptual understanding of art, culture, and lifestyles. With great appreciation, and your encouragement, we are excited to enter the next chapter of Special Special.
After accomplishing onsite projects, and off-site pop-up experiences in museums, interactive brand collaborations, and presence in the digital space—we will retire the storefront for now. If anything the last five years have taught us, we can never predict the future, maybe we will have another storefront again someday, and maybe even a ramen shop, stay tuned…
Special Special Hugs,
Wen-You
P.S. The ‘44’ drink from our graduation party is now the ‘Special Special’ special summer drink at Bungee Space! Whenever you miss us, just go over to Bungee and order a Special Special!