Catskills Builders Ty Tamburo Exhibition Opens at Bushel June 20

DELHI — Bushel welcomes all to a reception on Saturday, June 20, 5–8 pm to celebrate the opening of Catskills Builders, a monthlong installation and project by Ty Tamburo that encompasses a book project, exhibition, and community tool library centered around self-builders in the Catskills. Bushel is located at 106 Main Street, in Delhi. Refreshments will be available.  

Catskills Builders documents—through photographs, interviews, and drawings—the culture of self-building in the Catskills and how it fits into the ecological and economic realities of the region. For one month, June 20–July 27, Bushel Collective will be transformed into a temporary tool library and learning space intended to make building feel more approachable and collaborative. In a region where affordable housing is increasingly out of reach and many homes require ongoing maintenance, Catskills Builders asks how various forms of mutual aid might help people take building into their own hands.  

“This project began quite simply as a zine,” explains builder, craftsman, and artist Ty Tamburo. “Then it grew into a 98-page book that includes interviews with self-builders and a local code enforcer.” The publication features photographs and drawings of homes, workshops, and building practices from across Delaware County. Copies of the book will be available at the opening reception and during the run of the exhibition through July 27 during programs and open hours. 

Ty Tamburo (35) was born and raised near Boston, Massachusetts. They studied Interactive Art and Sound Art at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, graduating in 2013. Afterward, they worked as an exhibit designer and builder at the Baltimore Children’s Museum. In 2016, they moved to Brooklyn, New York, where they built store and window displays, including animatronic Christmas installations for high-end fashion brands. In 2021, Ty and their partner, Glenna Yu, moved to Andes, New York, where they founded Pillow Fort Arts Center—a small community-centered space grounded in respect for its members and the natural environment, and built as a resource for artists, thinkers, and makers. (pillowfortartscenter.org)