Artists take over Atlantic Ave businesses for exhibit
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Rock down to Atlantic Avenue!
A new self-guided art exhibit
opens in businesses,
storefront windows, and along
the sidewalks of Atlantic Avenue
starting Oct. 17. The Arts
Gowanus ArtWalk on Atlantic
Ave. will showcase works by
local creators on 1.5 miles of
the thoroughfare, which organizers
hope will be a boon for
area artisans and small businesses
amid the pandemic.
“ArtWalk is an opportunity
for all of us to discover the pleasures
of the Avenue when our
merchants need us most,” said
Atlantic Avenue Local Development
Corporation’s Acting
Director Howard Kolins in a
statement. “We hope that New
Yorkers and visitors to the City
take an opportunity to stroll,
imbibe, shop and celebrate the
small town vibe we enjoy every
day on Atlantic Ave.”
Works from more than 100
borough artists will be on view
in more than 65 storefront windows
or inside shops — with
strict adherence to indoor social
distancing guidelines —
between Fourth Avenue and
ART
Arts Gowanus ArtWalk on
Atlantic Ave. Atlantic Avenue,
between Fourth Avenue and
the waterfront, www.artsgowanus.
org. Opens Oct. 17-18;
exhibits on view through Nov.
1. Free.
the waterfront through Nov. 1.
COURIER L 40 IFE, OCT. 16-22, 2020
“This is a socially-distanced
way to bring people back to
the avenue and get them out
of their houses, while looking
at something that’s inspiring
and hopeful,” said Stacey Sherman,
who called the event an
art exhibit “with a side of shopping
and dining.”
Art on display includes “Eye
Smile, You Smile,” a photo wall
installation of paired pictures
showing people smiling with
and without masks, by Miguel
Ayuso.
The visual artist — originally
from Oaxaca, Mexico,
who now operates two studios
in Gowanus and Greenwood
Heights — has collected photos
of some 50 people and said
the photos show how we protect
ourselves and others during
the pandemic, while also
reminding viewers of what’s
beneath the mask.
“We are caring for ourselves
and each other, but at
the same time we’re missing
smiles,” Ayuso said. “When
you smile at people, you can
see it in their eyes that you’re
smiling behind the mask. The
installation is to remind people
that there are those smiles
still behind those masks.”
Also along the avenue, a
group of environmentallyfriendly
graphic banners
called “Neighborhood Refections”
will be strung around
sidewalk tree beds showing
personal statements from local
artists and residents on the
current state of affair and issues
important to them.
There will be surprise popup
music and dance performances
during the roughly
two-week run — and QR codes
will allow visitors to fi nd out
more about the exhibits and
guide them along the stri.
Information booths will
also be available at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music, as well
as at several intersections
along the avenue and nearby,
including at Bond Street, Nevins
FACE TIME: “Eye Smile, You Smile” by Miguel Ayuso is one of dozens of
artworks that will be on display along Atlantic Avenue starting Oct. 17.
Photo by Miguel Ayuso
Street, and at the corner of
Court and Clinton streets.
The event’s organizers —
the Development Corporation,
the Atlantic Avenue Business
Improvement District,
and Arts Gowanus — are the
minds behind the decades-old
Atlantic Antic and Gowanus
Open Studios, both of which
were called off this year due to
the coronavirus.
The head of the Gowanus organization
said he was excited
to give both local artisans and
businesses a chance to shine.
“As an artist, I’m extremely
excited for the opportunity this
event gives artists and visitors
to engage in arts and culture
in a safe way and for the public
to see the amazing depth of
creativity and talent we have
locally in Brooklyn,” said Arts
Gowanus Executive Director
Johnny Thornton.
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Call it an online ruffl e!
Sean Casey Animal Rescue
is hosting an online fundraiser
with dozens of prizes to
help support the Windsor Terrace
no-kill animal shelter.
The “Fang-tastic Halloween
Raffl e” is live and collecting
tickets until the random
draw on Oct. 25 at 6 pm, with
more than 70 prizes provided
by members of the Sean Casey
Animal Rescue community.
Prizes, which include trips,
games, original art, gift certificates,
training and grooming
sessions for the pup, or toys
for your fuzzy friends, were
collected after a call for donations
RAFFLE
on Facebook and through
word-of-mouth, according to
the event organizer.
“This entire raffl e was
given to us by our community,”
said Maria Bowen. “It
was a real community effort.”
While the E. Third Street
animal shelter — like many
pet havens around the borough
— has seen a surge in
pet adoptions or fosters during
the pandemic, the nonprofi
t still depends heavily on
its regular fundraisers to pay
for vital medical procedures
for the four-legged friends, according
to Bowen.
“The rescue has been
pretty busy with people adopting
and fostering, but there’s
defi nitely a need. Fundraisers
are a very important part of
the fi nances,” said Bowen.
The effort has so far gathered
almost $6,000 as of Monday,
Oct. 12, and proceeds will
go to fund the shelter’s Critical
Care Program, which pays
for the costly pet procedures
that can amount to more than
$15,000 in bills per month, according
to Bowen.
“The rescue takes in cases
that a lot of other places
wouldn’t take in, and now we
need the funds for it,” she said.
“I would love for this raffl e to
cover most of or a month of
medical bills.”
The online October drive
replaces the annual Howl-oween
Block Party, a spooktacular
tradition that has delighted
Terrace residents for
years with costumed canines
strutting down the street. The
organization was also going
to celebrate its 20th anniversary
in September, but had to
call off those events due to the
pandemic, according to Bowen.
“We had lots of in-person
events being planned, usually
fall is very busy for us with
fundraisers,” she said. “It’s really
about being creative these
days.”
Out of the window
Sean Casey Animal Rescue launches
online raffl e in place of block party
BROOKLYN
Shaggy solution
“Fang-tastic Halloween Raffl
e” online at go.rallyup.com/
scar. Draw on Oct. 25 at 6 pm.
Raffl e tickets $2-10 each.
TWINNING: This pair wore identical costumes to the 2017 Sean Casey
Animal Rescue Howl-o-ween block party. File photo by Mike Beitchman
/www.artsgow-anus.org
/www.artsgow-anus.org
/www.artsgow-anus.org
/go.rallyup.com