DISPATCH - SEPT 8, 2012 (1:15 p.m.)
BROOKLYN, NY
Brooklyn has a lot of artists. This weekend, the Brooklyn Museum is providing the chance to visit nearly 1,900 artist studios set in 67 neighborhoods stretching across 73 square miles. After visiting five studios, registered participants can vote for three favorites. The top 10 artists selected by a popular vote will be featured in a museum show later this year. The art will be selected by two curators from the Brooklyn Museum.
The open studio event is aptly called "GO: a community-curated open studio project" or GO, for short. It takes place today and tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. GO combines high-tech with traditional self-guided studio tours. Visitors can grab maps at check points or visit a website for info. People interested in casting votes for their favorite artists register online and then check in for the tour using the GO iPhone APP or through SMS text messaging. Those choosing to register online can also create an itinerary for visiting studios over the weekend. (www.gobrooklynart.org).
After arriving at the studio, visitors can log in electronically. The GO website tabulates visits in real-time and streams it onto the project website. Votes for artists begin on Sept 12 and continue through Sept 18. Registering and casting votes are not required to be part of the tour. People can pick up maps at 30 information spots located throughout Brooklyn today and tomorrow.
This is the first time the interactive artist studio project has been offered. In fact, GO is probably the first borough-wide open studio tour ever held. Open studio tours are typically offered per neighborhood or by artist building, said Sharon Matt Akins, a Brooklyn Museum curator and Managing Curator of Exhibitions. Open Studio Weekends are traditionally held each year in Williamsburg, Greenpoint, DUMBO, Gowanus, Red Hook and Bushwick.
Giving people the chance to discover artists in neighbors outside of known artist enclaves is a benefit of the GO project. So are artists and buildingmates bonding over project meetings leading up to this weekend's big event, said Atkins.
The primary goals of GO are to spotlight artists in Brooklyn and to engage the entire Brooklyn community through art, said Atkins. "This is a way to bring everyone together," she said.
Artist Cara Enteles decided to open her studio because of the community aspect, she said. "Beyond the voting, it's really the community spirit of the event that's appealing," she said.
Enteles's studio is located in Industry City, Bush Terminal. The building is a 10-block complex of warehouses built at the turn of the last century when it was a manufacturing Mecca, she explained. It's located on the Brooklyn waterfront by the Statue of Liberty and Greenwood Cemetery. The location doesn't typically have a concerted open studio so the GO project is an opportunity to soak up the building's vibe and check out Sunset Park.
Museum show aside, being part of an open studio event can be fun.
"I find the unsolicited feedback of an open studio interesting for better or worse," said Enteles. "It's a very different experience from a gallery setting in that attendees are able to see more of the artist's process."
Atkins said the museum hopes people visit studios and discover what Brooklyn has to offer artistically.
"The most important thing is to create a platform for artists and the community together," she said. "We hope people go out and see the work in their neighborhood, explore other neighborhoods and engage in the weekend."
Even if visiting all 1,861 artist studios isn't possible, viewing art from all participants is. A website set up for the projects provides a single artwork image from all participants that links to the artist website. Artists and art are searchable by medium, artist name, studio accessibility and by neighborhood. The result is an armchair tour of art that's being made in Brooklyn. To keep the scales balanced for all, rotating artworks presented in a grid do not include the artist name. Only by clicking through the image is the artist revealed.
BASIC FACTS: "GO" Open Studio is being held today and tomorrow throughout Brooklyn. The Main Meet point is the plaza outside Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street Brooklyn, NY. For GO details, visit www.gobrooklynart.org.
Ten artists selected by popular vote will be included in an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. The show will be held from Dec 1, 2012 through Feb 24, 2013. Studios visits for every winner will be conducted by Brooklyn Museum curators Sharon Matt Atkins, Managing Curator of Exhibitions, and Eugenie Tsai, the John and Barbara Vogelstein Curator of Contemporary Art. The pair will select the works to be included in the show.
The Brooklyn Museum is located at 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY. www.brooklynmuseum.org
HAMPTONS CONNECTIONS: Cara Enteles has exhibited for several years at Sarah Nightingale Gallery in Water Mill, NY. Edwina White, Trong Gia Nguyen and Jamie Knowles exhibited at QF Gallery in East Hampton, NY this summer. Don Porcella exhibited frequently with the Bonac Tonic artist collective in its early days. Tara Deporte has exhibited at Art Hamptons.
Further afield on Long Island: Nikki Romanello was part of the 2012 Patchogue Biennial. Julie Tremblay is currently exhibiting at the Nassau County Museum of Art in a 2-person show.
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