Red Hook arts group to present `The Art of Coney Island’

Along with artists, sword-swallowers, magicians, mermaids


The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) will play host to two exhibitions this weekend for the summer season at its gallery space at 481 Van Brunt St. in Red Hook starting Saturday, July 10.

Audrey Anastasi’s “Aquatic Figure” mixed-media collage. 


First up is “The Art of Coney Island.” The exhibition is a love letter to everything about America’s Favorite Playground, including the amusement parks, beaches, history and neighborhood nostalgia.

This exhibition will feature the art of 100 artists in a wide range of media that uses Coney Island as inspiration. 

Featured artists include locals Marie Roberts, Philomena Marano and Richard Eagan.

“From its inception as a resort area in the 1800s, Coney Island was a symbol of an escape from the  realities of daily life, providing diversion and fun while at the same time infusing a certain benign  decadence in food, culture and feeling,” said BWAC in a statement. 

“Through subsequent years of boom, decay and neglect and back again, Coney Island residents embody the adaptability of survival, especially among the artists and performers who made it their business and their home,” the statement added.

Audrey Anastasi’s “Neptune” oil on canvas.

In addition to the artists, performers from Coney Island will be present at the opening reception. There will be a sword swallower, a roving sleight-of-hand magician, mermaids and mermen. In addition, Sing for Hope, a nonprofit known for placing pianos in public spaces, has donated a Coney Island-themed piano called “Luna” to BWAC in honor of the show. The exhibition will conclude August 15.

The other program hosted by BWAC is called “Art Over Time” and is a celebration of the arts of people over the age of 65.

“After a year in isolation and contemplating the challenges and personal tragedies we all experienced, we at BWAC felt it was high time to celebrate the perseverance and longevity of people making great art well into their senior years,” said Susan Handwerker, co-president of BWAC and co-curator of Art Over Time stated.

The exhibition juror is Charlotta Kotik, a former head of the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Brooklyn Museum.

Art Over Time opens with a reception for the artists on Saturday, July 10 from 1 to 6 p.m. at the BWAC Gallery on Van Brunt Street. It will also conclude on Aug. 15.

For more information, visit bwac.org.

Steven Nedboy’s “Basta.”

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