By Katarina Hybenova

A fascinating warehouse on 1717 Troutman St. located right on the boarder of Bushwick and Ridgewood, is a home to hundreds of artist studios. The building is so giant that some people have to ride a bike in the endless hallways to get to their studio at the end of the floor. This industrially romantic studio buildings is proud of its large windows, which provide for plenty of light and tall ceilings. Moreover, the deck on the second floor is one of the most magical spots in the area. It offers an unforgettable view of Manhattan skyscrapers interlaced with Brooklyn water towers. You can sit there with your friends or by yourself, drinking beer or simply enjoying the serenity of this industrial beauty… Naturally, there is a plenty of splendid art being created behind the doors. The building is now a home to two galleries. Regina Rex opened in 2010, belongs to the areas’ finest; and Parallel Art Space, its younger sibling (opened in April 2012) quickly gained the reputation of a spotless location for exceptional art.

All that industria cum art magic causes that 1717 Troutman is one of the highlights of any Bushwick Open Studios weekend, and this year wasn’t an exception. I admit that I suffer from artist studio voyeurism, and I love to observe them as a living organisms, the last pencil being as important as the art work itself. During this year’s BOS, I enjoyed getting lost in 1717 Troutman building for several hours….

More photos:

[Show as slideshow]

123►

By Katarina Hybenova

On Sunday afternoon, I was strolling through the artist studio giant, 1717 Troutman building. This condense #BOS2012 experience made me realize that actually I keep hearing and saying the same things on and on. “The L train is finally running.” “It’s SO much bigger this year.” “I went to the church, I am so hung over.” I started to record, and this is what came out of it…

By Katarina Hybenova

Organizer Julie Torres at ALLTOGETHERNOW.

Julie Torres once told me she can’t just organize a regular art show. “I just can’t…” Julie has been largely involved with the artistic community in Bushwick for a couple of years now, and she had organized and curated several notable art events. At AIRPLANE she created durational experiment Cult Logic; she made a bunch of painters work and exhibit their work within 48 hours at Camel Art Space; and for BOS2011, she organized nights of collaborative drawings and showed the results at Norte Maar.

Neither this year did Julie fail to come up with an interesting, community driven concept. She invited a dozen artists she has never met in person, but she has been in vivid contact through social media and art blogs. Many of them came from over seas, just to meet energetic Julie Torres and the rest of the group of abstract painters. They flew in their work, but they also participated in a collaborative drawing night with the Bushwick artist held at Hyperallergic HQ. The show titled ALLTOGETHENOW at a pop up location at Starr and Wycoff, The Coin Locker featured all of these works, and certainly belonged to the most interesting shows during BOS2012. The works in the show were beautiful, colorful abstract paintings that furthermore reflected the energy and friendship, pure joy of being and creating together in Bushwick…

Shortly before the opening night, I asked Julie a couple of questions about the show and her friendly folks.

David T. Miller's work

Brian Cypher

Inga Dalrymple

Justine Frischmann

Justine Frischmann's work

[box]ALLTOGETHERNOW was a pop up art show held at The Coin Locker organized by Julie Torres that featured  Brian Cypher (Washington), Brian Edmonds (Alabama), David T. Miller (Pennsylvania), Ian White Williams (Philadelphia), Inga Dalrymple (Sydney, Australia), Julie Alexander (Seattle), Justine Frischmann (San Francisco), Peter Shear (Bloomington, Indiana), Stephen Wright (Los Angeles), Vincent Hawking (London, UK), Yifat Gat (Aix-en-Provence, France).[/box]

By Katarina Hybenova

Mild hysteria is okay. A panic attack here and there is also fine. The fact that not everything is exactly the way you planned doesn’t matter in the end. As long as the air bubble in your level is strictly between two lines you are fine (and if it’s slightly off, you can always blame it on crooked Bushwick floors). The feelings of panic and chaos, and expectations belong to the Bushwick Open Studio experience; they make us feel the festival spirit.  Once the art is hanging, the beer is cold in the fridge, the cards are printed, everything will be just fine…

After our selection of top 15 studios not to be missed off Morgan L train stop, we are moving to Jefferson!

#1 ALLTOGETHERNOW

Artist Julie Torres is not only known for her energetic abstract paintings, but also for organizing some of the most original art events in Bushwick and beyond. This year, Julie Torres invited to Bushwick 11 artists from across the country and abroad to participate in a collaborative show. In a very contemporary fashion, Julie met this group of abstract painters on the internet and through interaction on art blogs and social media. They have brought their own work, as well as they have collaborated on pieces with Bushwick artists. All this work will be exhibited at The Coin Locker on 234 Starr St. The show opens on Friday night!

Directory

Facebook Event

#2 Bushwick Basel

Jules de Balincourt, an ultra-successful Bushwick artist of French origin is hosting the first art fair in Bushwick right there in his studio, aka Starr Space.  He invited 11 Bushwick (and Ridgewood) galleries to participate, and it is looking pretty good. After the shout out from NY Times, we are sure that the crowds are on the way! The opening reception is on Saturday, 7-9pm.

Directory

Facebook Event

#3 The Bushwack Series

Once on Starr St., take a peek at The Bushwick Starr. This iconic Bushwick black box theater will be hosting The Bushwack Series, an annual performance festival devoted to the development of new work within the neighborhood of Bushwick.

Directory

#4 Pioneers of Bushwick

At Diana H. Jones Senior Center you can experience a little different BOS… Bushwick photographer Daryl-Ann Saunders created a series of portraits of long time Bushwick residents aspiring to create another platform for discussion between “old” and “new” Bushwick.

Directory

Facebook

#5 Amy Lincoln Studio

In the live and work space of Amy Lincoln and Kevin Curran on Wycoff Ave, you will see sculpture by Sarah Kohn and Kevin Curran, paintings by Caetlynn Booth and Amy Lincoln.

Directory

Facebook Event

#6 Parallel Art Space 

In the famous studio building at 1717 Troutman on the Bushwick/Ridgewood boarder, don’t miss the new and beautiful gallery, Parallel Art Space, committed ”to showcase exceptional visual art.” Parallel will present Same Same But Different, a selection of works from artists Jay Gaskill, Fabian G. Tabibian and Amanda Valdez, who form the exhibition collective of the same name. The opening reception is on Friday, 6-9pm.

Directory

Facebook Event

#7 Deborah Brown

Deborah Brown is widely known in Bushwick and beyond, mostly through her curatorial activities and community involvement, so it’s a little surprising that some Bushwickians don’t know her work. Deborah Brown is an exceptional painter whose solo show opens on Saturday from 7-10pm at the Active Space. Deborah’s pieces are inspired by industrial landscape of Bushwick and vary from very large to small paintings. Dystopian aesthetic meets beauty - this is a show you must see.

Directory

Facebook Event

#8 Jen Hitchings Studio

While checking out Deborah Brown’s show, don’t miss Jen Hitchings’ studio on the same floor. This young ambitious artist and curator is certainly someone to watch out for!

Directory

Facebook Event

#9 Theresa Daddezio Studio

Right next to Jen Jones is Theresa Daddezio. Her studio is filled with gentle colorful abstract oil paintings and is certainly worth a visit.

Directory

Facebook Event

#10 Invisible Furnace

Also on the second floor at The Active Space is a show titled Invisible Furnace. Jason Mones, Jessica Sanders, and Ryan Estep will present interesting sculpture an 3D objects and painting.

Directory

Facebook Event

#11 Norte Maar

It wouldn’t be a proper BOS without Norte Maar and their community involvement. Their traditional Saturday morning Maps n Mimosas provide for some of the best moments of the festival every year. Addionally, they will present a collage show of Oliver Ralli titled Welcome to Your New Statement. The show opens on Friday, 6-8pm.

Directory

Facebook Event

#12 Pass Kontrol concert

After Oliver Ralli’s visual show at Norte Maar, get some of his music and then head to Tandem at 9pm on Friday for a concert by Bushwick cult band Pass Kontrol.

#13 BOS Official Launch Party

This year’s official BOS Launch Party is looking really sweet. In proper Bushwick style, it will be held in a warehouse at 44 Wilson. Bands + comedy promise good combination of Bushwickism. It’s on Friday!

Facebook Event

#14 Video Womb

At Body Actualized Center they have have a collaboration between visual stimuli and the confines of being in utero going on…

Directory

#15 Meg Lipke Studio

Meg Lipke’s painting remind us of illustrations in old timey children’s books. They are gentle and dreamy. Go get lost in her world behind the Northeast Kingdom.

Directory

By Katarina Hybenova

Photo by Katarina Hybenova. The rest of the images by courtesy of Reed+Rader.

The video game heroes. The animated gif fairy tale couple. Very likely the coolest people of the fashion world right now. Visionaries and playful internet kids who won a Willy Wonka ticket to do whatever they like! And hell, they are awesome at it. Reed+Rader.

Reed+Rader is Pamela Reed and Matthew Rader. With a background in photography, Reed and Rader derive their inspiration from technology, internet, video games and augumented reality. This artist couple have created their own unique visual language by combining photography and animation. It’s not a surprise that Reed+Rader’s “living photographs” or animated gifs have been met with an overwhelming response from the fashion and art world. Their clients include V Magazine, V Man, Dazed & Confused, Another Magazine, Muse, Pop, Vs., Tokion Factory, Vice, Motilo, Cut + Run, SSENSE, Cynthia Rowley, Ashleigh Verrier and Becks Green Box Project, among others…

These awesome folks live in Bed-Stuy with their four cats and can frequently be found on their amazing rooftop farm growing vegetables. You’ll have a great chance to meet them in person this Saturday at the opening of Vegan Pizza Party, a project of our artsy sister Internet-based BushwickGallery.com. Matthew will be the one wearing a pizza outfit!

We asked Reed+Rader a couple of questions….

Your work is an amazing playful fusion between photography and animation. Was there a specific event or occasion that lead you to that path? Also is there a name for the kind of work you make?
In late 2007, early 2008 we decided to stop doing still images and explore this territory of moving images that we refer to as photo animations or, just simply, gifs. Instead of just dumping old ideas online, it made sense to us being computer-and-internet-obsessed to make the work take advantage of that emerging venue. We saw that many magazines weren’t taking advantage of the web and we wanted to help push them over the cliff and carve out a new market.

We use fashion as a way to dress characters in stories we create. We really love the more outgoing styles of clothing that take more risks as it really helps to tell more about these characters. We work very hand in hand with stylists on projects to make sure the story is being told as we imagine.

What about art? Does it give you more freedom?

Definitely. When we do something outside of an editorial or commercial job, there’s a lot less rules and not as many hands in the cookie jar, so we take more risks and try new things. We feel like with the gallery work we can just do it because we want to,  no other reasons.

You work always in a couple. can you describe what is the division of your work? Who does what?

We always say this and it’s cliché but it’s like the same person with 4 hands and 2 brains. We’ve been working together and as a couple for close to 10 years and there’s probably only a handful of days we haven’t seen each other so we know each other pretty well. Working in a team as a couple allows you to talk ideas anytime, it’s not uncommon that we are in bed at 5AM talking about ideas because someone woke up with a thought and needs to share it. With that said, it’s also impossible to separate Pamela + Matthew from Reed + Rader so work never shuts off. If we have to divide tasks, Matthew is stronger at programming and technicals and Pamela is stronger at general art direction and production. But it really is a team effort and nothing is ever done before we both agree on it.

We love Friends With You. They’ve been a favorite for years and most recently we both worked on the Beck’s Green Box Project.  The Green Box was an exciting project to be involved with and we got to travel to Berlin to not only see our project live,  but we saw Friends With You as well. We also are astounded by Memo Akten’s mad scientist tech-wizardry and adore Rachel Maclean.

Do you think that animated gifs are the future of online magazines? 

Animated gifs are old, but very new at the same time. They are such an easy way to share moving content so it makes sense to make images move. Online you can make clothing move, have sound, have interactivity. These are all things we hope that online magazines take advantage of as it’s the platform they are publishing on. Whatever the future holds, we’ll always look back on GIFs as one of the internet’s first true visual art forms.

Oh, and we are totally jealous about your amazing roof top garden. Can you tell us about it?

We have a 500 square foot garden on the roof, some people refer to it as a farm. We spend many hours there and lots of hard work, but it’s the best time of the day to go up there and just escape from the city stress and unwind. It really does feel like another place when you’re up there, on your knees, planting corn seeds. We grow broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, corn, sugar snap peas, strawberries, onions, kale, spinach, green beans, carrots, watermelon, pumpkins, potatoes. We grow a lot! It’s lots of fun, we love it.

By Mariya Pylayev and Thomas Berkley

Modesto “Flako” Jimenez is Dominican, a poet, a gypsy cab driver and a native of Bushwick, Brooklyn. He identifies with the gentrifying artists who’ve flocked to the area in the last decade and the Hispanic locals with whom he grew up when Bushwick was better known for its crime rate than its hot new galleries.

Flako’s documentary, ¡Oye! Para mi Querido Brooklyn (Listen! For my Dear Brooklyn), is comprised of a series of poems aimed at sparking a dialogue about Bushwick’s transformation.

“My neighborhood right now has a lot of people that picking sides,” Flako says. “Where to hang out, where to go. I chill in both worlds and I’m getting kind of tired of it.”

[box]¡Oye! Para mi Querido Brooklyn will play at the Bushwick Starr on June 1-3 as part of Bushwick Open Studios.[/box]

By Katarina Hybenova

“I am that little girl in blue shorts!” Vanessa Martir said firmly pointing to a photo that Meryl Meisler took over 20 years ago. “I saw the picture on Bushwick Daily and contacted Meryl Meisler right away.”

Meryl Meisler and Vanessa Martir met up in a diner on 23rd Street. (Photo by Katarina Hybenova)

Vaness Martir and Meryl Meisler, two women connected through Bushwick and old photographs, agreed to meet with me to talk about the upcoming exhibition titled Defying Devastation, prepared for Bushwick Open Studios 2012 at The Living Gallery.

“I was doing my writing module and I was telling the kids how different Bushwick was when I was growing up,” explains Vanessa Martir, sitting across the table from me. In her thirties, she is pretty, charismatic, lively and has so much to say. “I was telling them about Bushwick in the ’70s and ’80s, after the fireward and during the crack epidemics… All these burned buildings became crack houses…That’s where we grew up.”

Vanessa Martir grew up in Bushwick under rather dramatic circumstances. “I had two moms,” Vanessa explains growing up with lesbian parents. “That was ’70s and ’80s, New York…The climate was just very homophobic.” Additionally, her mother was mentally ill. As a child Vanessa believed that she ought be quiet about her personal and family life, which had devastating consequences. At just six years old, Vanessa was molested by a close family friend. Feeling ashamed and guilty, she kept silent about this until the age of 29. “That man in the window molested me,” Vanessa says, pointing at an old man at Meryl Meisler’s photograph.

“This picture shows how many layers life has,” Meryl Meisler comments about the photograph she took back in the ’80s on Bushwick’s Palmetto Street. The photo is titled Jump Rope and captures a group of children playing on the street, a couple of women talking and an old man leaning from the window. Meryl says that she thought this photograph was happy…

Vanessa Martir, today a published author has been working on a memoir about her childhood in Bushwick. When she was 13, she participated in a program for talented and gifted children, and left Bushwick for a boarding school in Massachusetts.

“Nobody,” Vanessa answered, when I asked who else from Bushwick she knew who participated in this kind of program. Later on, Vanessa graduated from Columbia University, and now she teaches creative writing at CUNY and other institutions.

Meryl Meisler used to work as an art teacher at a school in Bushwick. She used to carry an inexpensive plastic point and shoot pocket camera, and take hundreds of photos of street life on her way to and back from school. The photographs of Bushwick in the 1980s by Meryl Meisler are an invaluable material of life in what used to be one of the most dangerous parts of the city.

Bushwick after the New York Blackout in 1977 wasn’t exactly a safe or pretty place to raise children, but yet Meryl’s photographs from the time are playful, full of life and happiness.

In December 2011, Soho Photo Gallery invited Meryl Meisler to show her Bushwick photographs in a solo exhibition titled Here I Am: Bushwick in the 1980s. Bushwick Daily’s contributor Shannon Firth wrote an article and created an audio slideshow about the exhibition. Vanessa Martir read the article and recognized herself in one of the photographs. Working on a memoir and processing events of her childhood in Bushwick, she is certain that it wasn’t just an accident that brought her together with Meryl Meisler.

For their collaborative art show in Bushwick, Vanessa went through hundreds of Meryl’s photographs, selected the ones that will be on display at The Living Gallery and wrote narratives based on her childhood memories. “Despite everything, life was happening in Bushwick. People were falling in love; children were playing in the ruins… ”

“Defying Devastation” Bushwick in the 80s opens on June 1, 7-10pm at The Living Gallery at The Loom. Additional readings and performances will take place on June 2 and 3.  

By Katarina Hybenova

Photo via Nordemaan flickr.com

We are taking it by subway stops. That was a decision when wondering how we could possibly write a guide to Bushwick Open Studios 2012. Over 540 participating locations aren’t easy to cover. Here is what we won’t miss off the Morgan L stop:

#1 The Bogart Salon: Isha A Tell All Tale

You can either hate or love the 56 Bogart building filled up to the edge with galleries and studios, but you certainly can’t miss it when strolling through BOS2012 participating art spaces. We promise an unlikely art and cultural experience at The Bogart Salon. Meenakshi Thirukode, Peter Hopkins and the crew will be filming a Bollywood style soap opera about the art world and the perils of a young woman, right there on the set in the gallery.

Directory

Facebook Event

#2 Robert Henry Contemporary

Robert Henry Comtemporary is a brand new gallery at 56 Bogart. When in the building go check out their inaugural show Centuries of Noon by Andrew Zarou. (Wink wink – keep your eye on Andrew Zarou. We predict some sparkles and stars shooting around him…)

Directory

Facebook Event

#3 Carol Salmanson Studio

Carol Salmanson is a truly interesting artist who likes to use light, glass and electricity in her work. Her studio happens to be in 56 Bogart building, so check out her work.

Directory

#4 CRE8

On the 3rd floor of 56 Bogart building, visit CRE8. CRE8 features visual art from resident artists, Modesto Flako Jimenez among other. Modesto is a Bushwick-raised poet and cabbie in his spare time. This super-smart and super-talkative guy talks about gentrification in his art. He created a documentary to be featured during BOS that everyone should see!

Directory

#5 This Is So Fucking Temporary

There is a lot going on at McKibbin lofts as well. Make sure you don’t miss Daniel Greer’s surrealistic posters, large scale drawings, music and readings on Friday and Saturday nights.

Directory

#6 Centotto

Take a quiet moment from BOS insanity and visit Centotto, Paul D’Agostino’s apartment gallery across the street from Roberta’s. Paul has prepared an exhibition that looks really beautiful and features Austin Thomas, Meg Lipke, Josh Willis, Gili Levy, Cecco Angiolieri, and Charting the Not.

Directory

#7 Rafael Fuchs Studio

L’enfant terrible of contemporary photography, local icon, and a very sociable man of Israeli origin has his studio on Bogart Street right above Swallow Cafe. Pay him a visit and let him tell you all about Bushwick since he moved here in 2005.

Directory

#8 Bushwick Dimensions

Jean Luc Van Damme invites you to explore a survival game played on the streets of Bushwick!! Visit BushwickDimension.com on your smartphone and start playing now!

Directory

#9 Brooklyn Fire Proof Film Series

Over at Brooklyn Fire Proof they have prepared a film festival consisting of old and new films celebrating life. This could be a nice change of festival pace. Visit The Seltzer Room Studio 3 Screening Lounge.

Directory

Facebook Event

#10 Gili Levy

While at Brooklyn Fire Proof complex, visit artists’ studios located there. Gili Levy will be showing her gentle abstract paintings and welcoming guests.

Directory

Facebook Event

#11 Ethan Petit Contemporary

Ethan Petit Contemporary is a brand new gallery in Bushwick that will open during BOS2012 for the 1st time. In their innaugural group show Ethan Petit will feature many of our favorite local artists.

Directory

#12 The Living Gallery

One of the very new galleries and art spaces in Bushwick, The Living Gallery, is located in The Loom. Nyssa Frank is hosting photographer Meryl Meisler who collaborated with writer Vanessa Martir. Defying Devastation will be an exhibition that is an absolute must if you’re interested in Bushwick and its history. Vanessa Martir grew up in the streets of Bushwick in the ’80s when Meryl Meisler used to take photos in the streets. As it turns out, Meryl took a picture of Vanessa as a child playing in the street, and Vanessa learned about the existence of this picture through Bushwick Daily. We will bring more on this fascinating encounter on Bushwick Daily soon.

Directory

Facebook Event

#13 Storefront Bushwick

All-time favorite gallery in a storefront on Wilson Ave, Storefront Bushwick will bring works by Abdolreza Aminlari and a sculpture by Drew Shiflett. Abdolreza is a an artist of Iranian origin explores ideas of cultural memory and identity, specifically the idea of “home” in relation to the Iranian Diaspora.

Directory

Facebook Event

#14 Two Coats of Paint

The founder of the blog Two Coats of Paint, painter Sharon Butler has recently moved her studio to Bushwick. Additionally, she invited Austin Thomas of Pocket Utopia to curate a painting show there for BOS.

Directory

Facebook Event

#15 Truck Yeah

Truck Yeah Meet Up is a very cool project whose goal is to transform any location into a creative gathering. Visit Pine Box Rock Shop on Saturday and Sunday and have fun!

Directory

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 Jen Hitchings

This post was created in collaboration with the blog of Arts in Bushwick

With Bushwick Open Studios pushing into its seventh year of existence, I decided to look into statistics a little bit and create a few drawings documenting the growth of the number of participants since its inception. While a more extensive history of BOS was published yesterday here, these drawings serve as a visual cue to how quickly this community-run project has become a staple in the Bushwick summer. With a whole lot of help from the BOS volunteer team, I approximated the number of registered shows for each event in years past. A “show” can be a registered gallery, studio building, or artist studio, so these estimated numbers do not necessarily represent how many individual artists have participated. That number is always significantly higher than what’s listed here. This year, now that registration is complete, 526 shows are on the map.

I should also mention that although 2006 is the earliest year represented in the drawings below, there was an event in 2005 called Bushwick Arts Project (BAP), which was a one-day, fully curated event, included “18+ hours of art installations, electronic music, indie rock, VJs, DJs, video art, film, dance, and street art occurring simultaneously in an industrial park located in Bushwick.” The term Bushwick Open Studios was coined for an event in October of 2006. And here’s a bit of trivia: How many of the BOS events have occurred when the L train was actually running?*

2006, approx. 73 shows

2007, approx. 150 shows

2008, approx 200 shows

2009, approx. 250 shows

2010, approx. 325 shows

2011, approx 380 shows

*The trivia answer: 50% of them.

Check out participating artists, venues, and events here and the many blog posts profiling artists and locations here.