Bay Ridge

Artists use store windows as canvasses in Bay Ridge show

March 11, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Artists and art fans gathered in a local pub prior to setting out on foot to enjoy the Storefront Art Walk on Fifth Avenue last year. Photo by Matt Shelley
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Store windows on Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge will become mini-art galleries in May, thanks to a unique program designed to bring together art, commerce and the community.

The Sixth Annual Fifth Avenue Storefront Art Walk will take place starting May 16 in stores on Fifth Avenue between 68th and 84th streets.

The Fifth Avenue Storefront Art Walk, nicknamed SAW by its organizers, teams artists up with merchants to create memorable works of art tailored specifically to the participating stores. This year there will be 15 artists working with a variety of visual media to present individual art projects in the storefront windows.

To whet the appetite of art lovers, the organizers of SAW 2015 have announced the list of participating artists. The artists are: Marisa Tesauro, Salim Hasbini, Ray Lin, Sebastian Carrasco, Julia Whitney Barnes, Deanna Lee, Amanda Hunt, Jeannine Bardo, Liz Atzberger, Margeaux Walter, Katherine Toukhy, Christina Massey, Kristine Robinson, Yeol Jung and Isabelle Garbani.

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John Avelluto, one of the founders of SAW, said he is excited about this year’s group of artists, “Each year we hope for a diverse group of artists who will bring a great atmosphere to the vibrant stretch of businesses on Fifth Avenue. It’s clear that the jurors did great job in selecting the 2015 group of artists. I have no doubt that residents of Bay Ridge and visitors alike will be blown away by the range of styles and concepts they’ll see unveiled soon,” he said.

The artists were selected by a panel of five jurors and were judged based on artistic merit, feasibility and an ability to engage with the Bay Ridge community. The jurors included Anna Lise Jensen, a SAW 2013 artist; Maureen Drennan, a SAW 2014 artist; Jason Andrew, co-founder/director of Norte Maar and co-owner of OUTLET; Jillian Steinhauer, senior editor of Hyperallergic; and Leigh Holliday Brannan, owner of The Art Room.

Each artist will be paired with a Fifth Avenue business and will create a unique installment with the particular business in mind. There is no cost to the merchant and the artist will install their own work.

Maps will be distributed at the participating businesses. The art works will be on display for several days.

SAW is sponsored by the Bay Ridge Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District, Red Hook Winery and SixPoint Brewery.

SAW was created in 2010 by two Bay Ridge business owners, Avelluto, who owns The Owl’s Head Wine Bar and Heather Hamilton of Long’s Wine & Liquors, as a way to showcase the neighborhood’s diversity and to give the community a platform for engagement with the visual arts.

For more information, visit www.bayridgesaw.org.

 

 


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