Canal Street Research Association
327 Canal Street. October 2020–March 2021
Canal Street Research Association inaugurated Shanzhai Lyric’s roving investigation of bootleg goods in the epicenter of counterfeit culture in New York City. For six months, 327 Canal Street became a space for gathering ephemeral histories, mapping the major thoroughfare’s lore, past and present, and tracing the flows and fissures of global capital. The project was the first phase of a larger body of work examining counterfeit culture in relation to contemporary notions of property. In the midst of the concurrent retail apocalypse, Canal Street Research Association revisited projects both massive and minute that have transpired on the storied block, speculating new modes of inhabiting this complex interplay of hustles. The public was invited to share stories and personal artifacts, forming a living archive that will accumulate throughout the space. During this exceptional moment, when a street typically packed with frenzied tourists loomed largely empty, Shanzhai Lyric took stock of the neighborhood’s inherent contradictions, inviting visitors and passersby to both glimpse into and engage in the process. In the midst of economic distress wrought by the global pandemic and the acceleration of online commerce, Shanzhai Lyric embraced this pause as a moment to assess the cultural legacy of a neighborhood that has birthed numerous experimental and iconic happenings, traversing both art and commercial contexts.
Programming details and research findings continue to accumulate at @canal_street_research.
Shanzhai Lyric Archive
Shanzhai Lyric offered its archive of bootleg t-shirts, whose poetry visitors could peruse.
Wednesdays at sundown, Canal Street Research Association’s Window Cinema has featured both archival footage of performances and happenings undertaken in the vicinity, along with a feature-length flick engaging related themes & often filmed nearby, offering two views on neighborhood lore projected onto the window and viewed from outside by passerby.
Window Cinema
Montez Press Radio hosted a radio play by the duo.
Radio Segments
Neighborhood Programs
Events included Community Caricatures with local portrait artist Leo,West African djembe drum lessons, and a griot performance celebrating vendors' stories.
Hamlet & Window Installations
The back of the storefront functioned as an evolving gallery, featuring artworks by Day, Carlos Reyes, Paige K. Bradley, and a fashion pop-up by Puppets & Puppets.
