Bushwick Open Arts Fest

Disclaimer - I didn't actually take any of these pictures. (Photos courtesy of Chelsea Scott and Will Lopez.) I chose this weekend to have surgery, like an idiot. Little did I know that this awesome arts festival would be going on in my neighborhood!!!

I've spent four years living in New York's East Village, and I spent that whole time wondering what happened to all the art!? Everyone just goes clubbing around there! My grandmother used to come up to New York to see her brother-in-law Mundell Lowe play at the Blue Note, and from her descriptions it was quite a different scene back then. So come graduation, I had decided perhaps New York was not for me, and looked in to moving to Austin Texas, but finances would not permit and instead I ended up in the depths of Brooklyn where I could afford rent. I was rather bummed about being so far away from the seemingly fading arts scene here in NYC, until last weekend when my entire neighborhood threw a gigantic arts festival, and artists of every kind came out of every corner to show their work! It was a welcoming and inspiring show. Participating artists put the festival logo on their door, to let you know you could walk right into their apartment or gallery space to see their work! There was everything from a beer garden with a Bushwick board game, to video art installations on a roof, to huge studios filled with beautiful impressionist art. There was a 23 page long list of free stuff to see!! Here are some photo highlights:

This gallery was filled with absolutely beautiful impressionistic artwork by Ayane Kurai, who is as lovely as her paintings. Her canvases are very powerful abstractions - beautifully capturing vistas, emotions and light. I don't know if that is how she would describe them, but I was unexpectedly moved by her work and was very happy to find such a high caliber of artist working in my own neighborhood. Needless to say this was my favorite exhibit. (You can check out more at www.ayanekurai.com.


Some fun pieces of Tyrome Tripoli's (who also makes amazing metal work)




These videos were interviews with the film maker's ex-girlfriends about their relationships and break ups. Just the fact that he got them to talk about this stuff on camera is it's own talent.


A really nice lady had manipulated these wind-up toys to hold pens and trace their movement!




Someone's entire loft was lovingly devoted to his hydroponic (legal) garden:




Someone opened up his backyard for music performances and food:


The beer garden and the Bushwick board game:


The premise is that you can't afford your Williamsburg rent anymore, so you slowly move through Brooklyn into Bushwick. (Which, for anyone living outside of Manhattan, is oh so painfully true.) Stops along the way include getting mugged on the G train. (Also painfully true lately.)


These are all the photos I have, but I will be well prepared for next year's Bushwick Open Arts festival! And as an ode to Jon, your moment of Zen: