"Art is a crucial, dangerous operation we perform on ourselves," wrote late composer Morton Feldman in Give My Regards to Eighth Street, a posthumous volume of Feldman's writings published in 2000. 

The performance space ISSUE Project Room has never shied away from the kind of awe-inspiring artistic feats Feldman may have been referencing. The Ne(x)tworks quartet's recent performance of Feldman's epic six-hour String Quartet No. 2, a piece played in its entirety only a handful of times, was no exception. From Blondie's Debbie Harry to confrontational, genre-defying, experimental composer Elliot Sharp to improvisational free-jazz guitarist Marc Ribot, IPR has hosted many experimental luminaries. Now, new developments will ensure this vital performance space has a permanent home in New York. 

ISSUE Project Room was originally founded by photographer and gallery director Suzanne Fiol. In 2005, ISSUE Project Room moved from their East Village space to Brooklyn and shortly after found a more permanent Brooklyn lodging at the Old American Can Factory on 3rd Street in Gowanus. Their move to Brooklyn did not hinder IPR's growth, but instead the organization has become officially registered as a non-profit arts center allowing for an expansion of its events and for the creation of an artist in residence program. This means that there are always artists, performers, and musicians on tap to perform several shows at IPR during their residency. (Watch for current artist in residence Matt Mottel of Talibam! who will perform a solo show for amplified piano and synthesizers in May.) 

Though they have not been struggling to attract art world cognoscenti, Yoko Ono is chair of the IPR Art Advisory Board, or celebrities, Steve Buscemi is on their Board of Directors, IPR knew that a more commuter-friendly location would expand their audience. To the delight of its supporters, IPR just secured an enviable 20-year, rent-free lease on their new space at 110 Livingston Street in Brooklyn which will solidify their reputation as an established experimental art venue for years to come. 

The Downtown Brooklyn space on Livingston Street was christened by the  Ne(x)works concert. Cornelius Dufallo, director of Ne(x)tworks, has played Feldman's String Quartet No 2 several times now. Dufallo, prepping for his most recent performance, was struck by the positive energy of the new place. 

"The moment I walked into IPR's future home at 110 Livingston, I felt a great vibe," he said. The setup of concert had the musicians facing away from the audience and sitting in a circle facing each other. Dufallo says this arrangement was inspired by his Quaker youth. He described how as a young adult he would attend Quaker services and felt they shared similarities with the work of John Cage. The inward facing arrangement, he says, created a heightened spirituality, "it focuses the energy."

The circular placement, with only the score facing out, the regal new space, and a stunning stamina created an enveloping spiritual ethos at the day-long event. I, having gone for the last hour, felt like I had cut in at the end of a marathon - both thrilled and guilt-ridden. The piece was hypnotic with each musical minutiae being compounded by the collective experience of the concert. Despite the occasional cellphone ring or reverent rustlings, the quartet was beguilingly cohesive while acknowledging each tenuous fragment as if to cajole it back to the whole. I left feeling solemn and accomplished. 

Feldman met John Cage as they both walked out from seats in the audience at Carnegie Hall after a twelve-tone symphony to avoid the Romantic piece next on the program. Together, the two soaked up a mix of artists, writers, and composers of 1950s New York.  

Curator Zach Layton is so thrilled to fill with their larger space with multi-disciplinary artists. "As we plan more and more ambitious programs," he said, "we have seen a need for a larger capacity." He is also excited about the ambiance of the new space.  He says the location, "has such a mystical feel to it, I can imagine a huge amount of powerful musical experiences that could happen in there." The move, he hopes, will allow IPR to be a cultural anchor. From artificial intelligence installations to poetry marathons to epic contemporary music performances, Layton sees the  budding success of this unique performance venue as a testament of New York's cultural beauty. Dufallo is slightly more practical. 

"The location - in downtown Brooklyn, close to the subway stops - will help IPR build a larger audience," Duffalo said. 

In June, the Livingston St. space will play host to a kind of tribute to IPR founder Suzanne Fiol, who passed away last fall at 49. William Basinsky's piece Vivian and Ondine which was one of Fiol's most beloved compositions, will be performed. Dufallo muses that despite reaching out to a larger audience, the spirit of IPR will remain the same as a place for exploratory artists and performers. 

In another piece included in Give My Regards to Eighth Street, Feldman wrote of his time in New York in the 1950s with John Cage, that "for one brief moment - maybe, say, six weeks, nobody understood art." At IPR there may soon be a venue where we can all revel in this kind of Edenic ignorance and get home on the subway.