Established in 2022, The Box Party is a non-hierarchical collective of 6 multidisciplinary artists. Our work is imbued with the substance of our questions, our rebellions, our resistance, our anxieties – it’s always by our own rules. We consider inequalities through collaboration, trust, and respect.
​
The Box Party is Alicia Barton, Sara Alonge, Dani Ruf,
Jeanna Mead, Star Herrera, and Juliana Haliti
The Box Party Project is a series of public artworks exhibited around the Capital District. Our installations are interactive machines which engage the audience through miniature sculptures, digital illustrations, paintings, poetry, prose, and various other objects. We intend to support small local businesses and artists, while bringing art to the community.
The Sticker Machine
The Sticker Machine is the first of a series of art vending machines installed through the Capital District.
Through this project, we intend to bring affordable artwork to people and places that may not usually have access to such, spread the word about the local businesses that house our machines, start conversations about thorny topics through art, and donate our proceeds to worthy charities. In the case of the Sticker Machine, we consider gender inequalities in the medical field. All profits will go to Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood.
​
The Sticker Machine launched in Summer 2023 at Upstate Art Weekend in Kingston, NY at the FLOCKart by Collar Works mobile gallery. It then moved to No Fun in Troy, NY where it lived for one month following the machine's official launch party in August. From there, the machine moved to Opalka Gallery in Albany, NY for the month of September for their annual Beer Garden. The machine continues to travel around the Capital Region.
If you are interested in hosting the Sticker Machine, please email theboxpartycollective@gmail.com
Panty Riot
The Panty Riot exhibition was held at The Storefront Gallery in Troy, NY from July 23-September 16, 2023 featuring artwork from all 6 TBP members. The namesake, site-specific installation, Panty Riot, features used panties, thongs, boxers, and other under-garments strung and pinned across laundry line throughout the entire gallery, windows, and vestibule.
​
For our Panty Riot installation, we wanted to highlight the history of The Storefront Gallery and its business roots in laundry. The word laundry itself, is such a loaded word with its own, rather gendered, history and connotations. We chose to focus on the most intimate form of laundry as a way of confronting shameful stereotypes associated with the garments we choose to put on our bodies. The name of both show and installation comes from the antiquated fad of “panty raids” in which men trespassed upon females to steal their underthings, clearly a pseudo sexual conquest. In this work, however, we riot for those who have been raided. We fly our panties, painted with our Box Party sigil, as a way of expressing pride in who we are, celebrating all gender identities and sexualities, and also to signal that this is a safe space; you are welcome, no matter what lies beneath the exterior you choose to show to the world.
Box-O-Art Vending Machine
The Box-O-Art Vending Machine is a collaborative public art project featuring the work of 11 commissioned artists of the Capital District, and 5 members of The Box Party. The machine features over 200 artworks in a variety of media, such as sculpture, jewelry, digital illustrations, prints, photography, pins, stickers, and more. The refurbished cigarette machine is arranged blind box style – meaning, you do not know what you are going to receive (or which artist’s wares) until you open your box. Each cigarette-style box housing the artwork has been hand-made by the collective, paying homage to the original function of the machine.
​
The Box Party thanks the following artist’s for their collaboration and contributions to this machine that made this possible: Alison Bachorik, Lily Wai Brennan, Aurora Crawford, Olivia Deep, Gigi Grace, Adrianna Oropello, Grace Rawden, Julia Sheber, Rich Soto, Camryn Walsh, and Jackie Zysk.
The Box-O-Art Vending Machine launched on Monday, 9/25/2023 at the Women's Institute at Russell Sage College. It then moved to Collar Works in Troy, NY.
Cleanse//Cleanse
Cleanse//Cleanse was a temporary, site specific, immersive installation which was held at the Wallace Gallery at The Arts Center of the Capital Region from 10/26/2023-10/28/2023.
Witch bullet, my bullet, made of hair,
please let my soul beware.
Self-care is now a burden to uphold,
“Do I have all the tools to stop growing old?”
These brands — they wish to compare our unease,
So, we wish for new faces — they hold the key.
Detox, Cleanse, Pluck, Shave, Wax,
To confidence they take an axe.
“Go ahead, compare yourself, you hag —
This model is a size zero, look at her tag!”
Dark circles: my products circle the drain,
“She’s let herself go, she’s insane.”
Our bullets aren’t meant to cause any harm,
Unless you’re a corporate entity — sound the alarm.
The gap in my teeth gives my smile appeal,
And I like the way my bare skin feels,
As I “take my face off” at the end of the day,
To reveal what we’ve been conditioned to hate.
I will NOT let their marketing leave me upset.
So, with this black string, I bind my intent.
Witch bullet, my bullet, keep me whole —
Cleanse this Cleansing from my soul.
Pill Machine
Our Pill Machine questions the societal trend of having a pill for everything. We poke fun at the efficacy of the daily affirmation, offering our own witty, whacky, audacious alternatives. With a punky, tongue-in-cheek aesthetic, we suggest that some prescriptions are not all they seem. And at 25 cents a handful, Big Pharma ain't got nothin' on us.
