Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition to present its fall gallery

Brooklyn is gearing up to show its diverse artistic chops.

The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC), a non-profit organization formed in 1978 that features and helps artists while giving them a forum to present their work, will hold its annual Autumn Art Show in Red Hook every weekend starting Saturday, September 23 until Sunday, October 15.

The gallery will take place in an historic 25,000 square foot space that overlooks the Statue of Liberty.

Artist and public relations for BWAC Janice Weiss is excited as artists gear up to display and sell their art. “We are a collaborative organization of about 300 artists and it started about 39 years ago,” she explained. “It’s an old Civil War building that we’re in and it’s two floors.”

The art is diverse and should satisfy any attendee, especially on opening day, Weiss said.

“We have a wide range of shows going on in each exhibit that we do. We’re having five different shows in this opening,” she said. “One is called Material Matters which is a clay, glass, wood and metal show. Then we have a photography pop up show which is a selection of photography. There is also an interactive show which is what I’m in. It’s just different art venues from different artists.”

Weiss, who has been with BWAC for 14 years, discussed the diversity of displays for the seasonal show. “The diversity is huge,” she explained. “We have everything from abstract [to] realistic painting, large sizes, small sizes — all affordable work. This show we also are having a lot of clay pieces which is really pretty. It’s a large venue of different types of artwork.”

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In addition to musical selections to accompany each show, the organization will also have a café where food, wine and beer will be served.

As for anticipation, attendees are looking forward to this season’s exhibits. “They come from all over,” Weiss said. “We have a ferry that comes from Manhattan and it stops right across the street at Fairway so there are a lot of people coming from Manhattan and all the boroughs. Because it’s such a wide range of artwork, we have a huge crowd coming in. One time I clocked over 1,000 people in one day. It’s a huge amount of people coming to look and purchase.”

Weiss explained that, as an artist, BWAC has given her a great opportunity to hone her craft and show it to the masses. “I’m a retired teacher and when I retired I didn’t know what I was going to do with myself, but then I went to my first love which was art and it gave me a venue in which to show my work and I’m very excited about it,” she said. “It gives all of us an opportunity to express ourselves and our artwork.”

Opening day performances will include Paradiddle Records folk rock alt-country recording artist Pete Mancini, The Staten Island Snugs, The Jazz Foundation’s Roy Meriwether, and a spoken word presentation.

The free month-long event kicks off at BWAC, 481 Van Brunt, Door 7 every weekend from Saturday, September 23 through Sunday, October 15 from 1-6 p.m. Donations are accepted. For a full list of performances, artists and more, visit www.bwic.org.

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