West Chelsea Festival of Art 2023

West Chelsea Festival of Art 2023: One hundred local and international visual artists, musicians, multimedia artists, and performance artists gather for the first annual West Chelsea Festival of Art. The festival takes place at various locations including the iconic West Chelsea Building at 526 West 26th St., New York City. This Friday, Nov 10, 2023, 6-9 p.m. the festival kicks off with the premiere of the Bowery Film Festival Awards Ceremony.


Credit: West Chelsea Festival of Art 2023

This Fall in the Chelsea Arts Scene, there’s a new art festival called West Chelsea Festival of Art, it is a celebration of the creative persistence of New York City, in a series of art and music performances and exhibitions produced by curator, Scotto Mycklebust and co-curators Katie Cercone, Eva Mueller, and Fanny Perez. WCFOA was formulated by a collective of artists working with artists, to create a space for artists to thrive in their own space freely. After the pandemic, art exhibitions, museums, and galleries had a rebirth and now, there is a reemergence of artists with a new body of work and grit.

“The Festival stands as an ode to what has been the cultural center of contemporary art for over thirty years!” states, lead festival organizer, Scotto Mycklebust. This is a testament to the arts, that it is still alive and well. There is a brewing of galleries and art spaces in Chelsea such as Agora Gallery and White Space, which is located on 23rd St and between 10th and 11th Avenue, where the WCFOA, will be taking place in the same art hub as the West Chelsea Building and this is a sign of a resurgence of art spaces for artists and curators.

Credit: In photo: Julia Sinelnikova, photo by Haley Varacallo

“The West Chelsea Festival of Art will highlight important contemporary artists and address the public issues at the forefront of current creative discourse – supporting intersectional feminism, LGBTQ+ rights and representation, anti-violence, and anti-racism. The festival applauds art as a unifying force of community and the cultural power it holds,” a curator, Katie Cercone states.

Credit: Chariklo, Katie Cercone, 2021

“We encourage you to join in on the celebration of the esteemed art, artists, and galleries that make up the West Chelsea district”, states Scotto Mycklebust.

Just to name, a few of the artists and performance artists, out of the one hundred collaborators, there is the Brooklyn-based rapper, vocalist, and producer, XHOSA, NIKKI DA GOD aka NEFFERNIKKI (as seen on MTV/VH1), a Harlem-Jamaican raised, vocalist, producer, and multi-disciplinary artist, Isis Swaby, PaperBoyPrince (The Rapper running for President), Julia Sinelnikova “Oracle,” OR NAH, METAGASM, Elf of NYC, SUN GOD SHAMAN, Bri Frei, Grace Roselli’s Pandora’s BoxX Project, GOOD.W.Y.N.; New York City’s “Spin Sisters” Fanny and Clau Perez, historical feminist art pioneer Nancy Azara, Kaleb Tank, and Electric Djinn.

The West Chelsea Festival of Art will furnish a personal viewpoint of this transformative direction of the art world and the vast group of artists working multidisciplinary that exist in one space.

Credit: Scotto Mycklebust, painting, 2023

West Chelsea of Art Festival 2023 | Exhibitions and Performances Schedule:

Nov. 10 | 6-9 pm | First Opening Day Kicks off at the BOWERY FILM FEST | 530 West 25th St. West Chelsea Building, 526 West 26th St. New York, NYC The “Most radical film festival in NYC” Hosts its awards ceremony with a screening of experimental art films, music videos, panel discussion, and live music. Enjoy wine and beer served by a bartender. Follow @boweryfilmfestival on Instagram to learn more.

Nov.10-11 | Denise Jones Adler Open Studio Suite 610 at 526 W26th Street, studio hours, 3-7 pm and 2-6 pm

Nov. 12 | HIP-HOP YOGA: A Healing Workshop, 12-5 pm
West Chelsea Building PENTHOUSE* 508 West 26th 12th Fl.
RSVP on Eventbrite | Organized by OR NAH & friends
Healing workshop open to the public including yoga, music & dance!

Circle Work, Intention Setting & Dance Activations with Fanny Perez & Jessica Trovato, 11 am-12 pm

Led Yoga Class with Katie. Bring your mat, water & loose fit clothing, 12-2 pm

Music Programming: Music-making with SUN GOD SHAMAN, 2-5 pm

Nov. 13-15 | Pop-up Exhibition, Penthouse, 508 West 26th 12th

Nov. 13 | Curated Fine Art Exhibition featuring local and international artists. Visit the Penthouse of the West Chelsea Arts Building to view the show anytime during our open hours, 1-6 pm

Nov.15 | Art Exhibition, 12-9 pm | Closing reception and performances, 5-9 pm

If you want to see the embodiment of the Chelsea arts scene on Nov. 10th through Dec. 1st, 2023, you should come to one of the WCFOA’s programs throughout November, at the West Chelsea Building at 526 West 26th St. New York City, NY. Check for the art and performance programming’s full schedule on West Chelsea Festival’s Website.

Isis Swaby

Culture and Lifestyle Writer

Isis Swaby is a culture and lifestyle writer, artist, and DJ, as well as a native New Yorker. Isis's love for fashion and travel extends into food palettes of amazing world cuisines and spirits. Isis has traveled to Japan and to the tropics of Jamaica, and has completed art residencies with the InterCultural-ODYSSEYS Artist Residency in San Ramon, Costa Rica and the Chashama Studio Artist Residency in Harlem. Worked with brands as likes of Sonos, Apple Music, NTS Radio, Kangol, Redbull, Supreme and VP Records. Based in Brooklyn, NYC and Jersey City, NJ.