Art in Odd Places Protests by Emphasizing “Nothing”

October brings many favorable things to New York City: small dogs in cable-knit sweaters, satisfyingly crunchy leaves underfoot, and the beloved Art in Odd Places (AiOP) festival along East 14th Street. After enjoying AiOP’s 19th iteration last year, which centered on care, I was eager for the festival’s 20th anniversary with its imaginative, DIY scrappiness that intrigues bystanders in the East Village.

However, the 20th anniversary was punctured by a lack of funding from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), leading AiOP Founder Ed Woodham, disillusioned with democracy’s erosion in the U.S., to go with nothing. Telling Hyperallergic that AiOP wasn’t funded for the first time this year, Woodham said that doing nothing was the “most practical and honest response,” calling it a “deliberate pause.”

The 20th edition of AiOP was curated by no one, inviting everyone to do nothing. Despite many typical participants not showing up, a few artists, including Woodham, emphasized the importance of nothing. Woodham and his entourage were outside an empty storefront with bottles of a new fragrance called “Nothing.” Playwright and performance artist Lulu Lolo was appointed as the Mayor of Nothing. Members of the Czechoslovak American Marionette Theater (CAMT) moved toward Union Square with kazoos and marionette strings sans puppets, reflecting that Czechoslovakia no longer exists.

Coincidentally, AiOP’s first day matched the No Kings march from Times Square to Union Square, aligning perfectly with the festival’s theme based on its real accomplishments: nothing.

Between absurdist humor about the importance of nothing and philosophical rumination on nothingness, protest, shrinking arts funding, and the state of the world, there was a feeling of being robbed of AiOP’s typical zest since nothing was to look forward to.

Yet, doing nothing highlighted what cultural loss AiOP would endure if relegated to nothingness due to dwindling arts support, especially for local organizations. Woodham emphasized that “nothing” invited experimentation with presence, imagination in a world where value isn’t measured by output.

NYSCA confirmed they’re reviewing AiOP’s 2026 grant proposal, offering hope that “nothing” works.