Machine Project
CASH MACHINE
Machine Project, an informal consortium of artists led by Mark Allen, believes that art offers a unique way to understand the world that privileges curiosity and experimentation. Allen promotes this perspective through workshops, classes, and performances that help participants make connections between art and their everyday life.
When Allen contemplated creative fundraising ideas for his organization, he sought to find a way to make donating fun. His solution came in the form of a pneumatic device reminiscent of an old fashioned drive-up bank teller. When NCM commissioned him to develop a similar donation system, he and engineers Tod Kurt and Carlyn Maw jum ped at the chance to augment his original design to include literal bells and whistles that could be triggered when a donation is made. Thanks to their creation, now when an NCM visitor makes a contribution, the Cash Machine comes to life to thank them with unexpected fanfare! In addition, Machine Project will develop a TRASH event that will allow the collective to take over the galleries and infuse NCM with their quirky, participatory, and always original offerings.
ABOUT MACHINE PROJECT
Machine Project Founder and Director Mark Allen creates opportunities for collaborations between artists, scientists, engineers, poets, and musicians to realize a selection of weekly courses and occasional installations at their storefront in Los Angeles. Given the variety of collaborators, the workshop offerings are equally eclectic, ranging from welding and pickling to sound engineering and bookbinding. Allen founded Machine Project in 2003 in Los Angeles and oversees programming both at their storefront location in Echo Park, and at various cultural institutions throughout the U.S. Machine Project has been in residence at the Hammer Museum and the Walker Art Center, in addition to developing programming and site specific events for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Berkeley Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, and SPACES, Cleveland.
