Tag: Art

c. Elizabeth-Keegin-Colley

Explore Prospect Park’s Waterways

January 25, 2022

Take a free, self-guided audio tour of Prospect Park’s watercourse—a marvel of nature, history and eco-innovation. The tour is presented by Prospect Park Alliance, in partnership with artist Mary Mattingly and More Art, and powered by Gesso. The tour serves as an educational component of the ecoWEIR pilot program currently operating in Prospect Park, and is presented through funding from the Environmental Protection Fund Grant Program for Park Services, administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.

Prospect Park, Brooklyn’s landmark park, is a natural wonder but also a feat of engineering: home to the borough’s last remaining forest and only lake, the park’s watercourse is fed by the New York City water supply. The free, self-guided audio tour provides a new perspective on the natural and human-made ecosystems found in Prospect Park, and its connection to New York City’s water supply. From the natural ponds, local springs, and streams that were here before the park, to the waterways designed by park designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux that today are fed by watersheds as far as 125 miles north of the city, to the future health of these waterways through an innovative ecoWEIR that uses plants to filter water—the tour peels back layers of history, environmental stewardship, and human intervention that are hidden beneath the surface.

The tour begins at the Grand Army Plaza entrance of the park and ends on Wellhouse Drive in the park, a total of 2.02 miles and 12 narrated stops. The route includes a steep set of stairs in the Ravine and passes over dirt/gravel and paved paths. There is an accessible restroom at the end of the tour located at the Wellhouse. 

c. Elizabeth Keegin Colley

The Last Stand: An Experimental Opera for Trees

August 12, 2021

Prospect Park Alliance and NYC Parks Art in the Parks is partnering with Creative Time to present artist Kamala Sankaram’s first public artwork, The Last Stand, in Brooklyn’s Backyard.

On view September 18–October 10, this public sound installation and experimental opera for and about trees invites audiences to consider the complex and expansive life cycle of one of our most vital natural resources. 

Prospect Park is home to Brooklyn’s last remaining forest with more than 30,000 trees and many species of native flora that are an integral habitat to the hundreds of species of birds and wildlife.

“Since our founding in 1987, Prospect Park Alliance has played a critical role in revitalizing the park’s 250 acres of core woodlands,” said Sue Donoghue, President of Prospect Park Alliance and Park Administrator. “The park’s 30,000 trees are the ‘lungs’ of Brooklyn and are vital to our community’s health and well-being. We are so pleased to be hosting The Last Stand, and drawing attention to the importance of trees to our environment and future.”

The Last Stand chronicles the lifespan of a 300-year-old Northern Red Oak—the “Mother Tree”—from the years 1750–2050. The rich soundscape tells the story of the Mother Tree in Black Rock Forest, a nearly 4,000-acre diverse ecosystem in upstate New York with tree species tracing back 14,000 years. Sankaram personally created field recordings of the environment to develop sounds for the installation, which will be experienced through rhythms, looped sounds, and the physical vibrations they generate.

“In the wake of this year’s catastrophic heat, storms, and floods, the immediacy of the climate emergency has only become clearer. We can no longer hold ourselves separate from the world around us. Rather, to stave off the most devastating effects of climate change, we must recognize the interconnectedness of humankind with our delicate world and all the living beings that inhabit it. It is my hope that by allowing ourselves to try and step inside the perspective of a tree, to experience its different intelligence and sense of time, we can rekindle this sense of connection,” said Kamala Sankaram. 

Over the course of 10 hours, the opera spans the Mother Tree’s life from acorn to its “last stand,” the final burst of life-giving energy a tree gives to its vast forest life network before it dies. Trees and visitors will experience sounds native to the natural environment, including animal and tree canopy noises, as well as sounds that mimic moments of life-altering tragedy, including invasions from non-native insects to human-induced threats such as excess rain, logging, and fire. Finally, the narrative carries the audience into the future with sounds that hint at the catastrophic effects of climate change, calling attention to the symbiotic and sometimes negative relationships within ecosystems.

The Last Stand is the winner of Creative Time’s 2021 Emerging Artist Open Call, which offers the opportunity for an artist to create their first-ever public artwork. Lead Project Support for The Last Stand is generously provided by Costa Brazil.

Learn more about The Last Stand, on view in Prospect Park from September 18–October 10, 2021.

Jamel Shabazz

Jamel Shabazz: Prospect Park, My Brooklyn Oasis

June 17, 2021

In celebration of the start of restoration of Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park, Prospect Park Alliance is proud to partner with Photoville to present a site-specific photo exhibition celebrating the work of legendary photographer Jamel Shabazz: Prospect Park: My Oasis in Brooklyn. Opening in timing with Juneteenth, the exhibit will bring the work of Shabazz to the Brooklyn community. The photographer, whose work is housed within the permanent collections of The Whitney Museum, The Studio Museum in Harlem, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, is best known for his iconic photographs of New York City in the 1980s.

Jamel Shabazz, Best Friends, 2006
Best Friends, Jamel Shabazz, 2006.

“At the early stage of my photographic development, I wanted to improve my skills as a photographer, and Prospect Park with its five hundred and eighty-five acres, became the ideal place for me to practice” Shabazz says. Forty-one years and thousands of Prospect Park photos later, Shabazz has captured reunion picnics, musicians, races, dog walks, and so much more in the beloved park he calls his “oasis in Brooklyn.” Exhibited along the construction fence surrounding Lefferts Historic House, the community of Brooklyn will be able to discover new stories and recognize old friends in Shabazz’s work.

“I have photographed a number of locations during my career as a photographer, but I can honestly say that my work centered on Prospect Park is both my largest and one of my very favorite series” says Shabazz.

The Art of Love, Jamel Shabazz, 1988
The Art of Love, Jamel Shabazz, 1988.

Prospect Park: My Oasis in Brooklyn will be on display outside Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park through Spring 2022.

Header Image: We Are One, Jamel Shabazz, 1998

Caribpolitan, Andrea Pippins for I AM CARIBBEING

Celebrate Caribbean-American Heritage in Prospect Park

May 19, 2021

Celebrate National Caribbean-American Heritage Month in Prospect Park with caribBEING, Jouvayfest Collective, and Prospect Park Alliance. Brooklyn’s Backyard will be home to a month of workshops, live music, culinary arts and other special events. Enjoy Caribbean music, dance, food, wellness and much more during this cultural celebration for Brooklynites of all ages. All participating artists and practitioners are based in Little Caribbean NYC, and hail from Haiti, Trinidad, Panama and Puerto Rico. Also, enjoy a guide to the neighborhood of Little Caribbean from Shelley Worrell, founder of caribBEING.

Wellness Afternoon: Marlon Jude + Third Root
Sunday, June 6, 1-4pm
Boathouse, Free
Learn to utilize the park to improve your fitness and wellness regimens. Pop-up wellness stations will be hosted by Flatbush-based performance coach, Marlon Jude and community health center, Third Root. In these guided workshops participants will be guided through body-weight workouts, yoga, meditation and sound healing. (Mats are not required for this workshop. If you’d like to use one, please bring your own).

Cooking: Peppa’s + Allan’s Bakery
Sunday, June 13, 1-4pm
Breeze Hill/Lincoln Rd BBQ Grills, Free
Learn safe grilling practices whilst exploring culinary traditions of Brooklyn’s Little Caribbean with a demonstration and tasting led by Flatbush’s Peppa’s, in addition to freshly baked goods from Allan’s Bakery, a third-generation family institution. Food and beverage will be first come first serve, while supplies last.

Long Live Our Flag Bearers Workshop
Sunday, June 13, 2-5pm
Boathouse, Suggested Donation – $10
In this workshop, JOUVAYFEST COLLECTIVE and BUSH WO/MAN Conversations Project with Prospect Park Alliance commemorates the Flag Bearers of the past and present with interviews, historical video and live demonstrations. Long Live Our Flag Bearers workshop hopes to encourage the younger generations in maintaining this cultural art form and have fun in the process.
 
Music: Paul Beauburn + Zing Experience
Sunday, June 20, 5-9pm
Boathouse, Free
Groove to the healing music of Paul Beaubrun scion of Haitian musical royalty and son of the Grammy nominated band Boukman Eksperyans. Inspired by his heritage, constantly aware of his roots, the struggle of an immigrant and the drive of New York life, Paul & Zing Experience forged a path where music, artistry and history meet.

Music: Steel Pan Day
Sunday, June 27, 1-3pm
Boathouse, Free
Did you know Brooklyn has its very own Steel Pan Day? Proclaimed by Borough President Eric Adams at Brooklyn Museum in June 2015— come celebrate the only instrument invented in the 20th century alongside local performance groups including Zane Rodolfo’s pan-jazz trio and Hearts of Steel.

These events are first come, first served—no registration required.

caribBEING is supported by Con Edison, Affinity Health Plan, Kings Theatre, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, CAMBA, and New York State Council for the Arts.

An Interview with Artist Oasa DuVerney

February 25, 2021

BRIC and Prospect Park Alliance, in partnership with NYC Parks, have commissioned the collaborative duo Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine to create a public art project at the Prospect Park Bandshell, on view through May 2021. Titled, Inspired By “What Is Left,” the text-based installation quotes the late poet Lucille Clifton and offers the Brooklyn community a message of resilience and perseverance. 

Inspired By “What Is Left” is an extension of Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine’s ongoing project in Crown Heights which reimagines unoccupied public spaces with new alternative purposes. Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine was created in 2010 by artists Oasa DuVerney and Mildred Beltre. We spoke with DuVerney about this installation in Prospect Park and about Black History Month. 

PPA: Why is it meaningful to have your work—and this quote by Lucille Clifton—on display in Prospect Park?

ODV: I think it’s really important to remember to celebrate what may seem to some people like small victories but in fact are major triumphs when the whole of society is okay with you dying and complicit with your suffering. Lucille Clifton is a master of words, clear and to the point about the experiences of Black women.

PPA: Who are your biggest influences?

ODV: My biggest influences would Dick Gregory, my Kindergarten and 5th Grade teachers respectively Lavern Nimmons and Pam White from PS 127 in East Elmhurst Queens, and my kids Nzinga and Stokely. They are so full of life and wisdom and see and experience the world so different from me sometimes. As their parent it makes me want to try and mold them but what I’ve realized over the years is that they are also shaping me and who I am. 

PPA: What does a Black History Month mean to you?

ODV: Black History month means to me that y’all really did pick the shortest month with an option to opt out of celebrating or even acknowledging the contributions of Black people and culture in American society. 

PPA: What are your artistic goals for the future? 

ODV: More fence weavings, and more art making in the streets for the people.

PPA: What are your hopes for our community?

ODV: My hope for our community is the complete stop to the criminalization of Black and Brown people, a Universal Basic Income, a Universal Healthcare that leads to universal healing, and more public spaces to practice community with our neighbors.

View Inspired By “What Is Left,” at the Prospect Park Bandshell, on view through May 3, 2021.

Major Art Installation Celebrates Brooklyn Community

October 5, 2020

BRIC and Prospect Park Alliance, in partnership with NYC Parks, have commissioned the collaborative duo Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine to create a public art project at the Prospect Park Bandshell, on view from October 3, 2020 through June 2021. Titled, Inspired By “What Is Left,” the text-based installation quotes the late poet Lucille Clifton and offers the Brooklyn community a message of resilience and perseverance. 

With this new public art installation, BRIC and Prospect Park Alliance present a powerful message for the Brooklyn community. It is the first major public art project in Prospect Park since the pandemic, and one of the first installations at the Bandshell in its history.

“This public art work provides a message of strength and joy, celebrating and uniting our community during these difficult times,” states BRIC’s President, Kristina Newman-Scott. “We are delighted to continue our important partnership with the Prospect Park Alliance through this meaningful activation of the Bandshell inspired by a local and engaged arts collective.”

“In the past six months, Prospect Park has played an essential role in our community, and we could not be more delighted than to welcome the Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine to Brooklyn’s Backyard,” said Sue Donoghue, President, Prospect Park Alliance. “We are pleased to be able to extend this new collaboration to our partnership with BRIC, and to celebrate and illuminate the resilience of our community through public art.” 

Inspired By “What Is Left” is an extension of Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine’s ongoing project in Crown Heights which reimagines unoccupied public spaces with new alternative purposes. Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine was created in 2010 by artists Oasa DuVerney and Mildred Beltre. Their monumentally-scaled text-based fence weavings, inspired by the neon colors of protest posters, publicly address the current moment by often unheard voices in Black Radical Thought and take a barrier meant to separate an immigrant community and envision it as a space for community knowledge and uplift. The artwork aims to remind viewers of the struggles that have been faced and the work yet to be done for racial equity. It references lines from a poem by Lucille Clifton (1936-2010), a prolific poet and two time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Clifton wrote about the Black experience and endurance in the face of adversity, using substantive yet pared down lines.

“won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton  
won’t you celebrate with me
what i have shaped into
a kind of life? i had no model.
born in babylon
both nonwhite and woman
what did i see to be except myself?
i made it up
here on this bridge between
starshine and clay,
my one hand holding tight
my other hand; come celebrate
with me that everyday
something has tried to kill me
and has failed.

Source: Book of Light (Copper Canyon Press, 1993)

Prospect Park has always played an important role as a gathering space for the melting pot of people and cultures that make Brooklyn unique. This has come even more to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, where it has served as the backdrop for moments of protest and joy, celebration and memorialization, making it the perfect location for this installation.  

For over 40 years, BRIC has presented its signature summer concert series, the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, at the Prospect Park Bandshell. From its very first performance in summer of 1979, the mission of the Festival has been to bring Brooklyn together. These free experiences at the Bandshell enhance the quality of life and understanding of the world by centralizing diverse voices and illuminating the vibrant cultures that make Brooklyn unique. 

c. Amanda Williams and Olalekan Jeyifous

Artists Selected for Chisholm Monument

April 24, 2019

In an exciting announcement for the Prospect Park community, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and women.nyc announced that artist team Amanda Williams and Olalekan Jeyifous has been selected to design the park’s new monument to Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to serve in Congress and a Brooklyn hero.

“Prospect Park Alliance is thrilled to welcome this important monument to Shirley Chisholm to the park,” said Sue Donoghue, president of Prospect Park Alliance. “It will be the focal point of the Alliance’s Ocean Avenue and Parkside Avenue entrance and perimeter restoration, and we look forward to working with the artist team to create a beloved destination for our diverse community to enjoy in Brooklyn’s Backyard.”

Renderings released show the team’s proposal for the monument that will grace Parkside Plaza. The design, called Our Destiny, Our Democracy, was selected through the City’s Percent for Art program. In the coming months, with additional community input and public review, the design will be developed to best suit the public and the park landscape. The monument is the first to be commissioned as part of the She Built NYC program, which seeks to expand representation of women in the City’s public art collection. The Shirley Chisholm monument will be installed in Prospect Park by the end of 2020.

“She Built NYC is transforming public art in our City by honoring the contributions of women who helped build and shape it,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray. “Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s dynamic leadership and activism continues to inspire all who learn her story and her service deserves public recognition. This artwork will be bright, bold, and makes a statement – just like Chisholm herself.” 

This monument, which was announced in late 2018, will be a critical part of Prospect Park Alliance’s $9.5 million restoration of the Parkside and Ocean Avenue perimeters and entrance to the park, which is made possible through $6.7 million in funding by Mayor de Blasio, $2 million in funding from Borough President Eric L. Adams and $750,000 in funding from Council Member Dr. Mathieu Eugene. This large-scale restoration by the Alliance will include new sidewalks and paving, new historic lighting and street furniture, the planting of new trees and the addition of a protected bike lane. This project continues the Alliance’s work to restore the perimeter of the east side of the park, including the Flatbush Avenue perimeter, which is also being funded by the Borough President, as well as Council Members Laurie Cumbo and Dr. Mathieu Eugene. See more on the Capital Projects Tracker.

Still from "Chisholm '72," courtesy of Realside Productions

Chisholm Monument Designs Unveiled

March 27, 2019

Make your voice heard!

View and comment on the five preliminary artist proposals for the new monument to Shirley Chisholm in Prospect Park, the first artwork to be commissioned as part of the She Built NYC initiative to bring more monuments honoring women to New York City’s public spaces.

This open call for feedback on the proposals by artists Firelei Báez, La Vaughn Belle, Tanda Francis, Mickalene Thomas and the team of Amanda Williams and Olalekan Jeyifous will continue through Sunday, March 31.

She Built NYC kicked off in June 2018 with an invitation for public nominations, and Shirley Chisholm was selected in November in recognition of her role as a political trailblazer who was both the first black Congresswoman and the first woman to seek the Democratic presidential nomination. The monument is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2020 and will be installed at the Parkside entrance to Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

This monument will be the centerpiece of Prospect Park Alliance’s restoration of the Parkside and Ocean Avenue perimeters and entrance to the park,made possible through funding by Mayor de Blasio, Borough President Eric L. Adams and Council Member Dr. Mathieu Eugene. The Alliance will improve the sidewalks and paving, add new historic lighting, street furniture, trees and plantings. There will also be a new protected bike lane. This project is expected to be completed by Fall 2021.

Learn more and view the designs at women.nyc.

Still from "Chisholm '72," courtesy of Realside Productions

A Monument to a Trailblazer Comes to Prospect Park

November 30, 2018

On U.S. Representative Shirley Chisholm’s birthday and the 50th anniversary of her election to Congress, Prospect Park Alliance President Sue Donoghue joined First Lady Chirlane McCray and Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen in Prospect Park to make a momentous announcement.

The group held a press conference at the Parkside and Ocean Avenue entrance to the Park to announce that a monument to Representative Shirley Chisholm, the political trailblazer who was both the first black Congresswoman and the first woman to seek the Democratic presidential nomination, will be erected at that location, where the Alliance is undertaking a significant restoration as part of our work improving the Park’s eastern perimeter.

“As Brooklyn’s Backyard, we are deeply honored to welcome this important monument to a true Brooklyn hero, Shirley Chisholm,” said Sue Donoghue, president of Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit that sustains Prospect Park in partnership with the city. “We thank the Mayor, First Lady Chirlane McCray and the Department of Cultural Affairs for selecting Prospect Park as the site for this commemoration, which will serve as a critical focal point of our restoration of the Parkside and Ocean Avenue entrance to Prospect Park.”

chisholm_event.jpg

A local hero, Chisholm was the first black Congresswoman in U.S. history, and both a leader and an advocate for residents of Brooklyn and the country at large. Her notable achievements in Congress included working to expand access to food stamps, helping to pass Title IX and extending minimum wage requirements to domestic workers. In 1972, Rep. Chisholm became the first black major-party candidate to run for President of the United States. This is the first monument commissioned as part of She Built NYC, an initiative that sought public nominations to honor the New York City women who have changed history.

“Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s legacy of leadership and activism has paved the way for thousands of women to seek public office,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray. “She is exactly the kind of New York woman whose contributions should be honored with representation in our public spaces, and that is now being realized with She Built NYC.”
 
“Shirley Chisholm was an American original—a fearless trailblazer who broke barriers and had an unrivaled commitment to justice,” said Alicia Glen, Deputy Mayor for Housing & Economic Development. “From standing up to Congressional leadership to taking bold bipartisan action, Rep. Chisholm made sure everyone knew she was ‘unbought and unbossed.’ There is no one more deserving than Rep. Chisholm of a statue honoring her life and legacy; may New Yorkers of all backgrounds be inspired by her story.”

The site of this monument will serve as a critical focal point for the Alliance’s $9.5 million restoration of the Parkside and Ocean Avenue perimeters and entrance to Prospect Park, which includes $6.7 million in funding by Mayor de Blasio, $2 million in funding from Borough President Eric L. Adams, and $750,000 in funding from Council Member Mathieu Eugene. This large-scale restoration by the Alliance will include new sidewalks and paving, new historic lighting and street furniture, the planting of new trees and the addition of a protected bike lane. 

As the steward of Brooklyn’s Backyard, Prospect Park Alliance is deeply honored to welcome this important monument to a true Brooklyn icon. Read more about this announcement from the Mayor’s office.

Courtesy of Fitzhugh Karol

Art in the Park: Fitzhugh Karol

January 16, 2018

Park visitors may have noticed a few large additions to Prospect Park’s landscape: two colorful steel sculptures inside the Grand Army Plaza and Bartel-Pritchard Square entrances. These abstract and playful shapes are the creation of local artist Fitzhugh Karol, whose works are on view in Prospect Park and Tappen Park in Staten Island through the NYC Parks Art in the Parks program, in collaboration with Prospect Park Alliance We spoke to Karol about his influences, process and having his pieces on display in his own community.

What is your connection with Brooklyn, Prospect Park and Prospect Park Alliance?

I have lived in Park Slope for 11 years and have spent countless hours in Prospect Park, I really regard it as my backyard. It’s the most dynamic park in all the five boroughs because it has the scale, the romance and the variation that no other park does. I’ve just recently connected with Prospect Park Alliance through this project and now intend to support that organization in any way I can, and I love that they have been making a push for public art in the park over the past few years.

What inspires you as an artist and what, specifically, did you draw on in these works?

Interpreting the landscape has always been the strongest force behind my work. I am especially interested in the human imprint on landscape through the ages. The works on view in Prospect Park use arching forms, cutouts and divided spaces to promote playful interaction as viewers move within, around and through them. Searches at Grand Army Plaza was conceived to relate to the Soldier and Sailors Arch. Reaches at Bartel Pritchard entrance was conceived to be even more playful: the reach of the overhanging arm follows the roadway, as if propelling itself counter-clockwise around the park loop, something I’ve done many times on foot.

Tell us about the process for the creation and fabrication of Searches and Reaches.

These works started out as cardboard models—I’m constantly working this way, and as the models pile up I pull out favorites and make them into small sculptures in wood or metal. I then scaled the models up to roughly 20-foot heights. Once we had the shapes scaled, we laid out each massive plane on a grid of steel sheets, drew the shapes and cut them out by hand with a plasma cutter. Each plane then got welded together and we bent and attached the edge banding that gives the sculptures their rigidity.

What aspect of this installation is most exciting to you?

The scale and the locations of these works are the most exciting parts of the project to me. When I conceived of the installation two years ago, I walked around the park and dreamt of how the sculptures might take shape. And now, to have my largest works to date on display in my neighborhood, and to have so much interactivity within my community, is thrilling.

See Karol’s pieces, Searches and Reaches, on view in Prospect Park, now through Spring 2018.