Kai Studio - Credit: Jennifer Macchiarelli

We’ve talked about it before, but just wanted to give you 4 new exciting updates on the art scene in our neighborhood:

1) Contemporary African Art Gallery Opening – We’ve profiled them before, but it is now official.   The first contemporary African art gallery to be located in Crown Heights – 1158Dean Art Gallery – will be having its grand opening this weekend!

The mission of 1158Dean is to promote and support art and artists from across the African diaspora.  Billing themselves as a space “beyond white walls” it seems fitting and even symbolic that this small gallery is located, not in a traditional gallery space, but in a charming Brownstone.

Their grand opening, taking place this Saturday and Sunday, will feature “a provocative film by filmmaker Selena Blake, which delves into the controversial world of homosexuality in Jamaican culture.  On Sunday the gallery introduces a vibrant series of works by artist Baruti Tucker celebrating the female form.”

2) Community Art Space Needs Our Support – The community art space, Launchpad, has received more than 50% of the funding support that it needs to open.  But with just about a two weeks until their deadline arrives, they still need more support.   Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your mama, tell your rich uncle.  Let’s see Launchpad launch!…

On a related note, launchpad is having an open call for art submissions and a pencil party on March 6th to further promote the space.  Check it out.

3) New Art Space in Crown Heights – There is a newcomer to the Crown Heights art scene, which we only recently discovered.   Kai Studio – an art event space – is located in an unassuming building in what we call “warehouse row” on Dean Street – 1011 Dean to be exact.  A friend hipped us to Kai, describing it as “a beautiful place with really high ceilings.”  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to reach the owners to get our own peak on the inside, but you can get sense of the space from their website.

4) Nostrand Park launches virtual art gallery – We at NP are launching our virtual art gallery called “the Corner” – a free virtual space for local artists and artisans to gain recognition and exposure.  Not only is it free, but you don’t ever have to take your work down – as long as we have a URL, you have a space.

Other local art galleries:

Five Myles -  There is the long-standing Five Myles art gallery, which focuses primarily on abstract works and also a good portion of their exhibits feature artists of color.  The director of Five Myles, Hanne Tierney, is an absolute delight.  If not for the works themselves, its worth it just to drop in and say hello to Hanne herself.

Superfront – Located on Atlantic Avenue between New York and Brooklyn, Superfront is a relatively new gallery that promotes contemporary architecture in an interdisciplinary context.  We’ve covered a couple of Superfront events in the past, so click on the tag below to reacquaint yourself with their projects.

Black Arts and History Around Town – Check out the Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Arts Council and Medgar Evers College for more information:

Featured by the Brooklyn Arts Council:

“Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC), in partnership with Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, launches Black Brooklyn Renaissance: Black Arts & Culture, 1960-2010, sponsored by MetLife Foundation with African Dance/ Brooklyn Styleat Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College (BCBC) on February 28 followed by African Dance/ Brooklyn Style Symposium, hosted by Urban Bush Women at A.R.T New York South Oxford Space on March 3.

Black Brooklyn Renaissanceis the first effort of its kind to take a holistic look at Black culture and arts in Brooklyn over five decades. The project explores a range of genres and styles from drumming to painting to jazz to hip hop and spoken word, and looks at how Black artists retain ties to mid-century social and political movements and how artists preserve legacies and influences across generations. Major components of the initiative include 12 months of concerts, performances, workshops, readings, screenings, exhibitions, a conference and an archive to share this work with future generations.

BAC has joined forces with artists and organizations across the borough to make Black Brooklyn Renaissance a truly collaborative and holistic endeavor. We invited the community to submit relevant events for inclusion in our online community calendar of events.”

Featured by the Brooklyn Public Library:

Medgar Evers College:

Auditions for the National Black Writers Conference Poetry Cafe take place from 5 – 8 p.m. Thursday, February 25th

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