With Your Voice, a public art project in Gowanus, educates locals on neighborhood investments

Brooklyn-based nonprofit Van Alen Institute has launched a new participatory public artwork in Gowanus, Brooklyn. With Your Voice is helmed by artists Juanli Carrión, an assistant professor of creative community development at Parson; and Rodolfo Kusulas, transdisciplinary creative and cofounder of calligraphy company KOUS. The project is aimed at educating Gowanus locals about the 56 Points of Agreement: a set of commitments made by the City of New York to the community as part of the Gowanus Neighborhood Rezoning.

The project features ten site-specific viewfinders shaped like megaphones—referred to as “voicers.” These are located across Gowanus. Participants can scan a QR code at each speaker to record voice notes reflecting on what they learned. These recordings are then shared with the Gowanus Oversight Task Force, a volunteer-led group committed to advancing the 56 Points of Agreement. By leaving a voice note, visitors earn digital gem tokens. Those who collect ten tokens receive gift certificates from local businesses. 

The 56 Points of Agreement, the focus of the project, originated in response to the Gowanus Neighborhood Plan. The New York City Council approved the plan in 2021. It involves rezoning an 82-block area of Gowanus to create 8,200 new apartments by 2035. The Gowanus Oversight Task Force developed to help residents benefit from the rezoning, resulting in the Points of Agreement. 

The agreements—broadcasting a diverse range of community needs—focuses on categories including public housing, sustainability resiliency, and community facilities. One point calls for increased “opportunities for public art and historic interpretation,” while a slew of others relate to pedestrian improvements. Point 11 states: “Assist local residents… in preparing for and applying for new affordable housing.”

With Your Voice sets out to educate residents on the changes happening within their neighborhood, particularly as related to these 56 Points. Deborah Marton, the outgoing executive director of the Van Alen Institute, echoed this sentiment in a statement: “Amidst the speedy evolution of Gowanus’s built environment, the piece’s brightly colored, whimsical installations—the Voicers—demystify neighborhood changes and support the Gowanus Oversight Task Force’s important advocacy.”

Gowanus has faced monumental development over the past few years, eclipsing even that of the rezoning plan. There’s an ongoing, largely unrealized effort by the EPA to clean the Gowanus Canal, a heavily polluted waterway which cuts through the neighborhood. The EPA announced on July 1 it still needs $369 million to complete the endeavor. Gentrification persists in lieu of the toxic waste; a 2015 article in the Columbia Library Journal declared, “Gowanus, Brooklyn is becoming a real estate hot spot.”

According to the Van Alen Institute, Carrión, one of the project’s artists, has closely observed the transformations of the Gowanus Canal over the last decade. Both artists are dedicated to community-engaged design, frequently exploring environmental concerns through their works.

In a joint statement, the artists described With Your Voice: “Through the surveys posted at each voicer, we encourage Gowanus residents to voice their opinions about what they learn and create a connection with the Gowanus Oversight Task Force members working to strengthen this community.”

The project is on view through August 9. The addresses of each voicer are located on the Van Alen website.