Over the next 10 days, walking along 14th street will be a visually stimulating experience. While the bustling street is already home to NYU dorms, street vendors, food trucks and perpetual activity, an upcoming street festival will feature art installations, performances, street art, music and more. These installations are part of the eighth annual Art in Odd Places: Model, which is taking place from Oct. 5 to 15. From Avenue C to the Hudson River, over 100 artists from New York and all around the world will feature their stunning projects.

Founded by Ed Woodham in 2005, AiOP seeks to create platforms for experimentation and to incorporate compelling art into daily public spaces. This year, AiOP’s theme is Model.

“[Model] seeks to re-envision landscapes and examine our places in society through themes of fashion, prototype, pose, imitate, plan and system,” said Raquel de Anda, guest curator for AiOP.

AiOP will open on Friday, Oct. 5, with a reception at the Pedro Albizu Campos Plaza on 14th Street between Avenues B and C at 5 p.m. It will feature a performance of Doobie Couture by Wanda Ortiz and performance-duo Uniska Wahalo Kano and Jacob Cohen, as well many of this year’s artists.

“Innovative trans-disciplinary work will transform 14th Street into the longest runway in New York,” de Anda said. “Whether it be roaming performances, catwalks, remixed videos, textured photo booths, mobile print carts, illuminated pot holes, trade blankets or wearable furniture, each [artist] personalizes themes of Model in intriguing ways.”

Model will also offer a series of information sessions, workshops, performances, tours and panel discussions. Panelists include Jose Serrano-McClain of Trust Art, Petrushka Bazin Larsen of the Laundromat Project, Paula Z. Segal and Eric Brelsford of 596 Acres and Marléne Ramírez-Cancio of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance Art and Politics. Keynote speaker Martha Wilson will perform as Barbara Bush on Saturday, Oct. 6 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Parsons The New School of Design’s Kellen Auditorium.

As a studio art student, CAS sophomore Dilyn Myers loves the concept behind AiOP.

“It is so gratifying, as an active artist, to see work presented, explored, interacted with and given to the greater New York City community,” Myers said. “Art is an irreplaceable and necessary aspect of human culture, and it is beautiful to see it given the loud and proud attention it so rightfully deserves.”

AiOP will make the New York City pedestrian experience more intriguing than ever with their show-stopping visual presentations. All events are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis. For the complete program guide, visit AiOP’s website,
artinoddplaces.org.

A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Oct. 4 print edition. Paige Brott is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].