Screen shot from AiB website.

Bushwick Open Studios is happening again this year and it feels even more real with the directory of 569 registrants which just went live! You can browse this historically highest number of the registered shows (551 in 2012) as long as you want to, check out your listings, the listings of your friends, conspire, plan, and start getting really excited!!!

In case you just realized you want to take part in Bushwick Open Studios, you should read the guidelines before you register. At this point your listing will appear only online, not in the printed directory but it’s still well worth it!

In the next few days, you might encounter a piece of paper taped to a wall with the inscription “Take me, free piece of art inside” somewhere around Bushwick. Well, you should take it. Inside is artwork by Alex Trema, a French street artist who is in town for a few days.

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New home of the numerous activities of Deborah Brown (all photos by Katarina Hybenova for Bushwick Daily)

It was bitter sweet to hear that Deborah Brown will be closing the little space on Wilson Avenue that has been a home to Storefront Bushwick for over three years. The gallery is, without a doubt, a staple in artsy Bushwick. It has become so popular that its openings have been so packed that the crowd would pour out from the space to the street, resembling a neighborhood block party. Long story short: The party is moving to 324 Ten Eyck because Deborah Brown just bought a huge building and has announced her epic plans for Storefront Ten Eyck - and gave us a tour!

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Kings County Bar (photo by Arielle Sachar for Bushwick Daily)

Kings County, a small, dark dive bar on Seigel and Bogart, is organizing a rather unusual event - New York’s Smallest Penis Contest. Bar manager Aimee Arciuolo told the Post that “the small guy needs to be celebrated” because those guys have to work harder. The contest is planned for July 20, and here is how it will look…

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Cover art for In Heaven

Twin Sister has been making waves around Brooklyn for some time, but caught our ears when their debut LP, In Heaven, popped up on best of 2011 lists. Ever since, we’ve been crushing hard on their sound, an eclectic blend of dance-rock grooves, twangy guitars and dreamy synths that swirl around the quirky, shape-shifting voice of singer Andrea Estella. Although the album generated lots of positive attention, the band remains rather elusive, especially for an age in which it’s not unusual to see what a band ate for lunch on Instagram. They kicked off a mini spring tour at Bushwick’s very own Silent Barn the night of Saturday the 11th, so naturally we jumped at the chance to catch a glimpse of this mysterious band and finally see them perform live.

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Dance students and their teacher, Jenny Mendez, at the Beacon Center for Arts & Leadership. Photo by Ashley Mathus for Bushwick Daily.

Under the direction of Jenny Mendez, students from the Beacon Center for Arts & Leadership will be performing at this year’s Bushwick Open Studios. Performances by local Bushwick kids are a rare thing for BOS, as the festival largely consists of Bushwick implants, experimental and established artists. During a hectic weekend of art shows, installations and crowded streets, be sure to stop by Maria Hernandez Park on Sunday, June 2nd and watch the real kids of Bushwick do their thang.

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Illustration for Bushwick Daily by Michael Shaeffer.

The Janitor

By Samuel Hernandez

He mops and sweeps the floor and the time passes. His thoughts are initially for getting through the morning.

Classroom 1A is empty so he goes in there and starts stacking chairs on top of the tables. They tell the students to do this job. After class, the teachers stand up front and tell the students to put their chairs on top of their tables. Depending on the grade, these children lug heavy chairs above their heads, always in danger of concussion and heavy fracture, and they slide them on top of the chairs.

Mr. Martinez slips his head in while he cracks his neck and wipes his head from the accumulating sweat. It’s a year where spring lasts three days and then moves on, overcrowded by zealous winter and threatening summer. There is heat from the laughing sun, and from the tiny bodies of so many children packed into a school. “Do your fucking job,” Martinez says. (more…)

Graphics by Patricia O’Brien. ‘Weekend Guide’ added by Bushwick Daily

☺ Art

5 Extraordinary Art Openings This Weekend!

♫ Music & (Outdoor) Parties

8 Music Shows to Make You Dance with a Weather Girl

Beer, Literature, and Good Times: 10 Mostly Outdoor Events in Bushwick

Bushwick Daily x BirdDog Music Showcase on Friday

❆ Eating

Tom Hanks dancing with a weather girl

Having too many options is one of the best things about living in New York City. We are constantly being pulled to this show and that cafe or to that gallery or this park. Sometimes our options feel limitless…but they’re not! When it comes down to it, you need to make a decision! Luckily the events we picked out allow you some flexibility. For one, they’re spread out over three days and they’re all local, which sort of allows you to bar hop. One of the events is all day so you can pop in and out! It doesn’t matter which show you go to, just go to one!

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