Airigami’s Larry Moss & Kelly Cheatle in their MADE ON STATE studio, credit Airigami
Collective of creative entrepreneurs fills High Falls building
First Open House: Saturday, November 5, 12-4 PM
Rochester, NY (October 10, 2016) – Rochester’s Larry Moss and Kelly Cheatle of AirigamiTM (“the fine art of folding air”) are world-renowned for their giant balloon installations, such as February 2016’s Airigami Balloon Adventure. Entitled Journey on the Genesee, it drew an estimated 45,000 visitors to downtown Rochester’s historic Sibley Building.
Airigami is announcing its latest adventure, which comes on the heels of winning six Editor’s Choice Awards and a Best in Class Award at the World Maker Faire in New York City on October 1 & 2.
“We are proud to be a part of a new collective of local creative entrepreneurs – artists and ‘makers’ – who have come together to share space, resources, and ideas in downtown Rochester’s High Falls District,” says Airigami Founder and Artistic Director Larry Moss. “Quite simply, MADE ON STATE is where creative things happen, and we want it to be a very public, welcoming place as well.”
To that end, MADE ON STATE (510 State Street) will hold its first, quarterly Open House on Saturday, November 5 from 12 – 4 PM. The free event, sponsored by Badfish Consulting, will offer tours of artist studios and highlight new projects, events and classes. Guests registering in advance through Eventbrite via http://bit.ly/2doUiYI will receive a free swag bag and a chance to win a signature gift from a MADE ON STATE artisan.
Besides Airigami, residents of MADE ON STATE are: Blue Toucan Studios (Chris Pallace & Kevin Serwacki, fairy doors), Creativ Framing & Design (Allison Nichols, custom framing), Fired Figments (Stephanie Krist, ceramics), MYDARNDEST STUDIO (Bill Klingensmith, branding & typography), and SKILLHOARDER WORKSHOP (Jesse Hughson, fabricator/artist). Additional studios in the building include Creative Ideology, Creative Ambition, Gamer’s Nostalgia, Hive Creative, Kurvie Kulture, Noodlehead Art Studio, and artist Rachael Rosenberg.
The building features common exhibition, meeting and event space, allowing for collaborative projects between studios. Plans are already in the works for pop-up holiday sales and workshops, as well as shared projects. Airigami’s large workspace with its integrated photo/video studio has already made bigger and more challenging projects possible.
“The sky’s the limit here,” adds Airigami Creative Director Kelly Cheatle. “It was a huge, empty space and owner Craig Webster is totally committed to turning it into a vibrant hub for creative entrepreneurs. It’s rare that a developer invests more than dollars into a project – he’s genuinely interested in our success.”
Call it synchronicity, but Webster of Webster Properties had decided to renovate this 26,000-square-foot area – nearly one city block of interconnected structures that were once home to the Rochester Marina and Rochester Welding – just as Airigami and friends were looking for affordable, larger workspaces to house their growing businesses.
“It’s a win/win for all of us,” he says. “I believe that MADE ON STATE will be a strong neighborhood presence in addition to being a great fit for the building. Rochester’s independent creative professionals deserve our support, and I’d like to see even more artist-driven spaces here to bring back a much-needed vibrancy to this overlooked section of the city.”
And this community of fresh thinkers and doers hopes to blossom in the shadow of Rochester’s fading legacy industries.
“We have high hopes of inspiring ourselves and others to grow as small, hands-on businesses by encouraging the sharing of ideas – not only amongst ourselves – but with the entire community,” says Moss. “Rochester needs the diverse talent we have in this city, and MADE ON STATE can be a hub for developing that natural resource.”
More about Airigami: Rochester artists and Airigami partners Larry Moss and Kelly Cheatle are internationally renowned for their incredible, inflatable installations, including a giant Acrocanthosaurus for the Virginia Museum of Natural History, the world’s first piloted balloon sculpture (Fantastic Flying Octopus), and seven Balloon Manors – later called Airigami Balloon Adventure – in Rochester, NY. Moss, who began his career as a NYC street performer, has earned two Guinness World’s Records – the first in 2000 for Soccer Players – along with AP, CNN Headline, PBS and other international and national news coverage. Airigami has made multiple appearances on The Martha Stewart Show, Good Morning America, the Today show, and at the White House. Moss and Cheatle also create permanent artwork combining balloon sculpture with photography and design. These dimensional illustrations include their Master Works and Once Upon a Time series, which have both been turned into children’s books. They’ve created animations for Oreo (“Oreogami”) and others, and built a giant dragon that was transported to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum for A&E’s Shipping Wars. For more information, please visit airigami.com.
Media please note: High-resolution images and other media assets are available at airigami.com/MOSpress. Interviews, tours, and other photo/footage opportunities can be arranged.
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