In Sunset, Beyond at Liberty View hosts Spring Art Event and Open Studios

It was ‘Beyond’ a work of art!

Sunset Park’s Liberty View Industrial Plaza played host to a diverse art event as Beyond at Liberty View, 850 Third Avenue, partnered with non-profit Trestle Gallery for its Spring Art Event and Open Studios.

The two-day extravaganza, which was held on Saturday, May 20 and Sunday, May 21, included exhibits from featured Trestle artists, free drop-in and create art zones for all ages, music and activities.

Executive Director of Trestle Rhia Hurt was excited about the collaboration. “The folks at Beyond wanted to partner and collaborate to make it a fun activity,” she said. “I think it was a great idea to bring people to their mall and we ended up having seven of our artists downstairs in their area in addition to about 25 artists upstairs at our location.”

The day included workshops, with one of Trestle’s instructors stationed in the Beyond area giving a free art lesson to families coming by.

“It ended up being a great event,” Hurt added. “Bringing art here is great. I live in Sunset Park and I think a lot of people coming into the mall were pleasantly surprised by the experience and especially some of the families who were able to do the drop-in art classes. The kids were so happy. It was really sweet because I don’t think they always get the opportunity to make art.”

Trestle Gallery moved to Liberty View Industrial Plaza in January and its first event in the neighborhood was deemed a success. “It was a great turnout,” Hurt said. “It’s hard to gauge but I think there were at least 400 people coming each day to our exhibit.”

The diversity of art was also a highlight of the weekend. “What’s nice about Open Studios is that there’s something for everyone and so much artwork on display. The artists are there with the artwork so if you have questions, you can talk to them about it,” Hurt said. “Because we had so many artists participating, there was a lot of variety so we had painters and people that could draw well, sculptors and people who do installation.”

Most of the artwork was on display in the artist studios on the fourth floor of Trestle’s space plus a handful of artists that set up on the second floor.

For more information, visit www.trestlegallery.org.