BRIC's 'This Land Is...' Presents Contemporary Multimedia Art by 800 Brooklyn Students

BRIC is pleased to present This Land Is..., the 29th Annual Contemporary Art Exhibition developed by BRIC's Education team, Teaching Artists and students from throughout Brooklyn. This Land Is...will be on view Friday, May 19, through Sunday, June 18, in the Gallery at BRIC House (647 Fulton Street), Downtown Brooklyn's largest contemporary art gallery.This Land Is... showcases student works created through 57 school-based residencies, representing over 800 student works from 35 schools located in 19 Brooklyn neighborhoods including Brownsville, Bay Ridge, Prospect Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Midwood, Fort Greene, Willamsburg, Boerum Hill, Coney Island, Fort Hamilton, Park Slope, East New York, Bed-Stuy, Greenpoint, Sunset Park, Weeksville, Red Hook, and Carroll Gardens.

Installed in BRIC's main gallery, and in surrounding spaces throughout BRIC House, the multimedia works comprising This Land Is...were developed in BRIC's school-based residency program taking place in public school classrooms, local community organizations and select after-school programs, in which professional artists bring their studio practices into the classrooms. Students were inspired by master works of renowned artists including Nick Cave, Gordon Parks, Diane Arbus, Cindy Sherman, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Spike Lee, Alain Resnais, Red Grooms, and PES (animator).The techniques used by these accomplished artists were included within the program's curriculum and paired with the diverse perspectives of Brooklyn-based youth, providing a unique and inspiring student exhibition presented in a professionally recognized art gallery.

Jackie Chang, Director of Education for BRIC, said "Our student exhibition this year reflects a volatile time in our country's history. The exhibition includes works that reflect our young people's innocence, their uncertainty in the face of uncertain times, and at the same time celebrates who they are as well as their optimism for a future that will embrace their fullest potential."

Guided by an extraordinary group of BRIC Teaching Artists, students produced works in a wide range of media including mosaic, painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, animation and filmmaking to explore the issues, conditions and events shaping their world today - culturally, politically, environmentally, and globally. The artistic process challenged the students to contemplate their current surroundings and challenged them to venture into their hearts and minds to conceive and create expressions that share with the world what they think, how they feel, and what they know is important. Students drew from personal experience, historical and current events, mythology, and world cultures to create works that reflect their communities, hopes and boundless potential.

Exhibition highlights include:

• Anti-gun violence videos created by students of Boys & Girls High School and PS 308 Clara Cardwell, both in Bedford-Stuyvesant, accompanied by a poster campaign and funded through the Mayor's Administration and City Council as part of the new initiative Art A Catalyst for Change. The program is aimed at reducing gun violence throughout all Brooklyn neighborhoods.
• A large mural-size fabric collage map of the United States incorporating sewn quotes reflecting community interviews conducted by the students of Juan Morel Campos Secondary School in Williamsburg with local members of immigrant populations.
• Hand-crafted mosaics that will be permanently installed in local schools and select playgrounds following the close of the exhibit.
• Freestanding environmental sculptures of quadrupeds and bipods fashioned with the use of recycled materials.
• Masks, puppets and wearable art formed from studies of mythology and other narratives.
• Various short documentaries, animation videos, and relevant public service announcements pertaining to current socio-political issues, including health care and gentrification.
• A photo mural of collaged photographs taken by students depicting their East New York neighborhood.

An opening reception will take place on Thursday, May 18, 6-8pm. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-6pm; Sunday, 12-6pm, and closed Mondays. Gallery admission is free.

Associated Public Programs

Family Day!
Sat, May 27 & June 10 | 12-3PM | Free w/ RSVP
Join some of BRIC's Teaching Artists for an imaginative adventure in art-making!

About BRIC

BRIC is the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, and one of the largest in New York City. We present and incubate work by artists and media-makers who reflect the diversity that surrounds us. BRIC programs reach hundreds of thousands of people each year.

Our main venue, BRIC Arts | Media House, offers a public media center, a major contemporary art exhibition space, two performance spaces, a glass-walled TV studio, and artist work spaces.

Some of BRIC's most acclaimed programs include the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival in Prospect Park, several path-breaking public access media initiatives, including BRIC TV, and a renowned contemporary art exhibition series. BRIC also offers education and other vital programs at BRIC House and throughout Brooklyn.

In addition to making cultural programming genuinely accessible, BRIC is dedicated to providing substantial support to artists and media makers in their efforts to develop work and reach new audiences.

BRIC is unusual in both presenting exceptional cultural experiences and nurturing individual expression. This dual commitment enables us to most effectively reflect New York City's innate cultural richness and diversity.

Learn more at BRICartsmedia.org.

Support for BRIC

BRIC's education and contemporary art programs benefit from generous private funding from Astoria Bank, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, The Bay and Paul Foundations, Bloomingdale's, City Point, Con Edison, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, The Educational Foundation of America, Ford Foundation, Forest City Ratner Companies, The Hearst Foundations, Lambent Foundation, The Robert Lehman Foundation, Laurence W. Levine Foundation, The New York Community Trust, the Oppenheim Family Fund, TD Bank, Tiger Baron Foundation, Pia and Jimmy Zankel, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, as well as numerous individual supporters.

Generous public support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts; the Institute of Museum and Library Services; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl; Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams; the Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council; New York City Council Members Inez Barron, Robert Cornegy, Laurie Cumbo, Mathieu Eugene, Vincent Gentile, Brad Lander, Stephen Levin, Darlene Mealy, Mark Treyger, and Jumaane Williams.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of BRIC

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