The ISSUE Project Room (often shortened to ISSUE) is a music venue in Brooklyn, New York founded in 2003 by Suzanne Fiol. Located in The Old American Can Factory in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn, the venue supports a wide variety of contemporary performance, specializing in presenting experimental and avant-garde music. The current director of ISSUE is Ed Patuto.
ISSUE was founded by Suzanne Fiol in a garage space in the East Village (East 6th Street) in 2003, as a "project room" to feature experimental performances presented by Fiol's photography agency, Issue Management. In 2005, the venue moved to a silo on the Gowanus Canal, featuring a custom-designed 15-channel sound system developed by sound artist Stephan Moore. In 2007, ISSUE moved to its current location at the Old American Can Factory on 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street in Brooklyn. In 2009 ISSUE was awarded a 20-year rent-free lease on the theater in 110 Livingston Street, a Beaux-Arts building in downtown Brooklyn, to create a "Carnegie Hall for the avant-garde".[1] ISSUE was awarded a $1.3M grant from Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz to subsidize renovation and outfitting of the space. In 2009, Fiol died of cancer. A memorial fund was set up in her name to guarantee the successful transition of ISSUE to its new home.
ISSUE Project room presents well over 200 events a year, ranging from established experimental music acts to new productions by relatively unknown composers, artists, and performers. It is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and has an active board of directors that includes actor Steve Buscemi, artist Robert Longo, and composers Tony Conrad and R. Luke DuBois.