The Cocoon Project/CocoonNYC is a collaborative art endeavor that documents and performs the hand-crafted Cocoons with dancers, video projections, sound and music in site-specific performance-installations. CocoonNYC was created by Sherry Aliberti, an architect and performance artist based in New York City. She earned her Bachelor of Architecture at Pratt Institute with honors in 2008. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA she grew up as a competitive gymnast and developed a dance and yoga practice upon moving to New York City. The Cocoon Project presents at exhibitions in New York City, most notably Project 59/SET Gallery, House of Yes, the Living Gallery, and alternative spaces like FIGMENT NYC and Art in Odd Places. Exhibitions include photo, video or collage installations to dance and theater performances. Further collaborations have expanded the project nationally and internationally. Documentation of the project has appeared at Mocada Museum and published in Sculpture Magazine, among many blogs and social media. The Cocoon Project creates interactive performance art and colorful temporary installations with the Cocoon. Performers use gestures, poses and noises to express ideas about form, shape and movement in space and memory. Sound and video artists sculpt the final outcome of the piece. Utilizing sound, projections and fragrances, the experience is different every time. Influenced by Martha Graham and Ernesto Neto a fabric enclosure provides freedom for the performer/muse to become a morphing sculpture. Structurally, these postures represent a scale model of an architecture and materiality based on the forces of the body. This idea is explored further in Aliberti's collages, where Cocoon forms are spliced into cityscapes from her travels. These larger-scale, inhabitable places could be dance studios, museums, a bathhouse or healing center. www.sherryaliberti.com

While working with Ray Lockwood on apartments in the Upper East Side it was my responsibility to coordinate design and construction documents, details and sketches. I communicated the design intent and execution with the contractors, clients and other consultants, decorators and the expeditor. My responsibilities included generating plumbing fixture/hardware/door/lighting fixture/equipment schedules, DOB, Landmarks and Coop Board submittal drawings, checking shop drawings, purchasing finishes and punch lists. I also worked on commercial office projects for his corporate bank client.

My work as a Junior Architect included working on all phases of design and construction for educational, corporate interiors and residential projects. As a member of a small firm I was responsible for many aspects of projects, from developing schematic concepts, choosing lighting and furnishings with the team to following up with consultants and vendors for specs and details used in producing construction drawings. I used Autodesk’s Revit modeling software for creating all types of drawings and Adobe software to prepare materials for marketing, presentations and RFP documents. My roles included translating sketch ideas, site surveys and construction details generated by team meetings into actual documents using Revit to be presented to the client, sent to bid or the contractor. I generated efficient schedules for equipment, finishes and fixtures as well as informative 3D images for the client. As the Resource Librarian I curated this new firm’s library of furniture, lighting, ceilings and other furnishings while maintaining relationships with the dealers of these products. I am a leader with strong communication skills, design sensibilities and the ability to collaborate efficiently with a team and resolve issues quickly.