Justin Neely

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Read about Justin's upcoming and recent projects and activities.

October 2026 Interview on the Aftermath of the Red Hook Fire

Justin Neely was interviewed by Eric Newstrom of the Red Hook Star-Revue for a story about how artists displaced by the September 2025 fire on Van Brunt Street have navigated the past year. He is one of three artists featured in the piece.

In "A year after the fire" (published on October 24), Newstrom also speaks with artists Bettina Magi and Smith Banfield about their art practices. Together the three perspectives stand in for the roughly 100 artists impacted by the event.

Neely is afforded space to discuss the creation of the Kintamathèque:

"In early summer, he started a new project, a series of film screenings in his home. Neely studied film as an undergraduate student, so this was a return to the roots of sorts.

'It wasn’t a deliberate choice to start over, but that I think is what works about it. It was just purely passion-driven and it was also establishing a regular social connection to a great friend,' he said."

Introducing the Kintamathèque in 2026

This summer (2026) Neely began a new conceptual project called the "Kintamathèque" (a portmanteau created in honor of his beloved late dog and the legendary Cinémathèque française of Henri Langlois). The idea was inspired by a friend's invitation to a revival showing of To Have and Have Not and the ensuing discussion after the film.

Imagined as a "conceptual and portable movie house," the Kintamathèque will function as an exercise in focused attention and critical viewing as a creative act. Neely is inviting artistic peers for an as-yet-undetermined number of formal series and one-off screenings in an evocatively composed environment with film selection and critical materials heavily focused on 20th-century output.

The only public-facing evidence of the project initially will be a list of titles screened and reference materials, but the research, discussions and varied works viewed are expected to reverberate beyond a mere list of links. Time will tell.

Crisis Update Podcast Interview October 2025

Neely was invited back to The Pre-Made Podcast by one-time Amherst classmate and friend Matt Collins to speak about the Red Hook Fire and its personal and community impact in the immediate aftermth of the event. Spotify and Apple links to The Pre-Made Podcast episode are live on Collins' blog.