Contemporary Art and Culture
As Cultural Affairs Director at Two Trees and the Walentas Family Foundation in DUMBO, Ariel Willmott plays a central role in the neighborhood’s cultural life — overseeing initiatives including DUMBO Open Studios, Smack Mellon, the Sharpe Residency, and Two Trees’ studio subsidy program. Ahead of DUMBO Open Studios weekend, we spoke with her.
Continue reading “Ariel Willmott on Building Community Through Art in DUMBO”
On April 26th and 27th, from 1 to 6 pm, artists in DUMBO will open their doors to the public as part of DUMBO Open Studios, offering a rare look inside the art studios along the Brooklyn waterfront. Since the 1970s, DUMBO has been shaped by its vibrant art community. This interview series highlights a handful of participating artists in 2025. Each response offers a glimpse of what’s waiting behind the studio door. Ellie Krakow has been in DUMBO since 2024. Her studio is at the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program, 20 Jay Street, #720.
Continue reading “DUMBO Open Studios 2025 with Ellie Krakow”
On April 26th and 27th, from 1 to 6 pm, artists in DUMBO will open their doors to the public as part of DUMBO Open Studios, offering a rare look inside the art studios along the Brooklyn waterfront. Since the 1970s, DUMBO has been shaped by its vibrant art community. This interview series highlights a handful of participating artists in 2025. Each response offers a glimpse of what’s waiting behind the studio door.
Anne Neely has been in DUMBO since November 2024 as part of the Sharpe Walentas Studio Program at 20 Jay Street, #720.
Jonathan Torres is a Puerto Rican artist born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is based in Brooklyn, NY since 2010 and was recently a resident at the Sharpe Walentas Studio Program in DUMBO. In his paintings and sculptures a sense of otherworldliness and living in the diaspora recur. For over 15 years, Torres’ practice has grown from exploring different emotional and mental stages that have affected the way people interact with each other throughout various stages of life—crisis and anxiety with a bent of dark humor that have been crucial to the development of Torres’ imagery.
Continue reading “Jonathan Torres: Painting Anxiety and Beauty”