CO-OPt @ CAMP includes work by Cody Arnall, Aaron Hegert, J. Eric Simpson, Heather Warren-Crow and Wind Tide (Gretchen Korsmo & Andrew Weathers)
CO-OPt Research + Projects is an artist-run studio space and gallery located in Lubbock, Texas, founded in 2019.
The CO-OPt name and logo are derived from the Farmers COOP signs ubiquitous to the area, signaling a now defunct, collapsed system of collective engagement and cooperation among farms. In effect, we have “co-opted” the sign, as well as a space, at 4202 Boston Avenue, in an underutilized neighborhood strip mall in Lubbock, TX, diverting its function from a commercial one—in previous incarnations a barbershop or garage—to one devoted to research and artistic production and practice.
The CO-OPt gallery features curated exhibitions of contemporary art, a reading library of artist books and zines, and special programming of artist talks, performances, and experimental music shows. As an artist-run gallery, the curatorial mission of CO-OPt entails presenting contemporary art by our artist members as well as other national and international artists whose work contains a component of research around contemporary issues. CO-OPt also functions as a working artist studio where artists J. Eric Simpson, Cody Arnall, and Aaron Hegert center their research and practice.
Each year the museum produces three major exhibitions highlighting regional, national, and international artists as well as acting as a service organization to create dozens of community events, classes, and programs. The leading art and review magazine for Texas visual art, Glasstire, has reviewed all of CAMP’s exhibitions, including them in their prestigious TOP FIVE segment. Four of the exhibitions were named the No.1 art opening to attend in the state. These reviews put CAMP alongside Texas greats like the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Dallas Contemporary, The Contemporary Art Museum in Houston and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. In 2019 CAMP was nominated for the Community Foundation of West Texas’ IMPACT AWARD for its work with the Juvenile Justice System. Upcoming shows include summer kids programming Playapallooza where the whole museum will be turned into an art playground, Gail Siptak: A Retrospective and Site into Action, a performance and installation art residency. Open every Friday thru Sunday from 12pm to 5pm, the museum is always free and open to everyone.
