At Pioneer Works in Red Hook, NYC, Finnegan Shannon Turns a Conveyor Belt Into a Gallery

Pioneer Works in Red Hook is presenting There's no me without you, an installation by Finnegan Shannon, through December 20, 2026. A Pioneer Works resident alum, Shannon built the show around a longtime fantasy: an exhibition space designed to meet their own access needs.

The centerpiece is a 12-foot mechanized conveyor belt that carries artworks to visitors. People sit on the surrounding furniture and take in the objects through any mix of touch, sight and sound, without standing for long stretches. Shannon places the belt in a lineage of disabled hacking, which they describe as taking something not made for this purpose and working out what else it can do. The title comes from their view of interdependence, which can be both a utopian ideal and a daily reality. They stress that their practice is collaborative, shaped by a community of writers, artists, activists and friends.

Three successive solo presentations by New York disability artists run on the belt. Ariana Martinez opened the show with a soundscape built from contact-microphone field recordings and a set of objects that function as a "tactile score," on view through October 4. Joselia Rebekah Hughes follows from October 7 to November 1 with Masque On: Y'all taking spiritual hits; I'm making plans, a multi-channel video shown on portable DVD players in which she acts, edits, writes and researches. Alex Dolores Salerno closes the run from November 4 to December 20. Starting from their family's experience with coffee, Salerno uses ritual objects, found materials and archival items to look at commodity crops, colonial exploitation and the climate crisis. Roasted and unroasted beans give that final presentation a noticeable scent.

The exhibition is in the Second Floor Gallery, reached by an elevator that serves every floor, and there are gender-neutral, accessible bathrooms on all three floors. The room has plentiful seating, a place to lie down and low-pile carpet. Touch is prioritized, and visual material is described in an audio description track in the space. Visitors are asked to wear a mask; three-ply masks are provided, and the roughly 600-square-foot room has two Corsi-Rosenthal DIY air filters. The conveyor belt masks some noise, and earplugs are available.

The exhibition is closed on September 17, October 18, November 5, November 19 and December 12. Questions about access, or about the coffee scent, can go to info@pioneerworks.org. The project is supported in part by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts.