NEW BRIGHTON — A massive salt depot that holds most of the city's winter de-icing equipment is being transformed into an art gallery.
Staten Island Arts' fifth annual LUMEN festival will return to the Atlantic Salt Company, where it was first held, bringing with it a range of video installations, animation and performance arts.
"It's probably one of the more creative things we get to do at Staten Island Arts," said Gena Mimozo, grants administrator for the organization. "We're not really a producing organization. LUMEN is really a nice, creative outlet for everybody."
The festival will also have David C. Terry and Esther Neff return as curators. They also led last year's festival.
"Now that we're using returning curators, we're able to focus and do site specific work," Mimozo said.
"It was very run and gun [before] and the artists got a day or two prior to the site and didn't have an idea what they were getting into."
Nearly 50 local and international artists will transform the space into a six-hour art gallery and be able to use the salt deposits and other features of the space in their work, Mimozo said.
Previous events had artists project videos on mounds of salt and transform container terminals into interactive video games.
Mimozo said the group generally doesn't return to venues. Atlantic Salt is an exception because it has a great waterfront view that people generally don't venture into and see.
"It's not your typical Staten Island view," she said. "It's interesting and has this really dark, industrial feel to it."
The free LUMEN 2014 will be on Saturday, June 28, at the Atlantic Salt Company, 561 Richmond Terrace, from 7 p.m. to midnight. For more information visit Staten Island Arts website.
