Founded last year by Jenni Crain and Brent Birnbaum, Topless Gallery is an estival exhibition project that has done an admirable job of contributing energy, enthusiasm and, of course, art to the many sorts of revitalizing activities that have come to define, at least to some extent, the life and commerce of Rockaway Beach since Hurricane Sandy. By setting up shop for a few months at a time in a different space each year—that’s the case so far, anyway, as last year they were in a former eye doctor’s office, while this year they’re in an abandoned two-story home—the gallery’s directors are as interested in rehabilitating damaged, vacated structures as they are in bringing some sort of regularly programmed arts initiatives to the beach town. The first Topless show of the 2015 season has just opened, and the rest of the summer’s schedule is all planned, so we thought it might be a good moment to check in with Crain and Birnbaum to ask a few questions about last year’s experiences and this year’s agenda.
