Brooklyn College will open a new art gallery on Nov. 7 on the lower level of Boylan Hall with a special exhibit to celebrate the space that will serve as a vibrant hub for artists, students, faculty, and the community.
Spanning painting, sculpture, photography, and new media, The Art Gallery at Brooklyn College’s inaugural exhibition, “Urban Contours,” showcases the college’s Art Department faculty, exploring how these dynamic Brooklyn-rooted artists engage space, place, and objects. Featuring the diverse practices of more than 40 faculty members—including celebrated artists Derrick Adams, Janet Carlile, Patricia Cronin, Ronaldo Kiel, Jenn McCoy, Eto Otitigbe, Archie Rand, and Doug Schwab—the exhibition considers how artists define, react, and respond to the vibrant city around them. “Urban Contours” runs through Dec. 20 and will introduce the campus and broader region to one of New York City’s newest venues for the arts.
“I could not be prouder to see this important campus and community resource come to life,” said Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson. “This beautiful new space will allow Brooklyn College to showcase the work of its preeminent artists, teach students in new and vibrant ways, and help us connect better with the artistic community.”
Included in The Art Gallery at Brooklyn College’s inaugural exhibition will be “Where My Girls At,” by Derrick Adams (top of page) and “Flatbushtopia,” by Ezra Wube (above).
Under the direction of the Art Department, which funded and renovated the space, the 7,000-square-foot gallery will foster collaboration across departments and will create educational opportunities and enhance interdisciplinary relationships for the campus community. On May 7, students were the stars of a soft opening of the gallery for a special exhibition that showcased their artwork as part of the B.F.A. Capstone Thesis course.
“This is a big deal—a new gallery in New York City,” said Professor Mona Hadler, chair of the Art Department and a member of the advisory committee that oversees the gallery’s exhibitions. “Brooklyn has its own unique dynamism. It’s a huge center for the arts now.”
Hadler added that the committee, working with the gallery’s curator, Bentley Brown, a Ph.D. fellow at NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts and a multidisciplinary artist himself, is keeping an open mind toward next semester’s shows, balancing campus with local and diasporic artists. Other members of the advisory committee chaired by Malka Simon ’00 include Maria Ann Conelli, Adams, Carlile, Cronin, McCoy, Christopher Richards, and Otitigbe.
“There will be the M.F.A. show in the spring, and we’d like to do something with alumni,” added Hadler. “Bentley is looking to do something cutting-edge, and why not? Some of the best ideas come out of college galleries.”
Simon, a lecturer in art history at Brooklyn College and the managing director of the gallery, believes it will have many purposes beyond a traditional exhibition space and will operate as a venue for events and programs open to the public, including an art history lecture series.
Simon is enthusiastic about the gallery becoming a required stop for art devotees.
“The borough doesn’t end at Prospect Park,” she said. “We’re doing amazing things here in Flatbush. Hop on the train and come see us.”
The gallery is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m., and Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
