The Invisible Dog Art Center

The Invisible Dog Art Center is a museum and arts center located in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, New York City. Established by Lucien Zayan in 2009, the institution occupies a former industrial building that once manufactured invisible dog leashes, a novelty item. The center has become a significant venue for performance and visual art in Brooklyn, distinguished by its preservation of industrial heritage and its role as a working space for artists in residence.

Lucien Zayan, a French cultural professional of Egyptian origin with experience at the Festival international d'art lyrique d'Aix-en-Provence, the théâtre de la Madeleine, and the Festival de Marseille, discovered the building in 2008 during a trip to the United States. He pitched his idea to the owner and secured the loan of the building, which exceeds 3,000 square meters. Upon taking possession, Zayan cleaned the building, collected remnants from its factory days, and held a flea market. He later reflected that what appeared to be junk revealed itself as a treasure-trove of vintage merchandise and furniture, particularly thousands of belts from the 1960s. The center opened in 2009. In March 2013, the venue hosted the 2013 two5six conference organized by American video game and art magazine Kill Screen, an annual event held at different locations throughout New York City.

The Invisible Dog Art Center does not maintain a traditional permanent collection in the conventional museum sense. Instead, its programming encompasses performance art, visual art exhibitions, and artist residencies. The center accommodates approximately thirty artists in residence at a time. The industrial character of the building and its preserved remnants, including buckles, belts, molds, and industrial fixtures, serve as ongoing sources of inspiration for resident artists, some of whom have incorporated these elements into their work.

Rather than holding a fixed collection, the center has been notable for the artists who have performed or exhibited there. These include Jon Burgerman, Hervé Tullet, Prune Nourry, Théo Mercier, Annie Baillargeon, Oli Sorenson, and Sébastien Pesot. The building itself retains significant industrial artifacts from its manufacturing past, including the original buckles, belts, molds, and fixtures that have been preserved as integral elements of the space. A distinctive feature is the mural by Giuseppe Stampone, created around 2009, which runs along the shaft of the operational manual freight elevator and depicts illustrated text from Dante's Inferno in the original Italian.

The Invisible Dog Art Center is located at 51 Bergen Street in a building constructed in 1863. The structure was purchased in the 1950s for use as a factory producing belts and jewelry. In the 1970s, the novelty concept of the invisible dog leash was invented at this location. When Zayan encountered the building in 2008, it was in severe disrepair: packed with accumulated items and all 68 windows broken and requiring replacement. The building features an operational manual freight elevator with the Giuseppe Stampone mural along its shaft. The preserved industrial remnants throughout the building, including buckles, belts, molds, and fixtures, maintain a tangible connection to its manufacturing history.

The Invisible Dog Art Center is situated in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The institution is owned and operated under the direction established by Lucien Zayan, who secured the building on loan from its owner for transformation into an arts center. The center continues to function as an active venue for performance and visual art, maintaining its role as a space for artists in residence. Its official website is http://theinvisibledog.org/. The building's operational manual freight elevator and preserved industrial features remain accessible elements of the visitor experience.