Published: New York Times Style Magazine
May 2008

 

The Territory maintains a permanent ad on Craigslist, and it receives up to 150 e-mail messages a day from aspirants in search of cheap digs. I asked its creator, Sergio Ostroverhy, a Russian-born artist in his 40s, how he picks the Territory's residents. He shrugged. "We receive an e-mail from a person, then they become part of the community." Yes, but how do you choose? "It's not me. It is the Territory that chooses. I just follow the vibe." The "vibe" is created by a clutch of writers and artists, most of whom are in their early 20s and who live within the Territory's mysterious penetralia for as long as a year. "Over one year, you become part of the structure," Ostroverhy said.
From the outside, that structure is near-invisible. Inside, it is seemingly endless, a rabbit warren jerry-built out of tin, ductwork, gaffer tape, plastic sheeting. The Territory was a ruin when Ostroverhy found it, 10 years ago. He started it as his studio, then began taking people in. The first was Dmitri Bortnikov, a Russian writer who was invited on the condition that he create his own living space.