By Alison Lowenstein
Brooklyn, NY Expert, about.com
It’s no secret that Brooklyn has an incredible and edgy art scene. From a world-class art museum in Prospect Heights to epic street art in Bushwick, the art world in Brooklyn satiates all art lovers. However, this spring, Brooklyn is home to six incredible art exhibits and performances that are truly unique and shouldn’t be missed. All of them are located along the historic waterfront, the once industrial sections of Brooklyn are now home to numerous artistic creations. The Brooklyn waterfront has undergone a rebirth in the last few decades and these monumental art events are putting Brooklyn's art world on the map.
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Create
your spring itinerary around these six happenings and you won’t be
disappointed. From performance art to curated shows led by pioneers in
the Brooklyn art world, there is much to see in Brooklyn.
Fly By Night
For years, carrier pigeons were apart of NYC life and people trained pigeons. In fact Brooklyn was home to a Homing Pigeon Clubs and many people raced pigeons (just think of the film On the Waterfront).
Now artist Duke Riley pays tribute to these
ubiquitous urban birds, incorporating them into a large-scale
performance art project, taking place weekends (Friday through Sunday at
7pm) until June 7th at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Riley outfits
the birds with LED lights, and using whistles, he orchestrates the
flock of two thousand to fly over the river from their coops aboard a
historic decommissioned Navy vessel. The show runs at dusk, and is free,
but tickets are sold out. You can put your name on the wait list or
become a member of Creative Time to ensure a bleacher seat. However, if
you walk by the Brooklyn Navy Yard around 7pm, you might catch a glimpse
of the show, which takes places on Sands and Navy Streets. Or we can
cross our fingers and hope the rave reviews from the New York Times, extends the performance.
Clear Night at Pioneer Works
On May 20th,
Clear Night by Kim Brandt, debuts at Pioneer Works, located on the
waterfront in Red Hook. The groundbreaking show “is a series of related
but distinct performances in which dancers deploy a variety of movement
systems to proliferate tones, surfaces, and landscapes.” The performance
questions “how gravity, architecture, and duration pressure motion’s drive toward inertia.” Running until the 27th,
Clear Night takes place in the main gallery and features a different
work for eight day run, “with pieces ranging from fifteen minutes to
several hours and featuring anywhere from one to thirty-five
performers.” There is a ten dollar suggested donation for the
performance.
Port Cities at Waterfront Barge
Simply
hopping aboard the Waterfront Barge can be considered an artistic
outing. However, if you'd like to see the barge as a backdrop for an
incredible theatrical production, you should get tickets for Port
Cities. The show runs until May 15th, and is "a theatrical journey from
the Financial District to Red Hook." The performance starts at Pier 11
in the Financial District, where you "ferry across the harbor
accompanied by an original soundscape, dock in Red Hook’s working port,
and board the Waterfront Barge Museum for a multimedia performance." If
you can't make this show, don't worry, the Waterfront Barge Museum has a
full calendar of theatrical productions this summer including Salome on the Rocks, an adaption of an Oscar Wilde play and an artistic piece from artist Stephanie Corne.
Industry City's Open Studios
Located
on the waterfront in Sunset Park, Industry City has undergone a
historic transformation in the last few years. In addition to housing
the Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg in the winter months, Industry City is
also home to a distillery, a rooftop film series, a prime foodie haven
food court, and many young companies and artists. It's also a noted
studio space for numerous incredible Brooklyn Artists. Get an insider
tour of this vibrant studio space on Saturday, May 14th and Sunday, May
15th from 10am-6pm. Meet the artists, makers and manufacturers at
Industry City, and see why this historic waterfront industrial space is
an inspiration for numerous Brooklyn artists as you get to see their
private work space.
Wide Open 7 at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Council
[post_ads]Before
Banksy tagged Red Hook and trendy restaurants started popping up on Van
Brunt Street, the area's main drag, there was the Brooklyn Waterfront
Artists Coalition. This artist run gallery was founded in 1978 to "help
artists—established and emerging—make their work available to the
public." Visit Wide Open 7 at their historic pier gallery in Red Hook
for Wide Open 7, "a national juried show selected by Metropolitan Museum
assistant curator, Beth Saunders with 120 pieces in all media, chosen
from over 1900 submissions." The show is open weekends 1-6PM and runs
through June 12. This would be a great event to pair with Clear Night at
Pioneer Works. Before you head to Pioneer Works, enjoy a waterside
lunch at neighboring Fairway. Or hop aboard the Waterfront Barge Museum.
Swale
Swale,
“a collaborative floating food project” housed on an eighty-foot
platform, plans to dock at Brooklyn Bridge Park this June. Check out
their schedule, so you can climb aboard this floating forest that
“provides free healthy food at the intersection of public art and
service.” The lush forest will be a welcome addition to the Brooklyn
waterfront, filled with Asian Persimmon, North Red trees, and other
plant life, Swale is an artistic piece that explores the theme of food
in our society. The project is both an inventive conceptual art piece
and a place to inspire people about the future of food and
our environment.
