OUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BOROUGH OF KINGS
COURIER LIFE, MARCH 4–10, 2022 21
BY KIRSTYN BRENDLEN
A brand new outdoor fi lm installation
inspired by traditional drivein
movie theaters opened on the plaza
at 300 Ashland Place last weekend,
bringing videos and fi lms produced by
Brooklynites to a captive audience of
pedestrians at the busy thoroughfare.
Sponsored by the Downtown
Brooklyn Partnership, the Van Alen
Institute, and local real estate company
Two Trees Management, “Drive-
Thru” features two large, rotating
screens, which will pivot to face different
parts of the plaza and the surrounding
streets. Designed by Datum
Zed, the installation seeks to reimagine
the ways shared public spaces
can engage and connect communities
during the cold winter months, when
parks and plazas often sit empty as
cold weather and early nights drive
neighbors indoors.
Works by eight artists and fi lmmakers
will be displayed on the
screens until April 14, and occasional
live performances will complement
the themes explored in a selection of
the fi lms.
On Feb. 23, Senegalese artist Babacar
Top taught a traditional dance and
led an open dance and drum circle to
celebrate Black History Month and the
launch of “Drive Thru.” More live performances
will be announced throughout
the installation’s two-month run.
“Our latest public art installation,
Drive-Thru, builds on DBP’s mission
to connect people through the power
of shared spaces, storytelling and public
art,” said Regina Myer, president
of DBP, in a release. “Supporting local
artists is at the core of our vision
for the Plaza and by bringing diverse
voices and perspectives to the forefront
of the public realm, Drive-Thru
exemplifi es how individual experiences
can become shared when viewed
as a community. We invite all New
Yorkers to visit Drive-Thru and enjoy
the unique work that Soft-Firm has
created and the Brooklyn-inspired videos
it is providing a stage for.”
The installation is best viewed after
the sun sets, when the projections
can shine most clearly, whether the
viewer is just catching a glimpse on
their walk home or pausing to sit in
the plaza to take in a whole video.
Starting on Feb. 24, Drive-Thru
will be screening “Follow/Unfollow,”
by Nicholas Fraser, a “hypnotic” nineminute
fi lm following New Yorkers as
they walk briskly from frame to frame
throughout New York City. “Follow/
Unfollow” plays until March 2, when
the next fi lm, Simon Benjamin’s “Errantry.”
The full schedule of fi lms and videos
is as follows:
Feb. 24-March 2
Follow/Unfollow (2016): Nicholas
Fraser’s Follow/Unfollow captures
New Yorkers as they travel the city’s
ever-changing streetscape. As their
paths cross in frame, a single person
grows to two, two form a trio, the trio
morphs into a crowd, stopping, shifting,
and changing direction to a hypnotic
effect.
March 2-March 8
Errantry (2021): Named after Édouard
Glissant’s theory, Simon Benjamin’s
Errantry is centered on the polyphonic
rhythms of coastal space, the
Caribbean sea, and the life sustained
by it in a non-linear narrative that
raises questions about time, labor, environmental
degradation and the ongoingness
of colonialism.
March 9-March 15
What the Pier Gave Us (2021): In
Luna X Moya’s What the Pier Gave Us,
a fi sherman’s ordinary day at an undisclosed
New York City pier becomes
a visual metaphor for the immigrant
experience in the United States. This
short fi lm is part of an upcoming feature
length documentary.
March 16-March 23
The Frozen Neighborhoods (Flythrough)
(2021): Olalekan Jeyifous’s
The Frozen Neighborhoods (Flythrough)
depicts a speculative future
where poor and marginalized communities
are cut off from travel, forcing
them to develop advanced ecological
technologies. This deceptively dystopian
vision imagines the potential of
community-focused innovation and
Motion pictures
New outdoor fi lm
installation opens
in front of BAM
‘Drive-Thru,’ a new outdoor fi lm installation inspired by traditional drive-in movie theaters, opened at 300 Ashland Place last weekend.
Photo by Cameron Blaylock for Downtown Brooklyn Partnership
Continued on page 22