A fairly long list things I produced, curated, promoted, spoke at, exhibited at, or was otherwise involved with in a meaningful way. It’s an incomplete list, but serves as a basic overview of my efforts in public programming.
Read moreLobby Nights at Ace Hotel New York
While at Ace Hotel, one of my roles was to program the lobby DJs 5–7 nights per week. This was already in place, it had been fully developed and initially programmed by Greg Bresnitz. I chimed in on flyer design, but that was mostly handled by Ace’s in house creative team at Atelier Ace.
Read moreWho Let Who Let the Dogs Out Out
"Artist Ben Sisto is the world's leading expert on "Who Let the Dogs Out," as evidenced by his collection of over 250 pieces of memorabilia and artifacts. In this multimedia presentation, he tells the stories of musicians, lawyers and fans from all around the world, shining a light on the origins of that catchy pop abomination you're ashamed you can't stop yourself from singing along to." - Time Out New York
Read moreOPEN
OPEN is a loose set of strategies for finding, documenting, and sharing things, with things defined in the loosest ways possible. Ideas, handhelds, memories, and monuments. OPEN is searching for new ways of searching; looking for new ways of looking. The project was established in 2025 by Ben Sisto, an artist and community organizer living in Providence, Rhode Island.
Read moreSeptember
In the fall of 2022 I was interested in exploring prompt-based image production using AI. I made a few every day, tracking both my understanding of the process and changes to the software—these are all done with Midjourney and/or Diffusion Bee. All images are from text prompts only; no reference images or other media.
Read morePermanent Collection
Permanent Collection is a series of exhibits about things found, how they were found, and how what was found is shared. The first was held on September 19, 2012 in Brooklyn, New York at PACS Gallery and featured artworks artists had purchased, acquired in trade, or found in the trash. Ten years later, the project continues at an independent bookstore in Providence, Rhode Island.
Read moreThe Joy of Booking
Joy of Booking
Stories about events and the people who make them happen.
These were chats I conducted when COVID-19 hit and many of my talented event producer friends were suddenly out of work. We looked to the future by talking about all the amazing projects they've done in the past. A really, really great group here.
Extended Play
Extended Play (EXP) was/is a celebration of longer-form audio recordings; it occurs when one of Earth's poles is at max tilt toward the Sun, and takes form as a DJ style event. The first extended play was organized by Ben Sisto, who DJs under the name Robert Rhymin’.
Read moreYou2
Mention in piece on Art Basil (LA Times, 2015)
###
John Kilduff
to me
I like it....so I will be digging a hole 17.84 in deep in the 12x12 space? That should work....
unless I hit bedrock.
Sent from my iPhone
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from me
To John
Here's what I'd like to do:
You2
Ben Sisto, 2015
For his project You (2007), Urs Fischer dug a hole in Gavin Brown's Enterprise floor about 38 feet by 30 feet, and eight feet deep. At an estimated $250,000 cost to Brown, the crater totaled about 9,120 cubic feet — so about $27.41 per cubic foot. Based on this estimate, and the price of a booth at Art Basil being $50 for a 12" x 12" section of ground, I'm requesting you dig a hole in my space 17.84" deep, or about 1.82 cubic feet.
I'm not sure how this impacts the structural integrity of Art Basil — let me know if you find the project agreeable and I'll send you the $50.
Thank you,
Ben
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Hollis Frampton Comes Alive
A short collection of game-generated texts from 2009
Read moreStoryCorps with Michael Pellew
I spoke with artist Michael Pellew at the invitation of LAND Gallery; our chat was part of a series of recordings being made with StoryCorps and at the Museum of African American History in D.C. We talked about music, art and our dads. Previously I worked with Michael on an event called LAND of Metal at St. Vitus in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Michael Pellew's drawings and sculptures are humorous ruminations on pop culture. His playful line quality and imaginative cultural observations are simple and succinct. With one pass of his hand he can depict joy, humor and clever character. His subject matter is NYC trains and buses, fashion design, “punk funk freaks from the East Village and around the Tri-State area”, and pop portraits of favorite singers and performers. His characters capture a direct sense of style and spontaneity. Opening Ceremony has sold Michael's greeting cards in Manhattan and Los Angeles. Corporate collections include Citi Bank, JCrew and PAPER Magazine.
LAND is a unique nonprofit day habilitation program that teaches life skills through the modality of art. LAND (League Artists Natural Design) was founded in 2005 by the League Education and Treatment Center (LETC) and serves as both studio and gallery for 16 adult artists with developmental disabilities.
Where Life is Worth Living
A collection of postcards containing the phrase “Where Life is Worth Living.”
Read morePET-SCII
Portraits of pets, rendered in PETSCII.
Read moreThe Classic
Design, branding, logos, and shirts for The Classic, a breakfast and lunch cafe in Providence, Rhode Island
Read moreProvidence Commemoration Lab
Funded by the Mellon Foundation and the American Rescue Plan, The Providence Commemoration Lab is a program co-administered by The Department of Art, Culture and Tourism (ACT) and the Rhode Island Historical Society (RIHS). The Lab sites and stages new, temporary projects on public property that invite unexpected ways of understanding commemoration as a communal process of historical redress and spatial reclamation.
Read moreatac
atac is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization in downtown Framingham, MA. Home to community-centered creative programs, artistic development, and work and volunteer opportunities, atac facilitates new possibilities for their community to access the transformative power of creativity. In different capacities, I worked at atac from the summer of 2022 to the fall of 2023.
Read moreSoft Opening
Soft Opening is a freeform music night with Deejay Robert Rhymin’ taking place on second Fridays at Myrtle in East Providence, Rhode Island. RR plays a loose mix of genres; things with a good beat. The venue is a friendly local bar with nice vintage decor; the kind of place you might meet someone new.
Read moreReinsulator
PLURAL
PLURAL
Recent paintings and digital images by Willa Van Nostrand and Ben Sisto
The Gallery at City Hall
25 Dorrance Street, Providence, Rhode Island
May 18 – August 15, 2023
Reception May 18, 2023 from 4–6 PM
Satellite Show
Satellite Show took place on April 24, 2015 and marked the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble space telescope. I wrote a loose score / set of ideas for Ben Greenberg to play off, with the idea being he’d perform improv, for up to 97 minutes—the duration of one Hubble orbit around the earth.
Performance Credits:
Live Music by Hubble (Ben Greenberg)
Mylar balloons by Confections Ltd: Mylar balloons
Reading of Carl Sagan by Denise Kupferschmidt
Video loop by super/colider
AV Tech: Ask out to Eric Sheppard
Photos by Seze Devres and Ben Sisto
Concept and score: Ben Sisto
Initial Score:
00:00:00 - A reading of Carl Sagan by artist Denise Kupferschmidt
00:01:00 - Hubble begins playing lightly in back of reading
00:07:00 - Begin movement 1: Mirror Mirror
00:07:00 - Consider initial planning, funding, and launch
00:20:00 - Consider error; a flawed mirror
00:30:00 - on the triumph of science, pushing through adversity
00:40:00 - Begin movement 2: Do the Butterfly
Consider images of the following celestial bodies while improvising
40:00:00 - Butterfly Nebula
50:00:00 - Horsehead Nebula
01:00:00 - Eagle Nebula
01:10:00 - Helix Nebula
01:20:00 - Carina Nebula
01:30:00 - Begin movement 3: Orbital Decay
For the final 7 minutes of the performance, imagine the telescope in the Smithsonian Museum in the year 2050. Score some background music for a visiting field trip of young students.
01:37:00 Performance ends