ALT ESC is a Brooklyn-based curatorial team and digital platform started by Alison Sirico and Irina V Makarova in May 2016. We release a monthly digital publication along with an annual print. Sparked by the realization that disparity exists between the institutionalized art world and the new wave of rising artists, Alt Esc was founded to vocalize the leading ideas and trends in young contemporary studio practice. We are interested in individuals and collectives who are players in the art world’s subcultural framework and those who are community oriented. Equal parts publication and event production team, we seek to communicate dialogues that manifest into praxis. Through publication and curating exhibitions, we strive to connect rising artists with new opportunities, while honoring and sharing their current achievements with a broader audience. Using the studio visit as a model for a narrative, we hope to communicate, foster and archive today’s young cultural landscape.
Alison Sirico is a UX designer & curator. A seasoned nightlife organizer, she co-founded the new Silent Barn in 2012 and has curated many large-scale exhibitions, contributing to ‘Death by Art’, Death by Audio’s eviction art show, and organizing ‘Thaw’ with Ruffeo Hearts Lil Snotty in a 3 story, abandoned furniture factory. She was resident and co-founder of the Ho_se, nominated for Paper Magazine’s 9th Annual Nightlife Awards, ‘Best DIY Space.’ Additionally, she was co-director at Greenpoint Terminal Gallery in Brooklyn, NY.
Irina V Makarova is a Kazakhstan-born and Brooklyn-bred event producer, curator, and editor, working in technology and fine art. She has produced large-scale events and exhibitions for Giphy ("Time_Frame" - 30th Anniversary of the GIF), Alt Esc, Small Editions, Taymour Grahne Gallery, Kinfolk, and worked as a Curatorial Assistant for Solomon R. Guggenheim UBS MAP Curator Sara Raza. She was an editor at Kabinett, and a contributing writer for Creators Project, Bullett Media, ArtAsiaPacific Magazine, Garage, Electronic Beats, Dazed Digital, Wonderland, Metal Magazine, Konbini, and more. She loves vanilla coke and still believes in witch house.