When I moved to this neighborhood in 2010, I was absolutely stunned by its vibrant gallery scene. Bushwick was home to about 10 galleries, which seemed like a lot at the time, especially if you wanted to attend all their art openings. Well, things have changed, and trying to keep up with the Bushwick gallery scene these days literally amounts to a super-hero feat. In 2017 Bushwick, East Williamsburg and Ridgewood, collectively house 83 galleries (!!!).
That’s an 830-percent increase in seven years. Fortunately, most of these galleries are still independent, artist-run spaces.
To get acquainted with the artful offerings of our local galleries, I suggest you take it in stride, and join the crowds at this Saturday’s (March 4) Bushwick Galleries Late Night walk. Obviously, it is not within the capabilities of us, regular humans, to visit all of the 83 galleries, but hey, how about five or six? That’s perfectly doable.
On Wednesday, Henry Chung, an owner of Robert Henry Contemporary (56 Bogart St.), who organizes the walk, told us that 17 galleries have registered so far—though he anticipates that the number will be higher. Conveniently, most of the participating galleries are located within Bushwick’s famed art building, The BogArt at 56 Bogart St., which is that large yellow building right across the street from the Morgan Avenue L train stop.
On Saturday the galleries will open at 1 p.m. and will stay open until 9 p.m. According to Chung, at least two galleries, Odetta and Mountain, have openings that night.
Bushwick galleries have been getting together with the hope of generating some buzz during big art events in the city for couple of years now. Traditionally, one of the late nights in Bushwick falls on Armory Arts Week held in Manhattan.
“Although we understand that most art fair visitors will spend the daytime visiting the various fairs, we also know that many visitors are hungry for quirky off-the-beaten-path entertainment and nightlife while in town,” Chung told us. “Those who are more adventurous are encouraged to venture onward and explore the (in)famous culinary offerings of the neighborhood.”
Chung also shared that it is still pretty hard to get art collectors to Bushwick, although they slowly see more and more of them come out.
“Although hard to quantify, the hope is that collectors, many of whom already know of the burgeoning gallery scene in Bushwick, will have a better incentive to visit the galleries of Bushwick if the open hours are compatible with people’s art fair schedules,” Chung said.
This Saturday, make sure to visit the following galleries (and check out Bushwick Galleries website for a convenient map!):
Amos Eno Gallery
Anthony Philip Fine Art
ArtHelix
Black & White Gallery / Project Space
Fresh Window
Fuchs Projects
Honey Ramka
Microscope Gallery
MOUNTAIN
ODETTA
Robert Henry Contemporary
SLAG CONTEMPORARY
SOHO20 Gallery
Temporary Storage / Brooklyn Fire Proof
Theodore:ART
TRANSFER
Transmitter
TSA New York
Valentine
and others
Cover image by Katarina Hybenova (Bushwick Daily archives)