Canal Street Research Association

September 2022–April 2023

Acknowledging the cultural and commercial legacy of Canal Street, our inaugural library residency program hosted Canal Street Research Association, the fictional office of poetic research unit Shanzhai Lyric.

During their residency beneath the illuminated sidewalk, Shanzhai Lyric researched the undercurrents of Canal Street—from basement factories and subterranean pathways that serve as counterfeit warehousing and escape routes, to the massage parlors and covert nightlife enabled by the clandestine activities of the street.

Library furniture for Canal Street Research Association was designed in collaboration with lars fischer of common room.

Public Programs:

Basement Cinema: “Outlaws of the Marsh,”
with WATT, Thursday, December 1, 2022 (6 PM)

Babel (re-staging)
with Cildo Meireles, December 2022–February 2023

Çanal Street Researçh Assoçiation: Street Market
with BlackMass Publishing, Chang Yuchen, Jeef Jeel, Uneek Street Art, Çanal Street Researçh Assoçiation, Spout, Saturday, May 6, 2023 (1–6 PM)

Live-Stream: Surfacing Buried Channels,
with Basie Allen, CJ Li, common room, Canal Street Research Association, ACOMPI, Friday, May 26, 2023 (6–8 PM)

About Shanzhai Lyric:

Established in 2015, Shanzhai Lyric investigates global trade networks, informal markets, and the poetics of counterfeit goods. 山寨, or “shanzhai,” means “counterfeit” in contemporary Chinese usage but translates literally to “mountain hamlet,” in reference to a place on the outskirts of empire where bandits abscond with goods to redistribute among those on the margins. In 2020, Shanzhai Lyric founded Canal Street Research Association in an empty storefront on Canal Street, New York City’s counterfeit epicenter, delving into the cultural and material ecologies of the street and its long history as a site that probes the limits of ownership and authorship.