BRIC Arts Media House in Brooklyn: Art, Music, Food and Fun!
Brooklyn's art scene has never been hotter. My recent visits to the Jewish Museum and the Brooklyn Museum certainly demonstrated that. Now it's time to put Brooklyn's BRIC Arts Media House on your radar. Opened last October in Fort Greene, a block or so away from the various Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) venues, the fantastic new BRIC House is putting on an impressively full slate of art exhibitions, concerts, talks, and performances of all sorts. It also features an admirably far-reaching Contemporary Arts Education program for students in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. And all this in a beautifully designed, comfortable and welcoming space that has an excellent cafe, via Hungry Ghost, to boot! Get on their email list (or do the Facebook/Twitter like/follow thing), and check out any number of the appealing spring events at the BRIC House.
Family Friendly Art in Brooklyn
I stopped into the BRIC House for the first time recently, after seeing a movie at the BAM Rose Cinema, and was so thrilled by the fun art, by the snacks, by the overall, family-friendly atmosphere of the place, that I know it will become a part of my Brooklyn routine. First, the current exhibitions. Art Into Music, with works from a dozen or so local visual artists inspired by music, is instantly engaging, highlighted by Bayete Ross Smith's tower of vintage boom boxes playing old-school hip hop, and Dread Scott's photos from first-wave punk shows in the late 1970s. Also really cool is Drew Hamilton's Corner Store Project, an amazingly detailed installation featuring a miniature bodega and a halal truck.
Performance Art and Concerts on the Bric House Schedule
There are a few performance areas at BRIC House–the full spring schedule can be found here–but I'm particularly excited about two upcoming concerts: the always-entertaining Joseph Arthur on March 29 in the House Ballroom, and the rowdy Balthrop, Alabama, who are playing on the Stoop stage on April 8. Both shows, like everything else here, is free.
Food for Art from the Hungry Ghost
The presence of the Hungry Ghost cafe with ample table and "stoop" seating makes BRIC House an excellent place to stop in for a coffee and a treat, or a sandwich-y lunch or supper, either before or after anything at BAM. The cafe showcases a huge mural that will change a few times a year. Currently, the work is by artist Jessica Angel, a Columbia-born artist who now call New York home.
Even if just for the cafe alone, the BRIC House is on my permanent list of go-to NYC spots.
BRIC House is located on the corner of Fulton Street and Rockwell Place in the heart of the Brooklyn Cultural District. All of this is right near the 2/3/4/5/B/Q/R/G trains, and easily accessible to Manhattanites. Hours vary depending on the day; click here for the BRIC Arts Media House events schedule.
Posted in NYC Events | Tagged Art in Brooklyn • Art in New York • Brooklyn art galleries
