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!

Arts in Bushwick is back, with this week’s roundup of news from our blog, including more than a few personal stories of labor and love:

• Blogger Anne Vieux interviews the directors of Signal Gallery about their current show (Aakash Nihalani’s ISLANDS) and the evolution of Signal Space.  The story of this gallery’s founding is more interesting then you might expect, and includes this gem of a comment by founder Alexander Johns:  “I had tried and failed to domesticate this feral cat, was being evicted, lost all of my belongings.  I was living on this couch, somehow it snowballed into starting a project space.”  Would-be gallerists, take note.
• Holly Shen Chavez interviews Roberta Sutton and Christian Finbar Kelly on the opening of Armature Art Space, run out of the basement of their refurbished home.  The space, which includes studios, a gallery, and a dark-room, was created to be the “bones on which NYC artists, working in traditional methods, can sculpt, drape, focus, paint and build community.”
• It’s not too late to visit Armature’s inaugural exhibition, Arena, which features a group of six local and international artists.  Hurry though – exhibit ends May 4.
• Art is Music is Art is an AiB regular feature exploring the relationship between art and music.  This week Sarah Reynolds interviews artist Michael Shaeffer, who waxes poetic on ‘Matter Vs. Space’, by Beulah.

Want to join in on the action and contribute to Arts in Bushwick blog?  Email hollyATartsinbushwick.org

4 fresh poster designs for BOS ’13 courtesy of Bushwick’s own boutique design shop welesshanthree.com

Happy HAPPY Friday!!!  Here are the highlights of this weeks happenings from the Arts in Bushwick blog!

• Jungle Jim and Andrea talk about how an accidental two-piece became the band Twin Guns.  Why they stand out, who influences them, their upcoming participation in Bushwick Open Studios, and how Jungle Jim overcomes morning quandaries relating to miss matched socks.
• BOS hosted the final ’13 Mixer at Little Skips.  See what and who you missed here.
• BOS 2013 Community Day opens up for submissions.  Get involved here.
• AiB Radio: Tom (aka Tomeeo) the talented DJ/Producer whom runs both a minimal techno label and a podcast dedicated to promoting electronic dance music in Korea put together a mix for us to enjoy!  Listen here.
• Andrew Chan talks about how his Art is Music is Art connecting his work to LCD Sound Systems.  Need more specifics?  Check it out here.
•  Paul Pagk: 18 Drawings and 1 Painting is now on view at Studio 10 Gallery, 56 Bogart Street until May 5th, 2013.  See and learn more about this British Born abstract geometric painter here.
• Bizarre host the BOS Mixer No.5.  Bizarre plans to host a variety of events over the course of BOS weekend including live performance, burlesque shows, jazz and more!  Get the details here!

Want to join in on the action and contribute to Arts in Bushwick blog?  Email hollyATartsinbushwick.org

OMG!  OMG!  So much happened in Bushwick this week.  A roundup from the Arts in Bushwick blog covers the highlights:

• Blogger Jonathan Santos introduces us to the idea of “creative stamina” at Bushwick’s newest basement arts space, the Fitness Center for Arts and Tactics, a donation-based hotbed of experimentation and genre-mixing.  Read the post and visit the space – we’re mostly sure that increasing your creative stamina won’t involve situps or pushups.  Mostly.
• AiB artist Ivan Stojakovic describes his work as “industrial and ambient, primordial and futuristic” – affects that course through the song ‘Hast’ by Rammstein.  Contributor Sarah Reynolds launches a new AiB blog venture – an exploration of the music that moves Bushwick artists.
• Did you miss the last week’s mixer at Fireproof?  Thanks to Lisa Skeen (that’s me!) you can meet the artists you missed and practice your social awkwardness from the comfort of your own home.  Just don’t miss the next one.
• Derek Chung takes us on a quick jaunt over to Queens, with a review of the Harbor Gallery opening of “De-rezzed”.  Though it’s not *technically* Bushwick art, we think it’s work talking about.

Still haven’t had enough?  AiB has launched an interactive element – a la the Situationists – to Irina Danilova’s exhibit currently up at Active Space Gallery.  In Tracking Signals High and Low, Danilova exhibits an entire body of work which uses the number 59 to re-imagine our experience of urban psycho-geography.  Intrigued?  We invite readers to submit any question about the number 59, to which Danilova will respond.  In 59 days, 59 questions will be chosen and Danilova will provide answers to them in a 59 minute audio segment.  Submit questions to beccnort81ATgmail.com.

Want to join in on the action and contribute to Arts in Bushwick blog?  Email hollyATartsinbushwick.org

4 fresh poster designs for BOS ’13 courtesy of Bushwick’s own boutique design shop welessthanthree.com

As you might remember, Arts in Bushwick (that egalitarian organization Bushwick Daily profiled last week) launched their new year-round blog a few weeks ago. Arts in Bushwick bloggers have been busy gallery-hopping, bar-flying and mingling with artists on the ground, all to offer readers fresh perspectives on the goings-on about town:

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From BOS 2011 (all photos by Katarina Hybenova)

A weekend-long annual celebration of the neighborhood’s unbounded creativity, festival Bushwick Open Studios is coming to its 7th year.  Needless to say, a lot has changed in the neighborhood since 2006 when the festival was held for the first time. However, the self-curated festival keeps growing while operating within the loose framework of an anti-institutional, egalitarian, volunteer organization of Arts in Bushwick.

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Bushwick’s very own volunteer organization Arts in Bushwick, responsible for Bushwick Open Studios mega-festival, just launched their blog. Under the editorial leadership of Holly Shen Chavez, AiB blog will be functioning all year round, as opposed to only seasonal festival blogging in the previous years.

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By Sean Alday

I spoke with Lucia Rollow, a powerhouse organizer within the workaholic organization: Arts in Bushwick. It turns out that she wasn’t only sending out thousands of emails for Bushwick Open Studios, but also working behind the scenes for Go! Brooklyn and right in front at the Bushwick Community Darkroom among other things.

Taken from Facebook. Lucia (right) hosting a workshop at Bushwick Community Darkroom.

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By Katarina Hybenova

It is very easy to forget about the biggest art orgy in Bushwick and all the insanity is brings, when lying on a beach on Memorial Day. But BOS 2012 did not forget about you…. Dear Bushwickians, I hope you didn’t get sunburned, because it is ON….

Only days divide us from Bushwick Open Studios, which officially starts on Friday! Arts in Bushwick website shows 542 registered locations, which is more than ever. However, there is no need to panic! Whether you are actively participating or just visiting, we understand that you want to have the most of the weekend. Here is 5 ways how to navigate through the large number of the locations:

#1 Traditionally: Get a Map

Every BOS veteran knows that one of the most common ways of getting around during BOS, is to pick up a brochure/map that Arts in Bushwick have been producing for the event annually.   Lucia Rollow (BOS 2012 co-lead) writes in her email this morning that the maps are ready to be picked up in stacks at the following locations:

Lucia’s House: 385 Troutman St #301, if the buzzer doesn’t work call 917-693-5719

Bushwick Print Lab: 1717 Troutman #204

Parallel Art Space: 1717 Troutman #220

Spread Art: 104 Meserole St

Outpost Artist Resources: 16-65 Norman St

While last year, the map looked more like a glossy MoMA brochure, this year the map resembles a regular newspaper. We welcome this change because of the more ecological and economical paper, and also because it’s simply more Bushwick. The design is pretty and overall we like the pink color.  Flipping through “a newspaper” should bring easier orientation in the large number of events, but unfortunately it doesn’t. As pretty as the design is, the map is not very user friendly. The neighborhood is divided into six zones, which is a good idea, but the paper doesn’t contain a summary of the zones nor table of contents. Very randomly, there is a map of the entire BOS (without the zone division) on page 53 between chapter Zone 3 and 4.

Among rather funny highlights belongs the fact that 56 Bogart building, arguably the most important Bushwick gallery building is called “No Name” in the paper, because the creators of the brochure didn’t know that the building is commonly referred to as 56 Bogart. The brochure contains a number of underused pages, which are either blank or randomly say “Boswijk” or display BOS logo. We strongly believe that these pages should have been used as table of contents or maps serving better general orientation.

#2 New: Smart Phone App

Arts in Bushwick have created a smart phone app, to help us navigate through festival Bushwick. This is a great idea, and we highly recommend downloading it and rely on the app rather than on the printed map. Just a little heads up, in case you own what we like to refer to as to vintage iPhone, the app won’t work. BOS app works only on iPhone 3GS and higher.

#3 Curated BOS Guides and Lists

A number of publications, including Bushwick Daily will be assembling their guides and lists of events not to be missed. This is a great way of not missing really good stuff and of relying on professional opinion of your favorite blogs and other Bushwick art geeks.

#4 Hashtag #BOS2012 on Twitter

You can instantly know and/or share what’s going on in Bushwick if you follow hashtag #BOS2012 on Twitter. Participating art spaces and studios are tweeting short blurbs and images. We created a widget to filter the tweets containing hashtag #BOS2012 and placed it in our right side bar. Is something totally worth it? Tweet it to your peers!

#5 Serendipity

It is nice to plan BOS really well, and to be on the schedule, but don’t over-plan things because you might miss on the serendipitous encounter and experiences that plain exploring brings… We promise that you will have great time in any case (maybe even the best time), if you just randomly visit houses, studio buildings and galleries by just following the BOS signs all around our pigeon town during the weekend.

PS: Big hooray to Arts in Bushwick, an all-volunteer organization who put BOS together this year! We are very well aware how much work it is, and appreciate your enthusiasm!

By Jacqueline Mabey

In collaboration with the blog of Arts in Bushwick

On a rainy day in April, I sat down at Café Ghia with Laura Braslow. Over too many cups of coffee, Braslow — co-founder of Arts In Bushwick, co-lead of Arts In Bushwick’s community projects team, former co-lead organizer of Bushwick Open Studios and current Organizers Emeritus — detailed her history as a part of Arts in Bushwick. What follows is from that and a few other places, a brief personal history of AiB.

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In 2005, there was The Bushwick Art Projects, a curated one-day festival of art and music in locations scattered around the Montrose and Morgan L train stops. At the time, Braslow was living in a loft in Bushwick with a number of roommates who shared her desire to be a social entrepreneur. They contacted the organizers of the BAP and expressed their desire to collaborate in the production of their next neighborhood event, and specifically to help organize others in the neighborhood and foster greater community involvement. After the BAP organizers backed out, an email was sent out to the mailing list of interested parties and a few dedicated people — Thom Bell, Christina deRoos, for example— stepped forward to act as co-organizers of the 2006 Bushwick Open Studios.

More people – and an organizational structure – was needed to make Bushwick Open Studios a sustainable community organization. The open, all volunteer, non-hierarchical structure, then, is a matter of both ethics and necessity.

Braslow: The question is can you produce a large scale event with all volunteers? How to get it all done when there are functions that are not as desirable as other functions? The way to make it work… is to give people autonomy to take on as much responsibility as they want in the areas that they’re interested, because why else are they there?  When they are bought in and gel as a team, they pick up the slack and work hard together to pull off incredible things.

It became clear that there was an interest in re-framing what was happening as a larger community organization, not just an event-specific activity… so that was parlayed into the formation of Arts in Bushwick as an organization that produces the Open Studios event as well as other things. None of our events or activities can happen without people making a commitment to producing them, and mostly we’ve been able to maintain that structure and have successful events produced over the past six years.

Other Arts in Bushwick events emerged organically. Beta Spaces, founded by Steve Weintraub, is festival of collaborative exhibitions in alternative spaces. Founded by Chloë Bass, SITE Fest is an interdisciplinary event, exploring the neighborhood as an unfolding collaborative performance enacted in urban space.

The arts community is often framed as a “first wave” of gentrification… cultural capital being something that is attractive to political and economic growth machines… that attract more middle class residents to “disinvested” parts of the city which often house more low-income residents. [AiB is] an organizing vehicle for the arts community to be more present and more engaged, rejecting the way meta-narratives of change incorporate and reframe their activities… to play a more active role in shaping the discourses and rejecting some of the problematic  assumptions what their [the arts] community is doing, what it’s for, what it wants. Basically, rejecting the pioneer narrative and try to… work together to improve sustainability for all current residents in the face of pressure around re-development and re-investment.

For Braslow, the Bushwick Open Studios and other Arts In Bushwick events present a unique organizing opportunity, even as the growing number of participants and viewers each year garners increasing media attention.

There is a challenge of what are the activities of Arts in Bushwick. It’s not just about art and it’s not just an arts festival and its not just made up of artists. There are newcomer residents who are not art producers and community organizations that are not really connected to the arts that are involved at various levels that we work with. For me, part of what Arts in Bushwick is for is to be a gateway for folks who are here because they’re part of or connected to the “artist community” in some way but they don’t have a stakeholder group to join or be a part of… it’s a vehicle for them to aggregate as a group. An agglomeration but not a distinctive ontology; it doesn’t give us the right to say we’re speaking for anyone but it gives people away to get involved in something that is visible as a community organization that they feel suits them maybe better than the many other organizations that already exist in the neighborhood. I don’t think it’s productive to carve off Bushwick as an arts community from larger neighborhood issues. We have to be careful not get swept along in the rebranding process as the neighborhood changes. The trick is to use the visibility and the organizing that we’re able to do to get people engaged an involved and connected.