Brooklyn Utopias?
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
"[This exhibit] will undoubtedly get folks in Brooklyn Heights talking."
- Brooklyn Heights Blog

“Connecting the past with the present is really at the heart of our mission here. This is definitely the most ambitious Public Perspectives exhibit we’ve ever had.”
- Janice Monger, Manager, Public Perspectives program, Brooklyn Historical Society (Brooklyn Utopias? exhibition site)

"[Our education programs] about people's relationship to their landscape, to sustainability, to an ideal community, all relate to...Brooklyn Utopias. We were thrilled with the results of the installation."
- Kim Maier, Executive Director, The Old Stone House (Brooklyn Utopias? exhibition site)

"The exhibition theme has challenged and inspired me to create new site-specific work that brings together both personal and political themes. The new work feels like a milestone in my artistic development, as well as the start of a fruitful path for future exploration."
- Eduardo Alexander Rabel, participating artist

"Participating in 'Brooklyn Utopias?' gave me an opportunity to discover a part of Brooklyn's history and communicate that history with the community. As a reflection on and reflection of Brooklyn, BU provided perspectives through which community members can understand their environment."
- Eric Corriel, participating artist

"It broadened my knowledge of other artists within my community tackling related or intersecting topics."
- Julia Whitney Barnes, participating artist

"Having a forum for people to come together and discuss ways for change in this community through the use of art is ideal to me."
- Katie Hall, participating artist

"'Brooklyn Utopias?' provided me with logistical support, venue, and modest funding to pursue a site-specific public project I’d been looking for an opportunity to do."
- Bryony Romer, participating artist

"The primary impact of 'Brooklyn Utopias?' on me is a different overall perspective on Brooklyn. It has forced me to stop, on many occasions and in many neighborhoods, and try to put myself in the shoes of my fellow Brooklynites."
- Jeremy Reed, co-exhibition designer

“I never realized I had what it takes to be part of a professional exhibit. Now I have even more confidence in myself as an artist.”
- Malissa Williams, age 16, participating teen artist, Old Stone House and Starting Artists

”This project was a highlight of my summer at Starting Artists. I learned a lot about issues I care about in Brooklyn, and how to express my opinions about my community through art.”
- Mark Gonsalvez, age 18, participating teen artist, Brooklyn Historical Society and Starting Artists

"The public program was a great networking event for me: I got to meet some really passionate artists. On a more personal note: it allowed me to come back to what I love: imagining the future. It's important to remember why we are doing our day-to-day activities: in response to some utopian vision.”
- Stacey Murphy, Founder, BK Farmyards, guest presenter, "Do it Yourself Utopias" public program at the Old Stone House

“I was honored to be included with such an illustrious group of Utopians. I hope that we will all continue to dialog about planning for Brooklyn's future both in concept and concrete action.“
- Derek Denckla, Founder and President, Propeller Group, guest panelist, "Utopian" Urban Planning public program at Brooklyn Historical Society
EVENT SCHEDULE
Group Exhibition at Brooklyn Historical Society

Katherine Gressel, Curator

Opening Reception: Thursday, October 1, 2009, 5:30-7:30pm
NEW!!! "Last chance" viewing: Friday, January 22, 2010, 5:30-7:30pm
Exhibition Dates: October 2, 2009-January 24, 2010
Public Hours: Wednesday-Friday, Sunday, 12-5pm; Saturday, 10am-5pm
Address: 128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, First Floor
www.brooklynhistory.org

Founded in 1863, the Brooklyn Historical Society is a nationally recognized urban history center dedicated to preserving and encouraging the study of Brooklyn's 400-year history. Alongside the contemporary artists’ work, the Brooklyn Historical Society Brooklyn Utopias? exhibit also displayed information on the historic role of artists in envisioning a more ideal Brooklyn, connecting past and present.
Group Exhibition at the Old Stone House
Katherine Gressel, Curator

Opening Reception: Thursday, September 17, 5:30-7:30pm
Exhibition Dates: September 15-October 31, 2009
Public Hours: Saturday/Sunday 11am-4pm or by appointment
Address: 5th Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets, Brooklyn, NY 11215
www.theoldstonehouse.org

The historic Old Stone House (OSH) is a modern reconstruction of the Vechte-Cortelyou House, a 1699 Dutch stone farmhouse with important ties to Brooklyn history. It served as a point of early Gowanus Canal trade, an important battle post in the Revolutionary War, and the original clubhouse of the Brooklyn Dodgers, among other functions. At the Old Stone House (OSH), Brooklyn Utopias? artists exhibited in the second-floor Great Room, stairwell, and surrounding park. Several site-specific pieces responded to OSH’s unique architecture/collections, history, and ongoing role as a recreational/green space and community resource.

Teen art exhibition at Starting Artists, Inc.
Katherine Gressel and Marisa Catalina Casey, Curators

Opening reception: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 6-8pm
Exhibition Dates: November 12-December 31, 2009
Public Hours: Monday-Thursday, 10am-6pm
Closed December 17-31
Address: 211 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
www.startingartists.org

A 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Starting Artists benefits underserved teenagers in Brooklyn, NY through hands-on training in the arts and entrepreneurship. SA's free after-school programs in media art and business prepare and inspire youth to create arts-based enterprises (www.startingartists.org). In Fall 2009, teens in the Starting Artists after-school program, and schools/community organizations around Brooklyn, were invited to visit both art exhibits, meet the artists, and create work for a special Brooklyn Utopias? youth show at SA’s gallery. In addition, two artworks created by Brooklyn Utopias? youth art competition winners in the 2009 Starting Artists Summer Intensive program were displayed alongside professional artists’ work at the Old Stone House and Brooklyn Historical Society shows.
Public Program at the Old Stone House: "Do it Yourself Utopias:" Artists and community groups consider sustainable Brooklyn Living
Thursday, October 8, 2009, 6-8pm, at The Old Stone House
5th Avenue between 3rd & 4th St. Brooklyn, NY 11215
www.theoldstonehouse.org
Admission: FREE
Participating Brooklyn Utopias? artists discussed their proposals for building a more sustainable, “green” Brooklyn, and received feedback from grassroots community organizations and artists’ groups. Special guest organizations included: The Waterpod Project and BK Farmyards.
Open House New York artist/curator talk at the Old Stone House
Saturday, October 10, 2009, 11am-12pm, at The Old Stone House
5th Avenue between 3rd & 4th St. Brooklyn, NY 11215
www.theoldstonehouse.org
Admission: FREE
Brooklyn Utopias? curator and select artists were available to answer questions about the show. Part of the Ihttp://www.ohny.org|Open House New YorkI NYC architecture and design tour weekend.
Public Program at Brooklyn Historical Society: "Utopian Urban Planning:" Artists and Community Leaders Discuss Brooklyn's Future
Sunday, October 25, 2009, 2-4pm, Brooklyn Historical Society
128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, First Floor Community Gallery and basement conference room
www.brooklynhistory.org
Admission: FREE
At this round table event, Brooklyn Utopias? artists and curator debated their ideas with community leaders, architects and urban planners, and the general public, with a focus on large-scale planning initiatives. Special guest speakers included Amy Sananman, Executive Director/Founder, Groundswell Community Mural Project, Shin-pei Tsay, Deputy Director of Transportation Alternatives, Derek Denckla, Founder, Propeller Group and Alexander Gorlin, FAIA, Principal/Founder of Alexander Gorlin Architects and designer of Brooklyn affordable housing project the Nehemiah/Spring Creek Houses. The event featured an exhibit walk-through with artists and curators, followed by a curator talk and panel discussion moderated by architectural/urban historian and licensed architect Marta Gutman, PhD.