testsite, a project of Fluent~Collaborative, situates itself between an exhibition space, an open studio, a temporary residency program and a private home. Participants, usually a writer and a visual artist drawn from far afield or close to home, are invited to create parallel experimental projects though a shared conversation. testsite presents these projects as they are germinating, or at a stage of fruitful exploration and healthy doubt integrated within the corners, shelves, walls and spaces of an intimate space.

testsite, located at 502 West 33rd Street, is open to the public on Sundays from 2-5 pm and by appointment.

History

testsite, founded by Laurence Miller and Regine Basha, began inviting writers and curators to develop collaborative projects with artists in the summer of 2003. Miller opened his home on 33rd Street as a kind of experimental space: part exhibition gallery, part open studio, part temporary residency program and part private home. In the early years, testsite drew many of its writers and curators from Austin and San Antonio—Kelly Baum, Annette Carlozzi and Gabriel Perez-Barriero, to name a few. These participants in turn selected artists from near and far. Baum collaborated with Austin-based Luke Savisky, Carlozzi with Dallas-based Annette Lawrence, and Perez-Barriero with New York-based Alejandro Cesarco.

In the years since, testsite has continued to develop experimental projects with local, national and international artists and writers. Under the direction of curator Risa Puleo, testsite continued to host challenging projects including Harrell Fletcher & Ruxandra Guidi (2005), Cauleen Smith & A. Van Jordan (2006) and Riley Robinson & Katie Robinson Edwards (2006). After a brief transitional period, Mary Katherine Matalon assumed responsibility at testsite, overseeing a website redesign and facilitating collaborations between Frances Colpitt & Terri Thorton, Beverly Semmes & Ingrid Schaffner and Cliff Hengst & Lawrence Rinder (all 2008). In the summer of 2008, Kate Watson assumed responsibilities as testsite coordinator oversaw collaborations between Matthew Drutt & Matthew Ronay, Harper Montgomery & Temporary Services and Elizabeth Dunbar & Sheila Pepe (all 2010), among others.

In 2007, Fluent~Collaborative's Associate Director Claire Ruud oversaw all testsite projects. She also developed an exhibition series entitled Just Because, which offers emerging artists an opportunity to present new work. Currently, Emily Ng has taken over the role of managing testite exhibitions and projects.