A new building in Bushwick has combined two of the neighborhood’s most definitive themes: art and pricy real estate.
House of Words (HoW) is a four-story building at 30 Belvidere St. that is exhibiting the work of local artists in its seven galleries, which are actually inside the rooms of a $6,000 penthouse, two $5,000 duplexes, and a $3,000 one-bedroom currently for rent.
“The art gallery is really to facilitate attracting a community of people who would show up to an art show on a Friday night or come to a workshop,” Jennifer Tone, HoW’s art curator, told Bushwick Daily. “…That would be a more organic way of bringing a community together and possibly renting out these apartment spaces.”
According to the HoW website, the building has an “aesthetic that harmoniously blends Bushwick’s factory style with Manhattan’s industrial swank.” The unfinished concrete floors give the space an art-studio vibe, even though the apartments are some of the most expensive in the neighborhood.
“It’s like a fun house,” Tone said of the large text-art sculpture with the building’s name that is out front. “People walk by and they’re taking photos and they’re not quite sure what it is. It’s got a definite personality.”
The artwork throughout HoW forms a sort of treasure map that hints at connections between the building and other places in Bushwick. There’s also a rooftop with an impressive view of the Empire State Building, and HoW is hosting parties there with DJs every Thursday until the exhibition ends. You can even buy the different trinkets on and around the bar itself.
According to Tone, the exhibition of 24 local artists highlights sexuality and creativity within boudoir photography, love and healing through abstract expressionist painting, communication through interactive spaces, and higher states of consciousness. Visitors to the gallery-apartment building can also buy the artwork, some of which costs upwards of $5,000.
The exhibition ends on May 10, but Tone says that the artwork will stay until the apartments have been rented; however, that may not be for long.
“We’re showing the apartments everyday.”
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Cover image courtesy of House of Words