Between April and July 2015 No Longer Empty presented When You Cut into the Present the Future Leaks Out at the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse. Built 1905 – 1914 and attributed to architects Michael John Garvin and Oscar Florianus Bluemner, the Courthouse, once boasting granite floors, lavish stairways, and bronze doors, remains adorned by a statue of Lady Justice. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Bronx County, the Beaux Arts-style building had been shuttered for 37 years at the time of the exhibition.

The Old Bronx Borough Courthouse was taken as both site and theme: a time capsule, witness, and symbol existing within a plurality of narratives about its future role in the neighborhood. Referencing a quote by Beat Generation poet William S. Burroughs, When You Cut into the Present the Future Leaks Out echoes approaches attributed to cut-up poetry, early hip hop, spoken word, and the sculptural practice of artist Gordon Matta-Clark, who sliced into urban spaces as social commentary. The exhibition occupied three floors and included the works of 26 artists and site-specific works commissioned by No Longer Empty.

Curated by Regine Basha for No Longer Empty