MISSION STATEMENT

Cornershop, located in Buffalo, NY, is a mom and pop grocery gone cultural oasis. Within walking distance from the Niagara River (source of our electric light probably not up to code), Cornershop is proposed as the missing public utility: we supply ambient, heated space. We have four electrical outlets, a central radiator, 32 folding chairs, track lighting, wall space, a 16mm film projector, a screen, a VHS VCR, as well as access to a video projector. Monthly offerings include but are not limited to: film/video screenings, poetry readings, fashion shows, lectures, visual art and live music. We are interested in cultural exchange and have hosted visitors and artifacts from Canada, England, and Latvia. Cornershop operates on next to no budget and we have sworn never to have a fundraiser; but if you want to give us a donation we don't mind. We exist in the border lands of public and private space: audience members use the bathroom in the apartment upstairs where we live, visiting presenters often stay with us, and in between events we use the space as a studio. Cornershop does not exist in any official sense yet we continue to operate and provide this unsanctioned public utility. We will do so until the project becomes boring or we move to a new city.