About – Uppur Bunk

Collaborative Art Space, CA. We make work and sometimes you can see it.

Jack Aldrich
Nick Cook
Raymond Douglas
Samantha Fretwell
Katy McCarthy
Patrick Melroy
Jessica Schlobohm

History:

In 2011 four collaborators came together to create a space for art making and creative programming. The Uppur Bunk appeared in October of 2011 in a small store-front secured by charter member Katy McCarthy. The space was quickly transformed into a work space and a hub of ideas by co-founders Samantha Fretwell, Cassidy Anton, and Patrick Melroy. Over the course of the next year the Bunk would play host to many events and projects. In the early spring of 2012 the Uppur Bunk launched and, for the first time in more than a decade, the UCSB Department of Art Faculty exhibited in a group show titled Varsity.

In the summer of that year the members of the Uppur Bunk executed a daring performance for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Santa Barbara. During the institution’s Forum Lounge in July, the Bunk artists transformed the galleries of the MOA and invited the public into a piece they called Quest. Hundreds of community members eagerly participated in the event.

In the fall of 2012 several of the original Uppur Bunk members were departing Santa Barbara for adventures elsewhere. The Bunk became a new and more transient entity. By that time artists Jack Aldrich and Raymond Douglas had joined the roster. The original location was closed and the programming was taken to new, alternative venues.

In early 2013 the Uppur Bunk began its Panels. This became an opportunity for the Uppur Bunk to invite intellectuals of great interest into a question and answer conversation. The resulting conversations are presented online. The membership of the Uppur Bunk continues to expand as Nick Cook accepted the invitation to become a collaborator. The programming continues and a new physical space is on the horizon. The future holds great things for the Uppur Bunk and its members. We all look forward to your participation.