Bushwick is a lot like Paris. The most interesting stuff happens in people’s apartments, on their rooftops, in their backyards, and you have to know someone to get in. Bushwick Open Studios is the perfect opportunity for those who don’t care to spend years making friends and sleeping around to get to see all the best stuff. Conveniently timed in conjunction with the opening weekend of the Venice Biennial, you won’t have to worry about running into anyone super famous.

In the wake of hundreds of biennials, an international circuit of art fairs, and other truly massive, global-scale art events happening all the time, Bushwick sticks to its own DIY roots very well. At five-years running, not-for-profit Arts in Bushwick‘s largest event is a very serious endeavor, and has become internationally recognized as an excellent place to poach emerging artists.

Here we present an art snob’s top ten list for BOS11, including things you may not have gotten press releases for or you might not have known even existed, especially if you’re an out-of-towner. With over 350 artists and galleries in this year’s program, you have to prioritize, and I assure you, all the spaces I’ve selected are immaculate and gorgeous … or at least chic. So hop in your car service, as the L Train is predictably down, and have them drop you off at…

1. Onderdonk Sculpture Garden
(BOS 134) 1820 Flushing Avenue

Onderdonk Sculpture Garden is perhaps the most exciting development of BOS11, and will show colorful outdoor sculptures on a beautiful 1.5 acre plot of land at the historic Onderdonk House, which will also host live music and a BBQ.

2. Will Pappenheimer
(BOS K) 698 Hart Street

The only artist to be a Hub Space, Will Pappenheimer works with cutting-edge digital media to construct immersive environments viewable only through an iPhone for Augmented Reality, and his huge and totally renovated house is awesome.

2.5 Meg Hitchcock‘s incredible drawings constructed out of nearly-microscopic text on view in the same building.

Hint: Save time walking! Go to the big studio buildings with lots of things in them, it’s so much easier.

3. Nathan Dilworth & Myles Bennett
(BOS 136) 49 Wyckoff Avenue

In the sun-drenched lofts of the Cheap Storage Building, Nathan Dilworth and Myles Bennett present In Time Out, a two-person apartment show of discipline-bending mixtures of painting, sculpture and photography.

3.5 In back of the same space, Ben Godward‘s studio will have works by Harry Gold, Evan Green and Paul Saint Savage.

4. Famous Accountants
(BOS N) 1673 Gates Avenue

Not to be missed at Famous Accountants, and on its last weekend, is Matthew Miller‘s series of haunting and slightly absurd deadpan self-portraits executed in the style of a Flemish master, which was easily the best show in Bushwick this year, and the Times agreed.

5. Regina Rex
(BOS 133) 1717 Troutman Street

In the running for best gallery in Bushwick, Regina Rex will present Through The Warp with an opening reception on Saturday, June 4 from 7-10pm on the third floor.

5.5. Down the hall there’s Tatiana Berg, Kristen Sciele and Christina Kee, and on the second floor, check out the roof deck, and its unobstructed view of Manhattan and picture-perfect sunsets!

6. Mary Judge
(BOS 141) 92 St. Nicholas Avenue

One of the best cooks in Bushwick — and perennially the best free food of BOS — Mary Judge has turned her gorgeous studio into an apartment gallery and presents Drawings and Paintings, a group show of five artists from (gasp) not Bushwick.

7. English Kills
(BOS 80) 114 Forrest Street

Officially the first gallery to open in Bushwick, English Kills, presents a group show of their artist stable to give newcomers a nice macro-view into their program.

7.5. Purple Nurple: Mike Olin and the Pioneers of Inspiration have constructed a show of all-purple works, and includes some doozies: Brooke Moyse, Kelly McRaven, Joy Curtis, and Olin himself.

8. Curbs & Stoops and BushwickDaily.com
(BOS 121) 566 Johnson Avenue

A celebration of Bushwick-based artists by incumbent artist-run gallery Curbs & Stoops presented in collaboration with local blog BushwickDaily.com.

9. 1100 Broadway
(BOS 78) 1100 Broadway

RISD alumni Michael Assiff, Allie Pisarro-Grant and Clayton Schiff show their recent work alongside many other artists in their storefront studio space.

10. Interstate Projects
(BOS E) 56 Bogart Street

In the evening, head to Morgantown where you might grab a fancy bite to eat at Momo, or a uppity cocktail at The Narrows, or a camping-like field trip to Roberta’s outdoor garden and farm. On the corner of Bogart and Grattan Streets nearby, a small but formidable gallery in what I am now calling the “Momenta Art Building,” Interstate Projects will project videos every night after 10 PM, and don’t miss their excellent painting show in the gallery.

Hope you all enjoy the hottest, sweatiest, and highest-energy event of the year.