Jenni Crain (1991–2021) was an esteemed artist and curator who passed away suddenly due to complications related to Covid-19. She was widely recognized for her original minimalist sculpture and curatorial projects that championed under-recognized women artists as well as for her rigorous scholarship and writing. Crain was a passionate and tireless advocate of artists and art. Throughout her life, she built a vast community of friends, collaborators, and colleagues whose work she drove forward with generosity, sensitivity, and the deep probing intelligence with which she considered the world.
The Foundation preserves her legacy by supporting transformative projects by artists, curators, and writers of any age at early or pivotal stages of their career.
In honor of her memory, The Jenni Crain Foundation provides grants in two areas:
1. Finishing funds toward the completion of a significant project ranging from an exhibition, arts publication, or work of art across disciplines and forms.
2. Support for original research which may include travel, accommodation, and any funds required for accessing or studying materials.
Donations may be mailed to the address below or made online by clicking here.
A fundraising bandana featuring Crain’s work may be purchased by clicking here. An image of the bandana can be viewed by clicking here.
The Jenni Crain Foundation
130 Third Avenue Brentwood, NY 11717
info@JenniCrainFoundation.org
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Topless
Co-Founder & Co-Director
Rockaway Beach, New York
Summer 2014 – Summer 2016
Topless is a seasonal gallery in Rockaway Beach, New York, founded and directed by Jenni Crain and Brent Birnbaum in the Summer of 2014. Each summer Topless renovates and inhabits a vacant storefront along the Rockaway peninsula and presents a series of programming from mid-June through August.
A complete list of Topless’s programming below:
NOSCHOOL Residency
Topless Projects, Rockaway Beach, NY
Co-Curated with Frank Traynor, Organized with The Perfect Nothing Catalog & Arts in Parts
A series of 3 exhibitions featuring works created by Rockaway youth enrolled in summer courses led by Andrea Bonin, Justin Caguiat, Alex Patrick Dyck, Aidan Koch, Elise McMahon, Claire Mirocha & Vanessa Thill, Sophy Naess, Will Stewart, Pam Tietze, and Chris Wegman
August 13 – August 28, 2016
The Starry Messenger
Bedwyr Williams
Topless, Rockaway Beach, NY
August 13 – August 28, 2016
Minnow
Aude Pariset & Gavin Kenyon
Topless, Rockaway Beach, NY
July 23 – August 7, 2016
Heatsink
Liam Crockard & Michael Freeman Budour
Topless Projects, Rockaway Beach, NY
Organized with and curated by ROBERTA PELAN, Toronto, ON
July 23 – August 7, 2016
Babble On
Nadia Belerique, Lili Huston-Herterich, Laurie Kang
Topless, Rockaway Beach, NY
Flier designed by Gerardo Madera
July 2 – July 17, 2016
Eric Wiley
Topless Projects, Rockaway Beach, NY
July 2 – July 17, 2016
Beverly Semmes & Larissa Bates
Topless, Rockaway Beach, NY
Flier designed and printed by Gerardo Madera
June 11 – June 26, 2016
Anna Glantz
NADA Projects, NADA New York
May 5 – May 8, 2015
Timbuktu
Colby Bird, Hector M. Flores, Anthony Iacono, Annette Kelm, Ralph Pugay
Topless, Rockaway Beach, NY
August 15 – August 30, 2015
Quite Fairly Rather
Lauren Clay, Carey Denniston, Hanne Lippard
Topless, Rockaway Beach, NY
July 25 – July 9, 2015
Horse in the Road
Anna Glantz
Topless, Rockaway Beach, NY
July 4 – July 19, 2015
0.5 Mommy Man
Sam Davis
Topless, Rockaway Beach, NY
June 13 – June 28, 2015
Cherry on Top(less)
Haffendi Anuar, Ghost of a Dream, Carson Fisk-Vittori, Brian Kokoska, Joshua Saunders, Rachel Schmidhofer, Ryan Blair Sullivan
Topless, Rockaway Beach, NY
August 16 – August 31, 2014
When Floods Slit the Hills
Jared Buckhiester, Alex Ito, Izabelle New
Topless, Rockaway Beach, NY
July 26 – August 10, 2014
A Sphinx Has Lain Down Next To Me
Paul DeMuro & Scott Gelber
Topless, Rockaway Beach, NY
July 5 – August 20, 2014
Party’s Over
Caroline Wells Chandler, Andy Cross, Cindy Ji Hye Kim
Topless, Rockaway Beach, NY
June 14 – July 3, 2014
