Brooklyn Creative Market : Crown Hts Sat. 6/4 meet B'Klyn's newest creatives!

This Saturday June 4th on the rooftop of the Brooklyn Children's Museum will host the Brooklyn Creative Market and you should stop by.

Why and What's this? 

It's a gathering of youth entrepreneurs, new and emerging young people from their teens up, who are being granted an opportunity to bring their Fashion, Music, Photography and art in general, to the public and gain valuable business and marketing experience.

The event will feature a youth lead pop up shop for young creative entrepreneurs to showcase their products and services to the world.

50+ creatives will display their work in Art, Fashion, Food, Photography, Music and more.

• Live performances
• Two DJ's
• 50+ vendors
• INteractive activities
• Pitch competition where one  business will win $1,000 for their startup.

For some it will be the first time they're bringing their creativity to the public and for all it will be an incredible boost to confidence and self-determination.

I'm proud to say I helped support this event and as a result 6 of the best entrepreneur's business plans will receive $1000 to act on their ideas.

It's exactly the type of thing many of us talk about, giving real world business opportunity and experience to creative young native Brooklynites in a way that helps them focus and build their future careers.

Here's where you can receive your (free) ticket:

Here's a link with more details on registering as a vendor
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/brooklyn-creative-market-registration-25135392636

FUN, FREE, FAMILY Event by FES this Sat, Marcy Playground

Just found out about a fun, free community event in Brooklyn THIS Saturday, 12/6 in support of #DontStealPossible —  a movement created to raise awareness of the NYC education crisis and the 143,000 students stuck in failing NYC schools. 

In celebration of this one-of-a-kind campaign, there will be a #DontStealPossible neighborhood block party on Saturday, December 6th at Marcy Playground (corner of Myrtle and Nostrand, in Bed-Stuy) from 12-3pm that features family-friendly entertainment and activities including music, arts & crafts, face-painting and storytelling, as well as complimentary bites, drinks and snacks.

Here's a map to get your orientated, check googlemaps for specifics.

Local area favorites such as artisanal handcrafted donuts from Dough, tacos from Tacombi, hot apple cider, hot cocoa, and more will be available to attendees, at NO CHARGE.

Kids and parents will also have the chance to sign and complete the #DontStealPossible mural by renowned New York native artist, Greg Lamarche, created last month for the #DontStealPossible rally in Foley Square that brought over 1,000 parents, teachers and kids together.

And for the event, see the flyer above for further details:

The End of 5Ptz, a vibrant piece of New York City

I've been wanting to post about last month's Banksy NYC residency and it's impact, but life happened as it does, and then this happened.

(all photographs by Tiernan Morgan for Hyperallergic) 

EVIL. i dislike when "evil" is tossed around as a cause or a label, but this is straight evil, malicious, petty, intended to do nothing really more than wound and disrespect. The 5ptz building, which most of you know is an otherwise unremarkable industrial building at LIC Queen's eastern edge, made otherworldly and beautiful by the artwork it's been dressed in for over a decade has been defiled by it's owners who last night sent in workers to cruelly paint over as much of the artwork, as they could.

(all photographs by Tiernan Morgan for Hyperallergic) 

The owners recently won the right, after many appeals, to turn the land into a new development. The plans they show, make no usage of the existing structure, so why paint over this building that is scheduled to be torn down? They did it simply to be evil soulless monsters.

(all photographs by Tiernan Morgan for Hyperallergic) 

The buffing and over painting in this way is a physical, premeditated undeniable attack on art, which is an attack on the human heart. And why? To prove ownership? To forcibly demonstrate power to Meres who has been custodian and curator of the building and leader of the fight to preserve it as artists mecca and landmark? Did they cover the art to look away from the artists who've committed beauty to modern blight? Or are they like Oedipus realizing that they've screwed that which put them on the map and made the building (and to a large degree the neighborhood) a place where people would even consider WANTING to be? Did the fight over the right to make statements with paint leave them secretly longing to up their own sloppy tag, to say "fuck you we're somebody too" and at the same time physically blind themselves to the art that birthed their opportunity, attempting blind us in the process along with them?

Who cares their motivation, my desire to know why doesn't explain or excuse their desire to obscure creation, expression from the public space and the lotus-esque ways in which our spirits rebirth value out of human despair. 

I can't help but recall the transition of 11 Spring in Soho from public graf board and tag mecca to it's current luxury condo status.  I shot and produced a simple video with the help and support of Marc Schiller and the Wooster Collective, interviewing the artists and talking about the significance of that building. The owners sought out Marc to invite artists to tag up 11 Spring, dozens of them, each with their own styles, background, celebrity levels and politics were granted the time to demonstrate what that building had become, there public came, a moment was made and I believe the value of art it's inspiration to commerce were reinforced in an enriching experience. Granted there many were differences of opinion at 11 Spring, but ultimately recognition was given to the place art had made in giving that building such value that it was able to capitalize monetarily and as a result take what had become a public space for the exchange of ideas and friendships and political and personal discontent, through art, away from the public. New York City has always been a confluence of commerce, since the native Lenape came down to the rivers to trade, but there a ways to do business on a human level that add value to the transaction and the active. 

Disrespect is not only evil, it's unnecessary. 

So I'm hoping we all keep our eyes and ears open for how we as intentional and accidental members of this moment's nyc artistic community respond and when necessary participate in response to the evil disrespect of human heart that took place last night at 5Ptz. 

Wangechi Mutu, DJ Reborn, Wunmi, Party! Brooklyn Museum: TONIGHT

Tonight if you are out anywhere in Brooklyn, you ought to be at the Brooklyn Museum where there will not only be a rare Thursday night dance party spun by the beautiful talented and renown DJ Reborn, Venus X & Wunmi (with her internationally known sassy musical funk) but it'll be the first event held during Wangechi Mutu's Exhibition: Fantastic Journey which opened last week.

As if that isn't enough there will be dance performances by Afro-Mosaic Soul and fashions on sale in a pop-up shop by Ngozi Odia of Society HAE (Harriet's Alter-Ego if ya' didn't know) and AFRIKA21.

Today Thursday Oct 17, 6:30 - 9:30
Beaux-Arts Court, 3rd Floor

Seeya there.

Missed it Mondays 060313 - Bushwich Open Studios 2013

Bushwich Open Studios the massive open invite local artists put out to the public, ringed by a schedule of musical events and parties was this past weekend and that's the subject of today's Missed it Monday feature. 

(Above "Bushwhich" 2013 Digital media: flier art, recontextualized googlemap, bedazzled with confusion. 36"x96". $9,000. or you could just steal it.)

Because I missed it. Because Bushwich is literally far out, and well, I couldn't find it.
yeh... I know.

I decided to trek from Crown Heights over and it never fails to shock me how much longer it takes to get to Bushwich central, than it takes to get to almost anything in Brooklyn not sitting on the shoreline. I've lived in or traversed about 75% of this borough in my years and i still can't find my way through Bushwich's layers. I rode in circles so lost even google's servers could clear my confusion.

I was specifically trying to get to a few artists studios and before I even left the apartment I was caught in a self-induced whirlwind of confusion worried that I got the date of the mermaid parade wrong and it was somehow going on yesterday, or that perhaps dance african hadn't ended and i was missing something and nagging appetite led cravings for Brooklyn Crab or Smorgashburg, while at the same time my mind was filled with certain dread that it was 1st saturday which i love except that, well i go to bars near by and can't find my favorite seat, after the sea of humanity flows down from the Brooklyn Museum's cultured hilltop.  

In short I was suffering for the luxury of living in one of the most awesomely dynamic places on earth Brooklyn on the edge of summer. (yeh 1st art world problems, woe is me)

Of course this is just the beginning. Celebrate Brooklyn hasnt even started, June is just opening, there's even a Zombi Crawl on the calendar (why...) so as it is most every summer there will be something great, worthwhile and possibly magical happening every weekend in Brooklyn from now until its time to take my sweaters back out of cider infused mothballs (what you don't do cider, c'mon son, biological loss prevention at it's finest) so yeh that.

So now I pretend I went to the Bushwich Open Studios, instead of wandering the streets like a person off their meds in a foreign country and one Artist person i want to mention is Coby Kennedy. 

here's some of Coby's recent work:

(above from cobykennedy.com : ©Coby Kennedy)

Why because beside intending to see his creation space, Coby's a dope artistic-muthernucker and one of the peoples who studio was open in bushwich this past weekend and I've seen much of his recent work is a melange.. (nah I'm not finishing that sentence)

Heres what Coby's recent work says to me, "the world ended, you missed it, we're still here and now with nothing to lose, lock and load." and they say that with practical objects crafted as much from raw materials and street architecture as imagination and they're likely to make you wonder if you'll have enough ammo in the after life.

So what have we learned, (you, probably that I can write an egregious run-on sentence like no one's business) and me that maybe it's time I get over the time specific hype of events and realize the true mission of open studios events, to introduce people to cool artists who because of social-economic pressures work (and often live) way the fuck out on the fringe (where the rainbow ends) and just visit some artists studios regardless of what the date is. Annnd I came across more wild condos, crevasse dwelling subcultures and thick tree lined streets than I give Bushwich credit for. A photographic  revisit is in the works.

Photo Wednesday 030613 - The Patience of El Anatsui (at the Brooklyn Museum)

I want to share this with you. Above are a few of the several wonderful, intricate, transformational works of artist El Anatsui of Ghana now on display at the Brooklyn Museum - make your eyes and mind happy, check them out before they're gone. 

I won't tell you about the details of the work, they're better seen and experienced in person.

El Anatsui has been creating works of various types, materials and messages for decades, it took a while for the world to catch on to him and I'm glad he persevered and continues to create.

At Brooklyn Museum now thru August 4, 2013.

Review:  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/arts/design/a-million-pieces-of-home-el-anatsui-at-brooklyn-museum.html

WTF! Free.Bouncy.Rides. ?!?

How in the fuck did I not know about this:

It's been going on at least since March, apparently everywhere.

So what I want to know is, is that Paco Cao under the hood? And why are some many women I dated in the last few months, on that fish's lap?

Also you can't miss this:

Random New York Magic (not shot by me) featuring said Dolphin Furry:

Photo Wedns: 6/24/09: A Space Invader lands in WillyB

WillyB, still a destination for outsider art. In this case the orange pixelated character is a artwork by the French (collective?) called "Space Invader" (for obvious reasons). This Wednesday's Photo.

Weekend One-Liners 6/6-6/7

This weekend's one-liners:
Today and tomorrow, Atlantic Art Walk: http://atlanticavenueartwalk.com/home/

Tomorrow Sun 6/7 1st Annual Brooklyn Beer Experiment: http://www.thebrooklynbeerexperiment.blogspot.com/ [gmap]

Artists, teens beautify for women in Bed-Stuy

This is a great story.


The non profit organization Groundswell created a mural for the Bowery Residents' Committee (BRC)'s women's home on Lexington Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant just a stones throw from Clinton Hill.

The mural wraps the interior of the entire vestibule many of the residents complimented the artists and their work at the dedication ceremony held on Wednesday June 3rd.

Many of the residents of the women's home talked about how much the mural has provided them with a lift and greatly increased their mood from the moment they walk through the doorway.





Organizers from BRC as well as Groundswell said a few words of thanks to the women residents for providing input toward the project which in turn increased the value of and focus of the project.


The artists spoke about their motivations and vision.


Pictured: Mural Artists Alex Pimienta & Crystal Clarity

Most uplifting to me were the teenagers who worked under the guidance of the groundswell artists.

The teens were award certificates in recognition of their service in helping the artists to create and add value to the mural effort. It was also mentioned that they demonstrated their own value to the community and to themselves as well.

After all were heard and souls satisfied it was time to sooth and satisfy the stomach...

...and the barbecue was on and popping.

I love that the grill master had a chef hat

The work is beautiful and lush, illustrated with welcoming symbols of femininity and warm embracing strokes of line and color.

Even from the outside a little of the art shines through.

I've noticed the BRC logo for years but never knew precisely what it was about until this event and the subsequent research I did for this piece. BRC is very impressive considering the decades of constant help they've provided to people in need. Check out their site [BRC]. As someone who's family has experienced life's hardships I got the sense in speaking with the residents at 85 Lexington that they had gone through a lot yet remained determined to live valuable lives. The beautiful mural isn't only a tribute to them it's a reflection. It was clear to me how much BRC has helped them rebuild and prosper.

I've followed Groundswell for a few years as their murals have popped up sometimes withing a few feet of my many residencies. Check their site also [Groundswell] Years ago I actually contributed to a Groundswell mural and even though I had the littlest of contributions to it, every time I see that mural, I feel honored to have helped.

happy friday

PhotoWedns 5/27/09 Green, Road killed.

So delighted and intrigued by this.
For those who want to hunt it yourselves, I came across it in WillyB, near the new developments going on by the waterfront (forgive me I NEVER remember which street is which in Williamsburg)

The piece is instantly engaging, entertaining and inspired these questions in my mind:

Who's the artist(s)?
What's the mechanics involved in installing?
What's the message? Simple whimsy, typical WillyB irony, a statement about green-spaces killed by development? (it's place on the boundary wall of a construction site) or meant to be all of the above.

Overall exactly what art in general and street art in particular should be in my measure; instigation and interaction with the street and world beyond.

Happy Wednesday

Artistry in Crown Heights thru May 3rd

This past Sunday the weather provided an otherworldly exterior of dense fog while just a few yards inside of Crown Heights western edge, (yah it used to all be Crown Heights...) at FiveMyles the ten year old Crown Heights gallery and performance space nestled into St. John's Place, Artists constructed and project introspective visions of art.


The two person show features the works of Anita Glesta
(above: Expulsion - video Installation)

Andra Samelson (above and below: Down to Earth – sculpture)



The exhibition naturally inhabits the space as it features video projections, formations of wood and wood borne sculpture, which muse about classical narratives and existential questions.

A diverse crowd of seasoned artists, friends, well-wishers and youthful neighbors made for a well attended opening.


As the event was coming to a close, the wine was displaced by a spread of fried fish and cornbread laid out by gallery owner Hanne and her family adding new flavors and a cozy Brooklyn accent to the well known gallery experience.

But you don't need me reporting in my curator voice, peep the pics and see the exhibition, it'll be up through May 3, 2009.

PhotoWedns 3/4/09 Vandelism or Art?

I noticed this piece of graffiti a week ago on Fulton St. and near Clinton Av.


self-expression outside Auteur Du Monde on Fulton and Clinton in Clinton Hill

A wider view

So assuming the doer of this spray painted imagery did not have permission of the building owner this would be an act of vandalism. Which for some (especially photo ready politicians) is still the blight of our city, which btw our tax dollars pay to remove. Personally I like the way it looks mainly because the spray painting person seems to have chosen a color that matched the orange of the brick wall intentionally. The effect, to my eyes, creates a transition between the wild glyph shapes into the ordered brick pattern of the building. But I'm a painter and an artist, so what do I know.

Recently there was a story on Gothamist about three teens and a twenty-year old who went to town on Central Park's Bethesda Terrace. Here's a look:


Graffiti on the Bethesda Terrace arcade walls (Photograph by Jen Chung/Gothamist)

Commenters to the site took issue because Gothamist makes frequent postings about "street artists" who in the opinion of the commenters are vandals themselves.

My opinion was conflict and disgust. Because my imagination and life experience tells me it's possible that the group were not simple irreverent jerks, that they could have looked at the art of Bethesda Terrace and wondered why their creations shouldn't be displayed as prominently. They painted the word "sueños" (dreams), hearts and their tag, albeit sloppily. Who knows they could have deep aspirations or they could have been high. I'm a radical liberal, what do I know.

At the same time, I followed the restoration of the Bethesda Terrace and it took years, millions of dollars, and resulted in a truly beautiful FREE space for ALL in the city to share. So I do think in the case of this group (they were apprehended in the act) that they should get a jail sentence that will take effect if they don't work on the restoration crew that has to undo what they did.

But I've seen vandals create art and artists vandalize. When is it art and when is it vandalism? What do you think?

Bed-Stuy Art Hap'nins Sun Jan11+Last Night's Brooklyn Moon

Hello Brooklyn and beyond. Last night after 5am the moon was cheesy as in color and it's size being mighty like the kind of wheel I expect to find in Zabars. I've gotta fix my camera. It was amazing, I got crap shots. Here's one:

really, it was the moon I tell ya's ..arrugh.. stupid broke camera

In other news this Sunday Jan 11th there's a hap'ning going on. A convergence of Art and video, both of which I'm a fan. Should be a good Sunday afternoon spent (after the Giants stomp Philly on my sunday) off the beaten path in that funky Bed-Stuy way-station area between Pratt and Williamsburg , here's the release/details:

Gelato ArT/Video SaloN
Sunday
Jan 11th - 3pm-until
178 Walworth St between Willoughby & Myrtle Ave,4th fl [GMAP]

So its the beginning of the New Year, and first of all Gisella and Garon would like to thank all of those beautiful souls who graced us with their presence and the several Art Salon's we held Last Year.

Soon we will be uploading video and stills of all events to our upcoming Gelato blog.

Now its time get ready to receive the blessings to come, to begin festivities anew, and to start the New Year with thoughts of Love and Prosperity. Its also time to get out the old to show or sell and bring in the new! - new friends, new inspiration, new music, and new opportunities to marry Art, Commerce & Fun.

THis SunDay, We are having the first OPen House Gelato ArT/ Video SaloN and we are having it in cooperation with Gary Campbell, at our dream space, Gary's loft on Walworth -which has hosted many beautiful events,some pictures of which you may find here & on www.noumenon9.com , and You are Well Come to come through for 5 minutes or 5 hours.

There will be:

Light Refreshments and some Gelato, of course, bringing food or treats is very much appreciated and enhances your karma!

Artwork to see, sell or buy, from various artists such as:
Garon Peterson - Garonteed Love T- Shirts and Hoodies & maybe art
Gisella Sorrentino - Photos (www.gazephotography.com),
Gary Campbell - Paintings (www.noumenon9.com),
Laurie Krupp - Altar,
Pete Waldman - Galaxy glass pieces, -
Ron Jean Gilles - Jewelry/t-shirts,
Drew Kidd - Photos -www.myspace.com/drewkidd,
possibly some vintage clothing pieces from Heather La Mastro,

Live Music will be set up in the front room with Zeb playing his amazing Oud ( a string instrument) over his phat homemade beats and & DJ's playing a very cool music mix for when we all decide to boogie

and whatever good vibe you bring.

Directions:

View Larger Map
"G" train to Myrtle /Willoughby - walk up Myrtle to Walworth and make a left - go to 178 closer to Willoughby

"G" train to Bedford/Nostrand - walk down Nostrand against the traffic to Willoughby, turn left, walk two blocks to Walworth, just past the Home Depot, turn right on Walworth, go to 178

The email mentioned other potential coolness privy only to those you show up, and that includes a possibility for naked art (they're making the art, you're invited to be naked). Sounds like surprises for all!

I don't actually know the organizers (Gelato), this info came to the magical mystical BrooklynBorn mailbox, I do happen to know one of the artists,(that would be Ron Jean Gilles who's jewelry and friendship I've appreciated since the time we were artists at Chashama) although I was unaware he's down with this. Hope to see you there (right after the Giants stomp Phillyon nobody actually), dress warm, it's still brick out.

Hap'nins Sat-Sun 12/13-12/14

A few random cultural hap'nins this weekend in B'Klyn

SMART BROOKLYN GALLERY HOP

[from MONICA DRAKE,NYTimes]
On Sunday the smART Brooklyn Gallery Hop will include four bus routes crisscrossing the borough and linking many neighborhoods usually segregated by subway lines. A sampling from the Gold Loop offers a snapshot of new art as well as the waterfront’s transformation from its industrial past: Smack Mellon (above) in Dumbo has placed contemporary art in a space that at one point was a boiler house for a paper-box company, and the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition is holding its holiday art sale in its 19th-century warehouse.

Other routes on the gallery hop veer farther off the beaten path, both physically and conceptually. The Brooklynite Gallery, a storefront in Bedford-Stuyvesant, represents and exhibits street artists like the Kuildoosh collective and Aiko; Proteus Gowanus bases its exhibitions of art, artifacts and books on a single theme that changes once a year; and Tabla Rasa Gallery’s originality lies in its location, in Sunset Park. Or maybe, in the spirit of that other gallery district, we should start calling it SuPa. (Buses depart various locations on the hour from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; routes are at brooklyn-usa.org; 718-802-3530 or smart@visitbrooklyn.org to register; free.)

Heart of Brooklyn:

A free regular transportation to the HOB cultural campus from select neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Serving Red Hook on the third Saturday of the month, the shuttle makes its way to the main entrances of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Public Library’s Central Library, Prospect Park and Prospect Park Zoo.

Passengers can hop on the free shuttle back to Red Hook or choose to spend an evening in central Brooklyn.
url:http://visitbrooklyn.org/redirect.php?urli=www.heartofbrooklyn.org/connection

Saturday @ Brooklyn College: Christmas in the Caribbean with the University Singers

[site]

Performing Arts

Jamaica’s cultural ambassadors return to Brooklyn Center with a program of traditional and Caribbean holiday music.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

8:00pm to 10:00pm

Walt Whitman Theatre, Brooklyn College Campus [map]

Box Office, 718-951-4500

$25-$40

Brooklyn College faculty, staff, and alumni get a $5 discount off full priced tickets. Brooklyn College students admitted free beginning one hour before curtain (student ID required, limit one ticket per ID).