This coming weekend marks the eighth annual Bushwick Open Studios (BOS), an arts and culture festival hosted by local volunteer organization Arts in Bushwick. From May 30th through June 1st, 2014, artists’ doors across the neighborhood will open to the public as a way to celebrate the diverse, vibrant, and creative community that thrives there.
According to Arts in Bushwick, BOS is New York’s largest open studios event, and one that encourages hundreds of local artists to open their doors to share their art with the community. In addition to the dozens of galleries, home studios, and collective art spaces that will be participating, BOS features panel discussions, live performances, and other events throughout the three-day long festival. “It is the mission of Arts in Bushwick to provide a platform for creative minds in the community and work towards an integrated and sustainable neighborhood through arts programming, creative accessibility, and community organizing,” the organization explains.
Official events at this year’s BOS include the “Seeking Space Exhibition,” a show that displays the work of more than 60 artists from Brooklyn and beyond, and “Maps N Mimosas,” a gathering at Bushwick’s longest running apartment gallery, Norte Maar, where festival goers can sip on mimosas with their companions and procure their 2014 BOS maps. The “Being Bushwick Performance Art Showcase” will feature a body of work from local artists that examines Bushwick’s identity in the past, present, and future. In a similarly exploratory event, the “The Role of Art + Funding Progress” is a panel discussion presented by Arts in Bushwick that promises to spark important dialogue about funding and the facilitation of art-making.
Hyperallergic is really excited about a handful of BOS offerings this year, including the Galleries at 56 Bogard, Soap by Matt Town, the Out All Night photography exhibits at the Outlet Gallery, and many more. BOS boasts tons of official and unofficial events at this year’s Bushwick Open Studios; its 2014 Directory features 616 shows in random order, promising a vibrant array of art from diverse disciplines, experience levels, and Brooklynites.
Learn more by visiting the Bushwick Open Studios official event page.
Featured Image: courtesy of Flickr user Hrag Vartanian