Craigslist roommate listings have started to ick me out. There are too many ads on the site, and it’s hard to find good roommates. Stephanie Diamond’s mailing list for artists appeals to me, because there are none of these problems. Each week she sends out listings for studio spaces, sublets, roommates, etc to her a mailing list built on word of mouth alone. The people on this list are by and large art professionals, and tend not to be of the skeevy sort. It’s a real service, and it’s free. This year, I’m donating a little money to keep it that way. I happen to think the Sandford Biggers limited edition plate available for purchase is worth the buy and it goes a great cause. It keeps The Listings Project free, and smiles back at me while I pile my plate with food. Sure, there’s a little creep to that smile, but I find it amusing in the form of a plate. In roommates, not so much.
The press release below:
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Listings Project:
Created by artist Stephanie Diamond, Listings Project is a free weekly email of living and workspace for rent, sublet, swap, and sale focused around our arts community.
Listings Project Special Edition:
is created in response to requests to keep Listings Project FREE. Each special edition is created by an artist who uses Listings Project and is made for our homes and studios. Your purchase of the Listings Project Special Edition funds Stephanie Diamond to keep Listings Project sustainable and supports the featured artist. The first Listings Project Edition is created with artist Sanford Biggers.
About Stephanie Diamond
Stephanie Diamond is an artist whose work is based in Social Practice. Her process for creating is not simply making, but to employ art as a vehicle to bridge gaps and provide access to places and people that would otherwise never converge or be seen. In the past, she worked primarily with photography. She is currently incorporating dance, performance, and interactive media into her practice.
About Listings Project
Listings Project has become a staple within our arts community and exemplifies Stephanie’s dedication to bringing communities and people together though her artmaking practice. In 2003 while Stephanie was in graduate school looking for a place to live close to campus. She emailed her personal email list to inquire about apartments for rent within the arts community. Stephanie found a place and emails continued to be sent about available apartments. She could not resist but to forward them. Many people took notice of this and began to send her specific listings for me to forward.
Stephanie did, and has continued ever since. After some years her email provider thought she was spamming. This prompted Stephanie to register for a newsletter service. To this day, she continues to personally respond to each posting she receives, vet all listings, and does not post brokers. To learn more about Listings Project, to post, or to sign up to receive emails log onto http://www.stephaniediamond.com and click on Listings Project.
Sanford Biggers on Listings Project Special Edition Cheshire Plate
Stephanie and I have been friends for over a decade now. In fact, she was one of the first artists to befriend me when I moved to New York. Through Stephanie’s network of friends and colleagues, I met everybody!
Several years ago while I was preparing to leave the country for a few months, I noticed Stephanie was forwarding emails about space for rent. I asked her if she would pass around amongst her network that I was looking for someone to sublet my place. Very shortly after, I had a sublettor and Listing Project was official!
Since then I have referred countless people from Germany, Hungary, Japan, Poland, UK and across the US to the list and I know several others who’ve done the same. I believe our relative social proximity to each other makes the Listing Project feel like a friendly DIY classifieds where friends can help other friends find proper and convenient living situations. I love that it still feels personal.
The Cheshire grin is a motif I have been exploring for the last few years. I am interested in it’s simultaneous references to Lewis Carrol’s infamous cat and the iconic grin of blackface minstrelsy, both equally silly and sinister, much like the grin itself as it disappears and reappears.
Plate Details
Dimensions: 10”³ in diameter
Material: Made from recycled, recyclable and BPA free melamine
Plate Design © Sanford Biggers
Listings Project Special Edition Cheshire Plate © Stephanie Diamond and Sanford Biggers
Plate Photos: Caren Alpert http://www.carenalpert.com
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