Katie Chin, ‘Short Pay, Short Shovels,’ 2026. Installation view at ‘Seventh AIM Biennial’ at The Bronx Museum of the Arts.<\/p>\n
Chadd Scott<\/p>\n
Bent and twisted shovels propped against a gallery wall rest on gravel strewn with railroad spikes.<\/p>\n
Sabotage.<\/p>\n
Look close. <\/p>\n
At the shovel scoops. <\/p>\n
Notice how short they are. How little work could be performed with a shovel manipulated in that fashion.<\/p>\n
Subtle.<\/p>\n
Clever.<\/p>\n
Sabotage.<\/p>\n
Ceramicist Katie Chin (b. 1990) came across an article from Brooklyn Institute for Social Research Professor R.H. Lossin<\/a> recalling a story\u2013maybe true, maybe not\u2013of how early railroad workers would shorten their shovel scoops two inches when their pay was reduced.<\/p>\n \u201cShort pay, short shovels.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201c(The article) opened my mind to what sabotage could be as labor resistance,\u201d Chin told me at the opening of the 2026 AIM Biennial at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. \u201cNow I\u2019m working on a comprehensive body of work all about sabotage throughout time<\/a>, from early labor movements to modern day sabotage where digital workers will do quiet quitting<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Chin\u2019s installation can be seen in \u201cThe Seventh AIM Biennial: Forms of Connection,\u201d<\/a> an exhibition rising against division offering a powerful framework of connection. She represents one of 28 included artists all of whom completed the Bronx Museum\u2019s AIM Fellowship <\/a>in 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t believe in individual artistic genius,\u201d Chin said. \u201cThere’s a collective, shared knowledge pool that you can pull information from, and it comes through in my work. Research and reading is really important to my practice.\u201d<\/p>\n Collectivity is key to the Biennial and the Fellowship. The exhibition illuminates the essential yet often overlooked role of mutual support among artists in sustaining and amplifying their practices and underscores the Museum\u2019s commitment to fostering creative communities.<\/p>\n Now in its 45th consecutive year, The Bronx Museum\u2019s AIM program has benefited hundreds of New York City artists through professional development and community building. As a career accelerator fellowship coupled with a dedicated exhibition, AIM stands out for the depth and longevity of its investment in participants\u2019 growth. Artists complete a nine-month curriculum designed to impart the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the art world today.<\/p>\n Sabotage<\/p>\n Katie Chin, ‘Short Pay, Short Shovels’ (detail), 2026. Installation view at ‘Seventh AIM Biennial’ at The Bronx Museum of the Arts.<\/p>\n Chadd Scott<\/p>\n In researching her installation, Chin learned the word \u201csabotage\u201d came from the French sabot, meaning “wooden shoe,”<\/a> early in the 20th century. <\/p>\n \u201cThese workers threw their (wooden) clogs into the factory equipment, or so the story goes,\u201d Chin explained. \u201cIt started as a labor tactic\u2013the word itself\u2013and now it’s been used for all sorts of other things.\u201d<\/p>\n Like warfare. Perhaps history\u2019s most famous example of sabotage. <\/p>\n Factory workers forced into labor by the Nazi\u2019s sabotaging their production. That was obviously a labor effort as well. During World War II, America\u2019s Office of Strategic Services, a precursor of the Central Intelligence Agency, distributed manuals encouraging and instructing would-be factory saboteurs on best practices.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m interested in (sabotage) most as these subtle gestures that individual agents can (undertake) rather than really big spectacular spectacle. Usually, sabotage is a form of resistance that\u2019s hard to track to the individual. It\u2019s subtle,\u201d Chin said. \u201cHow do I have agency in my own life, my own job, how can I push back?\u201d<\/p>\n Now more difficult than ever considering the extraordinary surveillance dragnet existing across America\u2013especially New York; see Bryan Fernandez\u2019 Beso a La C\u00e1mara (2025) in the AIM Biennial. <\/p>\n Bryan Fernandez, ‘Beso a La C\u00e1mara,’ 2025. Installation view at ‘Seventh AIM Biennial’ at The Bronx Museum of the Arts.<\/p>\n Chadd Scott<\/p>\n Cameras on every street corner, smart phone, and doorbell. License plate readers at every intersection. Devices listening to and recording our conversations at home. In the office. Everywhere. Artificial intelligence able to piece that information together, millions of terabytes from around the world, in seconds. Law enforcement and private industry working together to strengthen the dragnet<\/a>. To watch people. To track them. <\/p>\n Businesses tracking the computer keystrokes of their employees. Companies timing the work rate of employees to make sure they aren\u2019t resting, let alone resisting.<\/p>\n Because an action is difficult doesn\u2019t mean it isn\u2019t worth pursuing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe live in a time where it’s hard to feel like you can do anything with the oppressive systems that we live in,\u201d Chin said. \u201cWith all of the social media you see every day, everyone gets locked up and apathetic. I like this idea of sabotage, of finding agency again. How do we use it as a tactic to move into collective imagination and have it impact social systems.\u201d<\/p>\n A question worthy of deep consideration.<\/p>\n \u201cSmall gestures that change large structures,\u201d as Chin says.<\/p>\n \u201cForms of Connection\u201d remains on view, free to visit, through June 29, 2026.<\/p>\n Bj\u00f6rk Cafe & Bistro<\/p>\n Sm\u00f6rg\u00e5sbord Plate at Bj\u00f6rk Cafe & Bistro inside Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America.<\/p>\n Bj\u00f6rk Cafe & Bistro<\/p>\n Tastes unavailable in most of America are found on every corner in New York City. Bj\u00f6rk Cafe & Bistro<\/a> specializes in beloved Scandinavian classics alongside American favorites with a Nordic twist. <\/p>\n Raggmunks v\u00e5ffla, Swedish dairy-free waffles made from potatoes, with a topping of gravlax, seaweed roe, or bacon, and lingonberry jam. Bj\u00f6rk\u2019s Sm\u00f6rg\u00e5sbord Plate includes gravlax, mustard sauce, pickled herring, herb herring, red beet salad, meatballs, lingonberries, pickled cucumber, and boiled potatoes. Icelandic cod. Arctic Char. Braised short ribs.<\/p>\n The drinks menu is equally tantalizing. <\/p>\n Beers from Iceland. Chilled or warm gl\u00f6gg\u2013a Scandinavian sangria. Cocktails combining elderflower and cucumber slices. Aquavit, a clear liquor infused with botanical combinations like caraway, dill, and fennel. Sing after taking a shot with herring.<\/p>\n Expect a crowd and make reservations if you\u2019re able<\/a>.<\/p>\n This slice of the European north on Park Avenue in Midtown can be found at Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America.<\/a> The organization presents art exhibitions and an almost daily schedule of events from music performances to films, artmaking, and talks centered on the cultures of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, and increasingly expanding to include Greenland and Estonia.<\/p>\n Moxy East Village<\/p>\n Little Sister Bar at Moxy East Village.<\/p>\n Moxy East Village<\/p>\n The East Village<\/a> is a common response when asking New Yorkers to name their favorite among the city\u2019s neighborhoods. Union Square Park. Thompkins Square Park. NYU. The Strand. Unregular Pizza. Vintage retail.<\/p>\n The Moxy East Village hotel<\/a>. <\/p>\n Opened in 2019 as a new build, the property leans into the neighborhood\u2019s roots, hoping to be worthy of its location. <\/p>\n The lobby Alphabet Bar references Alphabet City<\/a>, a local neighborhood within a neighborhood. The public hang-out space frequented by travelers and NYU students\u2013the hotel is bracketed by dorms\u2013features regular social events, live DJs, and a terrace space for when the weather cooperates. Gen Xers were the target audience for interior decorators with a Debbie Harry amusement park claw game and VHS and cassette tapes replacing books in a library.<\/p>\n Moxy East Village\u2019s subterranean Little Sister lounge takes inspiration from the East Village of the 1920s. Think speakeasy. In the nomenclature of night life, it\u2019s one of the \u201ctoughest doors\u201d in the city (hard to get into). The public is welcome, but it\u2019s cozy, and there\u2019s almost always a wait, so book a reservation ahead of time. No cover charge.<\/p>\n Cath\u00e9drale Bar recreates the old Fillmore East concert venue that operated just down the street from 1968 to 1971, welcoming the biggest musical acts of the era. Oysters are only $2 during happy hour. Another happy hour deal can be found on the rooftop The Ready Cantina with $1 tacos. <\/p>\n Who says New York has to be expensive to be enjoyed?<\/p>\n More From ForbesForbesMuseum Of Modern Art Continues Long Relationship With Wifredo LamBy Chadd Scott<\/a>ForbesContemporary Native American Artwork On View Across New York This WinterBy Chadd Scott<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Katie Chin, ‘Short Pay, Short Shovels,’ 2026. 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