Bushwick ‘Open Spaces’ Art Festival
Hrag Vartanian forwarded me a press release from Arts in Bushwick. It looks like a mini-Open Studios. I hardly understand what art has to do with “fighting development-driven displacement and working towards an integrated, sustainable community” but I guess it’s PC to give some kind of lip-service, even if you’re the harbinger of gentrification. Maybe that’s just how much I don’t get art.
“Open Spaces” a free, one day festival of group shows in alternative spaces and art galleries, takes place December 2nd in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The purpose of Open Spaces is to foster connections within the Bushwick arts community, create forums for artists to show their work, and to cultivate curatorial opportunities for individuals in the neighborhood. Over thirty galleries, private residences and local businesses will be hosting curated group shows of local artists. These spaces will be open to the public from 12 to 8 PM. The creative energy and diversity of the Bushwick art community will be presented through an impressive variety of media: performance, visual art, installation, dance, poetry, music and more. In addition to the myriad forms of art and entertainment, a panel discussion featuring representatives of Bushwick’s diverse stakeholders will open a dialogue regarding gentrification and sustainable development. Open Spaces will continue into the night with live music, sketch comedy, and a dance party.
This past June, Arts in Bushwick organized Bushwick Open Studios, a three day long arts festival. BOS 07 proved to be a great success featuring an estimated 400 artists and performers. As an aspect of BOS 07, several artists turned their lofts into temporary gallery spaces for and hosted group shows. This generous gesture provided opportunities for numerous artists to collaborate, network, and show their work in various exciting alternative spaces. Out of this exercise, the concept for Open Spaces was born. Inspired by the success of BOS 07, Arts in Bushwick has invited neighbors to put together interdisciplinary group art shows as part of the Open Spaces event.
Centered around the Morgan and Jefferson stops on the L train, Open Spaces will be easily accessible by foot within the one day period. More than 30 separate locations are hosting shows, featuring over 200 artists. Open Spaces is a unique opportunity to see incredible art in the neighborhood where it is created.
Arts in Bushwick is an all-volunteer organization whose mission is to promote and support local artists, serve the community at large through arts education and creative accessibility, and to help organize all residents and stakeholders in Bushwick in fighting development-driven displacement and working towards an integrated, sustainable community.
Here’s a map of the venues involved.
Arts in Bushwick — Sunday, December 2, 12-8pm
November 26th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
“Centered around the Morgan and Jefferson stops on the L train”
Yawn.
It’s funny how little of Bushwick really matters to these cats. Have fun cultivating “curatorial opportunities for individuals in the neighborhood,” when you’re only focusing on a sixth of the neighborhood.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
For serious. It’s not even 1/6 of the hood. At least Open Studios had a few spots far south of Myrtle. I think the stop at the Bushwick resource center place is for some kind of lame street cred. As if anybody but social workers uses those kinds of places.
November 27th, 2007 at 1:01 am
Meh.
What other spot in Bushwick is that rife with artists? I’m sure there are other pockets and scatterings, but that’s the mutherload. Can’t be perfect.
November 27th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
What does everyone have against artists?? Ever since I got booted from 1717 Troutman, I’ve experienced this huge backlash of people making fun of artists.
Artists are people who make stuff, period. Sometimes, they try to make beautiful stuff, they feel a drive to do it for some reason. Some people find meaning in it and people who can afford it, buy it. Art enriches life. You all have art in your lives, whether you realize it or not. Music and movies of course, if not visual art. It doesn’t come out of a black hole - it comes from a community where artists can afford to live and create something, despite their struggle to stay afloat doing something that is rarely lucrative.
It is good that Bushwick supports artists - and that some of the artists here are trying to be a part of the extant community.
It is difficult to organize a walking tour of all of Bushwick - they did last time, I believe, and it was too dispersed to be a real success. So this time it is two stops - the stops with the artist’s studios.
November 27th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Erin, first I hope that you have landed on your feet after the 1717 Troutman debacle.
Given the time of year, a more condensed show seems to make sense, and this old guy will try to make it to Bushwick on Sunday to see as much as he can. Tell me, where will you be exibiting?
Best of luck.
November 27th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Me and Bushwick Lou will prolly go around secretly making fun of the artists because we don’t want to hurt anyone’s tender feelings. But no, seriously, I do appreciate artists and I do like art — at least regular art, not that performance crap or UGH — video “art.” And artists be good for my bank account wuuut! ch-ch-ching!
November 28th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Jeremy - thanks for posting the info on the Open Spaces event. I hope you and some of your readers will come out and see what’s going on on Sunday. Just to address a few of the points raised:
1. The Open Spaces event is focused on Morgan and Jefferson because it’s a one-day event in the winter, not due to any lack of awareness of or connection with the other 5/6 of the neighborhood. As Erin noted, the summer event (Bushwick Open Studios) encompasses the whole neighborhood, and some bits of surrounding neighborhoods as well — we’ll be doing this more expansive event again this coming summer.
2. The event at Bushwick Impact is the second in an ongoing series of dialogues we’re putting together to initiate conversation and bridge-building around the arts and neighborhood change. I understand why a lot of people are skeptical about the awareness of these issues on the part of artists and other younger, whiter, more hair-dyed, etc new residents in Bushwick and other similar communities dealing with the problems of gentrification — trust me, I’ll be the first to tell you that a good number of the artists and other new residents in Bushwick haven’t given this a second thought. However, a large and growing number of artists (including the organizers of Arts In Bushwick) actually are aware of these issues and we feel a responsibility as new residents who are having substantive effects on the lives of existing residents to discuss these questions openly and honestly, make connections across the cultural divides in the neighborhood, and work toward an integrated, sustainable community.
We are beginning to work with a number of organizations in the neighborhood around both sustainability issues and community arts initiatives, although of course building these connections is a slow and complicated process. Jeremy, I hope you and your readers will consider being part of this process, bringing your voice into the conversation and engaging with all Bushwick residents — including the artists — rather than assuming that we’re all a bunch of clueless interlopers who are only giving lip service to the idea that we care about other communities we have come co-exist with in this neighborhood.
If you’d like to come out, the discussion forum will be held from 1-4pm at the offices of Bushwick Impact, 69 Central Avenue @ Melrose. Hope to see you there!
Laura Braslow
Arts In Bushwick
November 29th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
This native of Bushwick also hopes to visit on Sunday.. I was at the event with my daughter in June and thoroughly enjoyed it .. the people who post here should wear name tags or something so we can actually find each other.
and Erin I will look for you as well
December 2nd, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Well I went today and thought it was fantastic..
Clearly did not make all 30 venues but was at quite a few. Every one was friendly and the art was interesting.
One thing that really amazed me was the first stop at Wyckoff Starr and the map with the pins where all the residents are from. The push pins in those maps were a real eye opener for me.
Thanks to all the organizers of this event