Anchorage Plaza in Downtown Brooklyn. Image via nycparks
NYC Parks announced today that a Request for Expressions of Interest (“RFEI”) has been issued for the temporary and seasonal implementation of programming, amenities, events, and development at Anchorage Plaza in Downtown Brooklyn.
Anchorage Plaza is surrounded by a busy and dynamic section of the Brooklyn Bridge, bound by Old Fulton, Front, York, Washington, and Prospect Streets with views of the Manhattan skyline. It is located between the vibrant and frequently visited historic districts of Brooklyn Heights and Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass (“DUMBO”) neighborhoods of Brooklyn.
Abandoned Boat Removal by NYC Parks in Sheepshead Bay. Image credit: NYC Parks/Malcolm Pinckney
Today, NYC Parks Chief of Waterfront and Marine Operations Nate Grove and City Council Member Inna Vernikov teamed up to remove three derelict vessels from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Derelict, abandoned vessels and other marine debris are environmental hazards and create navigational and property damage risks, particularly when becoming dislodged during heavy weather events.
Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit that sustains the park in partnership with the City, has received a prestigious $275,000 Humanities in Place grant from the Mellon Foundation to advance its ReImagine Lefferts initiative, which seeks to re-envision the mission and programming at the park’s historic house museum to recognize its roleas a site of dispossession and enslavement, and explore the stories of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking whose unceded ancestral lands the house rests upon and the Africans who were enslaved by the Lefferts family.
The Alliance will engage the public around this initiative with a Community Conversation on Saturday, February 11, 2023, from 1-4 pm, at the Prospect Park Boathouse. Learn more and RSVP for this free event at prospectpark.org/reimagine-lefferts-conversation
Illustration of Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center courtesy NYC Parks
NYC Parks and NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) are proud to announce the design completion for the new, to-be-constructed Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center planned for East Flatbush, Brooklyn. This brand-new recreation center will include an indoor pool and public plaza, and serve as a hub for fitness, learning, and recreation.
NYC Parks has released a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for the operation, maintenance, and development of a new café at Cadman Plaza Park in Downtown Brooklyn. Cadman Plaza serves as a focal point for the entire Brooklyn Heights community and is an ideal location for a new café. The park is frequented by families, joggers, and dog-walkers, as well as commuters and local employees. The RFP offers a unique opportunity for a prospective proposer to transform an existing building into a brand-new café.
Ready, set, shop! Holidays on Atlantic Avenue are in full swing offering unique gifts, promotions, and stunning festive window displays. Shoppers can explore Brooklyn’s vibrant neighborhoods of Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and Downtown Brooklyn all season long without the hassle of cardboard boxes at their door. Throughout December, visitors can enjoy shop and dine specials at local businesses, pop-up entertainment, and photo opportunities with Santa.
On Tuesday, October 25, 2022, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) held a public hearing on the proposed designation of The Lesbian Herstory Archives at 484 Fourteenth Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The proposed individual landmark is culturally significant as the home since 1991 of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, the nation’s oldest and largest collection of lesbian-related historical material.
On November 22, 2022, LPC voted to approve The Lesbian Herstory Archives, located at 484 Fourteenth Street in Brooklyn, as an Individual Historic Landmark. It is the first individual landmark in Brooklyn designated for its LGBTQ+ associations.
“I am delighted Commission has designated the home of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, an important community space and a nationally important collection of LGBTQ+ historical materials,” said Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Sarah Carroll. “For over 30 years, the building has been the site of the Archives’ essential role in preserving and telling the stories of a mostly unseen community of women, including many who have contributed to America’s cultural, political, and social history. This designation draws attention to the importance of the Lesbian Herstory Archives to New York City and the country’s history and to LGBTQ+ communities.”
There are 1,400 Individual Landmarks throughout this City.
Toast to NYC, Risa Puno in Williamsburg. Image courtesy Maker’s Mark.
Kentuckian-turned-New Yorker Risa Puno is known for her interactive art installations that encourage connection and empathy. In her new installation, the artist created an interactive public artwork inspired by the interconnectedness of urban living, as as well as the city’s iconic brownstone stoops that serve as sites for spontaneous social gatherings ~ a shared stoop, welcoming her fellow New Yorkers to sit, take a break from busy city life, and savor the moment together.
The 54th Boerum Hill House Tour will take place on Sunday, October 23rd from 1:00 ~ 5:00pm. Five residences, two community facilities, one hotel and a church will be featured on this year’s tour.
Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow’s “Am I Pretty Now?” by Jósa Goodlife
REPOPULATIONS: New Horizons is the second iteration of the Climate Week-inspired exhibition series REPOPULATIONS which focuses on environmentally-themed subjects and takes place yearly during the summer and early fall months. Curated by Daniela Holban, this exhibition is part of the larger NOoSPHERE Arts’ WE ARE NATURE Series: art events that make full use of the unique stage setting of the Kingsland Wildflowers bird sanctuary at Broadway Stages in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to engage a diverse audience in environmental efforts through art.
Frida Kahlo, an immersive biography, will open its doors on October 27th, located at 261 Water Street in Brooklyn. The exhibition will take viewers on a journey through the life of one of the most influential artists of all time. Tickets go on sale September 23 at 10am.
Alex Jamieson, Alex Nude Back in front of Painting. Image courtesy of the artist
Compère Collective will open its doors to Our Stories: Patterns & What We Inherit, an art exhibition by Alexandra Jamieson. For her first solo show, Alexandra Jamieson found inspiration in trauma healing therapies like EMDR, as well as scientific research into epigenetic inheritance, and the basic building blocks of human life, nucleotides. Patterns of healing, epigenetic trauma, and intergenerational expressions of hope, addiction, mental health crises, and loss are explored in this robust series of watercolors and mixed-media paintings. Her exhibition will be opening in September to honor Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
The Atlantic Antic™ Festival, presented by Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation (AALDC), is returning for its 47th year on Sunday, October 2, 2022. The annual festival is a veritable New York institution, beloved for its distinctive selection of vendors and activities as well as its focus on elevating local and small businesses from Atlantic Avenue and beyond. From noon until 6pm, rain or shine, the public is invited to enjoy a variety of merchandise, food and entertainment as they stroll along ten blocks in neighborhoods including Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn.
Save the Date ~ Little Amal Walks will arrive at The Atlantic Antic on October 2nd!
NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission public hearing on the Melrose Parkside Historic District. Image, Parkside Avenue (south side) LPC 2021.
On Tuesday, October 18, 2022, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) held a public hearing on the proposed Melrose Parkside Historic District in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn.
The proposed Melrose Parkside Historic District is a remarkably cohesive and intact group of 38 single- and two-family row houses located on Parkside Avenue between Flatbush and Bedford avenues in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn.
A meeting will be scheduled in the near future for a vote.
Sophia-Yemisi Adeyemo, Rose of Sharon, 2021 courtesy of the artist and Project Room at BRIC House
Featuring new work by 2021-22 BRIClab: Contemporary Artist Sophia-Yemisi Adeyemo, Earth & Iron: Archival Visions of Land and Struggle brings together past and present notions of revolution, liberation, and land sovereignty. With painted and collaged images based on early twentieth-century colonial photography taken in West Africa and the Caribbean, Adeyemo-Ross reaches into the past to envision alternative futures.
Rodrigo Valenzuela, Weapon #30. Image courtesy of the artist and Asya Geisberg Gallery; Documentation Max Cleary
Rodrigo Valenzuela will construct an architectural setting for his photographs in the Gallery at BRIC House that will symbolically evoke issues arising from his imagery. This sculptural aspect to the exhibition will itself reflect the artist’s own labor, and harken back to his experience as a construction worker upon his arrival as an immigrant in the United States. In addition to photography, the exhibition will also include a new video and series of sculptures by the artist. The exhibition will be accompanied by public programs and by an illustrated catalogue with an essay by curator Elizabeth Ferrer. On view September 22, 2022.
Industry City(IC), the six million-square-foot, 35-acre creative community and home of the Brooklyn Design District, has announced its first-ever Art Saturday, an all-day campus-wide exhibition of art and design through the lens of individual artists.
The event will feature art tours, gallery openings, candle-making and kid flower-arranging workshops, Japanese pottery pop-ups, and more.
Digital rendering of Mind Forged Manacles/Manacle Forged Minds, an upcoming public installation by artist Fred Wilson. The sculptural mockup is situated in Brooklyn’s Columbus Park.
On June 28th, More Art unveiled Mind Forged Manacles/Manacle Forged Minds, Fred Wilson’s first ever large-scale public sculpture, opening at the plaza in Columbus Park, Brooklyn on Tuesday June 28, 2022 and closing a year later, in June 2023. The installation features a 10-foot-tall sculpture, composed of layers of decorative ironwork, fencing and statues of African figures. This project is funded in part through the Downtown Brooklyn + Dumbo Art Fund, under New York State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), and is exhibited through NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program.
New Cafe’ at McCarren Park. Image credit: NYC Parks/Daniel Avila
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue today joined the operators of the new McCarren ParkHouse, Aaron Broudo and Belvy Klein, and community members to cut the ribbon on the new café at McCarren Park in Brooklyn.
“We are thrilled to herald the start of the summer season, while continuing New York City’s ongoing recovery, by welcoming the opening of a brand new café at McCarren Park,” said Commissioner Donoghue. “New Yorkers can now enjoy a delightful outdoor dining experience in North Brooklyn’s largest public park. I am also pleased that this historic building has been completely restored with new sustainable elements and, in addition to the café, will serve as a new hub for NYC Parks’ North Brooklyn Maintenance & Operations and Parks Enforcement Patrol staff.”
For the Birds is a multidisciplinary exhibition and program series inspired by the Garden’s resident birds, as well as “For the Birds: The Birdsong Project,” a multialbum set of original recordings celebrating birds by 200-plus artists, compiled by Randall Poster.
Through both scientific and artistic lenses, For the Birds explores the connections between birds and plants.
Image courtesy Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation (AALDC)
On June 18, the Arts Gowanus ArtWalk returns to the streets, parks and businesses of Atlantic Avenue, giving the public the opportunity to enjoy works from over 100 local artists in a self-guided tour of 70-plus locations in the community.
Students of IS 30 creating “Nothing Can Dim The Light Which Shines From Within”, 2021 ~ Photo credit: Mollie Roth
BRIC, a leading arts and media institution, is pleased to announce its 33rd annual student exhibition, Re: generation, celebrating the creativity of K-12 graders who represent a network of over 2,000 students across 43 schools and three community centers around Brooklyn. With the return of students to full-time, in-person learning for New York City Public Schools in September 2021, the need for community re-building was necessary more than ever. With the support of BRIC’s Youth Education residency programs and its 30 teaching artists and professional educators, classrooms in participating schools became spaces in which students could reconnect and express themselves through visual arts and media. On view from May 19 to June 12, 2022, with an opening reception May 21, the exhibition explores topics of identity, activism, current events, mental health, community, and the characteristics that shape one’s personal and communal identities.
Heidi Lau: Gardens as Cosmic Terrains at Green-Wood Cemetery. Image courtesy Stacy Locke at Green-Wood.
The Green-Wood Cemetery today announced a new installation by the Cemetery’s first artist in residence, Heidi Lau. Gardens as Cosmic Terrains, inspired by Lau’s explorations of the Cemetery, was created specially for the Catacombs, which are usually closed to the public. The installation opens on Saturday, May 7th.
Art in Dumbo announced the date for the next First Thursday Gallery Walk ~ March 3rd from 6:00 to 8:00pm. Highlights include: Insider’s Tour; Mark Tribe at Minus Space; Susan Meiselas at Higher Pictures Generation; the art history talk at Cuban Art Space and more.
Industry City’s Japan Village, a sprawling hub of Japanese cuisine, has today announced a massive second-floor upward expansion of its current location. Dubbed ‘The Loft’ at Japan Village, the new retail concept looks to further celebrate the strong Japanese community in Brooklyn, inviting visitors to experience Japanese culture and products first-hand.
New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), Housing Development Corporation (HDC), BRP Companies, and Urbane have announced the opening and rebranding of Flatbush Central—formerly Flatbush Caton Market—the revitalized marketplace which has been part of the fabric of the community for more than 20 years.
The Grand Opening took place on Friday, May 13th, 2022 with remarks from Mayor Adams, elected officials and others. The opening celebration invites the community to enjoy steel drum/Haitian folk music performances, stilt walkers, chef demos and food tastings, dance and printmaking classes, tours of the newly revitalized marketplace, and more during a weekend-long block party-style event, kicked off with remarks from elected officials and key stakeholders of the project.
Continuing the Celebration, Flatbush Central Caribbean Marketplace will host a weekend-long celebration ahead of the annual West Indian Day Parade! Friday, September 2nd through Monday, September 5, 2022.
NYC Parks and DOT today announced the completion of two conceptual planning studies for greenways in Brooklyn and Queens. TheDestination: Greenways! studies identified gaps in the existing greenway routes and ways to improve and transform key greenspaces into both a destination and a thoroughfare to increase access. The study outlined opportunities for investments in key areas in Central Queens and along Brooklyn’s southwest shoreline, with a focus on connecting existing fragmented greenway segments. This week, Parks will host virtual meetings to report back to the community on the results of the study.
Body-Building, 2021. Glass and stained sycamore branch with flexible adhesive and zippers
Till Human Voices Wake Us, And We Drown, a solo exhibition of work by Palestinian-American interdisciplinary artist Kris Rumman, will be on view at UrbanGlass from January 19 – April 8, 2022. Curated by Zeljka Himbele, the exhibition inaugurates UrbanGlass’ Curator-at-Large program, which will give an invited curator the opportunity to develop innovative concepts and public programs for 4 annual exhibitions presented in UrbanGlass’ Robert Lehman Gallery. The program’s goal is to address critical cultural issues and to contribute to the contemporary art and design dialogue through the material of glass.
Image: Bandolier Bag, 2014, Joe Baker. Fabric, wool, glass beads, 24 inches L, 7inch- wide strap: Bag is 8 1/4inches H, 9″ W, Courtesy of the artist.
Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) and The Lenape Center announced today Lenapehoking, the first-ever Lenape-curated exhibition in New York featuring masterworks by Lenape artists past and present. The new exhibition, opening January 20 and on view through April 30 at Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center, includes never-before-seen beaded bandolier bags from the 1800s, a newly created turkey feather cape, culinary tapestries from a seed rematriation project in the Hudson Valley, and more.
Web Banner Option B Miho Hiranouchi, Being., 2021 Watercolor, charcoal, pastel, oil ink, 22 x 48 in. Image courtesy of the artist
The Art Students League’s Exhibition Outreach program presents its first student exhibition of 2022, in partnership with ChaShaMa and featuring 25 artists exploring themes of mystery, magic, and light. Titled Searchlight, the exhibition is organized by guest Curator Samuel Rowlett, a League alumnus, and is on view at One Brooklyn Bridge Park January 6–March 10, 2022. The exhibition plays in a range of shadowed depths and colorful surfaces, taking viewers from the small, quiet space of a computer screen to the vast landscape of an entire world. A glowing thread weaves its way through each work on view; it runs through a cloud-covered sun in winter and chases a pair of friends ambling through a forest. Light, and the ways in which it can be filtered and interpreted, appears before us in steel thorns, in driftwood textured with beeswax, and in rich abstractions. What is this guiding light in search of? Where will it take us?
Karen Miranda-Rivadeneira, The mountain I am, Urku ñuka kani, video still, 2021
BRIC House will open its doors to two Fall 2021 Exhibitions, Athena LaTocha: In the Wake of … and Karen Miranda-Rivadeneira: The mountain I am, Urku ñuka kani on September 29th.
Carles García O’Dowd, Covid People: Commuter, 2020, ink on paper, 11 3/4 x 8 1/4 inches
TW Fine Art is pleased to present Caught Up in a Lockdown Art Affair, a group exhibition of works created by fifteen artists over the last 18 months of the global pandemic. COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdowns shook people from their regular routines, and while many artists took a break from their practices and studios, others embraced this time to lean into their creative work, pushing their output further than ever before. This show celebrates these new works, and the bright spot that came out of an otherwise difficult year. Caught Up in a Lockdown Art Affair will be on view at TW Fine Art’s Brooklyn Summer Outpost (514 Atlantic Ave) from August 24, 2021 through September 30, 2021, with a public opening event on August 24 from 6:30pm to 10pm EST.
Penda Diakité (USA-Mali). Made In America, 2018 Collage, acrylic, spray paint on wood panel, resin finish 36 x 48 in. Courtesy of the artist and Pitroda Art.
Pitroda Art will present its final public installation of artwork by 15 artists participating in Movement: Art for Social Change, the annual juried exhibition that celebrates artists as champions of positive social change. The 14 artworks, selected by a renowned jury and responding to the theme of racial justice and equity, will be projected onto The Brooklyn Public Library on June 21, 2021.
Marching Across Your Lawn, The Grass is on Fire, 2020; Hand-sewn human gray hair on black twill fabric; 32 × 37 in; 81.3 × 94 cm. Image courtesy of the artist.
Researching the history of women-led marches, Meza-DesPlas considers the role of the individual within a demonstration. Vast numbers of clamorous bodies in motion translate to a robust show of strength and determination; however, eventually, the individual goes home to their daily existence. When the protest is over, the pussy hats put away, signs disposed of and costumes packed up – is political activism embraced as an ongoing individual practice? Figurative artworks, with minimized or nonexistent facial features, convey the individual subsumed by the larger group. Compositionally, these feminine bodies reflect the varying tempos and pauses of a demonstration thus illustrating the visual structure of marching. Meza-DesPlas’ nude figures exude vulnerability yet defiance; furthermore, they allude to art historical images of partially nude women representing political ideology.
Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) today launched Whispering Libraries, a curated, audio experience taking place outdoors at 10 library branches and across Brooklyn. Designed to share art and culture throughout the streets of Brooklyn, Whispering Libraries invites the public to listen to curated playlists of music, poetry, oral histories, podcast excerpts, spoken literature, and more, streamed through hidden speakers starting as early as 7:30 a.m. and playing up to five times a day on weekdays and select Saturdays.
Breathing Pavilion by Ekene Ijeoma. Photo credit: Kris Graves courtesy Van Alen Institute
At this time of great hardship and loss,Breathing Pavilion by Ekene Ijeoma offers a public space for communal meditation, self-reflection, and interconnectedness.
Breathing Pavilion comprises a 30-foot circle of 20 illuminated inflatable columns. These columns slowly modulate in brightness to illustrate a deep breathing technique designed to bring calm. Sit or stand around the pavilion, syncopating your breath with the lights and attuning yourself to a shared rhythm.
A bronze statue of the late United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg created by the sculpture artists Gillie and Marc will be unveiled in Brooklyn. the sculpture will be a permanent installation at the City Point development in Brooklyn, and was unveiled on March 12, 2021.
Addressing anti-Asian racism in our city, artist, Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya seized the moment, creating portraits of Asian people with the wording, I Am Not Your Scapegoat and This is Our Home Too. The project, entitled ‘I Still Believe in our City’ is a series of 45 individual pieces of artwork, located in this cities busiest places ~ subway stations in Brooklyn.
Congratulations to Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya for making the cover of Time Magazine, The Story Behind Time’s Cover on Anti-Asian Violence and Hate Crimes, March, 2021.
Richmond Barthé’s Green Pastures: The Walls of Jericho (1938), a sculpture located at the Kingsborough Houses (also in Crown Heights). Barthé, who identified as homosexual, is considered the most important sculptor of African-American modernism in the first half of the twentieth century. Photos via NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project
In 2021, the Fulton Art Fair celebrated Black History Month and the 100th birthday of artist Richmond Barthé with the announcement of a restoration for the much loved relief, ‘Exodus and Dance.’ at Kingsborough Houses in Weeksville, Brooklyn.
On Tuesday, November 10, 2020, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted to designate the main building of the Angel Guardian Home as an Individual Landmark. The enthusiastic vote registered 16 in favor with zero opposition, along with 71 letters in favor. This architecturally distinctive building serves as a reminder of the important role played by religious social service organizations in Brooklyn’s early 20th century history. This would be the first landmark in this area.
NYC Parks Asks Brooklynites to help reimagine five parks in the Borough. Community members can register and participate virtually through registration starting today. Along the way, check out images of Parks improvements already completed.
BRIC and Prospect Park Alliance new art installation. Image courtesy David Andrako
A new art installation landed at the Prospect Park Bandshell this month, created by the collaborative duo, Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine. Titled, Inspired By “What Is Left,” the text-based installation quotes the late poet Lucille Cliftonand offers the Brooklyn community a message of resilience and perseverance.
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) held a public hearing on the proposed East 25th Street Historic District in Flatbush, Brooklyn and this week, voted to designate this historic district in East Flatbush. The new historically designated district is a cohesive group of 56 Renaissance Revival style row houses built by a single developer, the Henry Meyer Building Company, between 1909 and 1912. Located on East 25th Street between Clarendon Road and Avenue D, this is the first historic district in East Flatbush.
Image: Stephanie J. Woods, When the Hunted Become the Hunters (still), 2020, moving audio photograph, 07:39 min. Courtesy of the artist.
Bound up Together: On the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment was organized in the months leading up to the 2020 presidential election, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and as Black Lives Matter protests erupted around the world. The exhibition centers on the achievements that granted some women the right to vote and the pervasive and enduring intersections of racism, sexism and misogyny that disfigure American culture and society.
COVID-19 Update ~ Originally schedule for July, 2020, The Bounce House might be arriving in Brooklyn for two weekends ~ July 24 & 25 and July 31 & August 1, 2021. Check the COVID-19 Update link for news & purchase tickets.
The Big Bounce America, home of the Guinness Certified ‘World’s Biggest Bounce House,’ will be going coast-to-coast inflating in 44 cities across the country, and rolling into the Big Apple ~ over 13,000 square feet of it ~ for two weekends, beginning July 18th!
In the Summer of 2018, do you remember seeing a fifty-three-foot long trailer tuck (the mobile studio) in your neighborhood? The trailer truck spent a month driving through all five boroughs, checking out numerous locations, taking photographs of people from all walks of life who wished to participate in French-artist, JR’s project, The Chronicles of New York, which coincides with his current retrospective, JR: Chronicles, at Brooklyn Museum of Art.
As part of the Today at Apple series, Dr. Barbara Ann Teer’s National Black Theatre (NBT)and Apple Williamsburg offer an evening of conversation and exploration with artists including Jillian Walker, Makeba Rainey, Jaimee Todd and Jonathan McCrory discussing the use of the arts, tech and indigenous practices to create visual representations of black womanhood and continue the rich legacy of the Black arts community. A panel discussion with the artists will be followed by an live demonstration with Todd showcasing her creative process in the Procreate painting app and her use of layering, color and other techniques to create abstract portraits. Attendees will then have a chance to gain hands-on experience with Procreate by using iPads and Apple Pencil to interact with Todd’s work and create and share their own art as well on the Apple store’s brilliant 4K video wall.
One of New York City’s largest artist enclaves is opening its doors to the public May 18-19, 2019. Industry City Open Studios offers the public a behind-the-scenes look into the customized creative spaces of Industry City’s many artists, makers, and manufacturers. The annual event, now in its sixth year, gives visitors a rare opportunity to access the artists’ studios as well as meet with the artists and experience the process of their work being produced firsthand.
