Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition launches spring season

“Designed by Nature” is the theme of this season’s first BWAC members exhibition, whereby member artists explore the richness and beauty of nature in all media and any aspect or form, real or abstract.

Joe Banish, artist and BWAC board of directors member, told the Brooklyn Eagle that while BWAC attracts artists from all over the borough, people from other parts of the world, such as France, Japan, Syria, Iran, and Ghana, have also submitted their works in BWAC exhibits.

“Everyone wants to be in New York and, especially, Brooklyn,” Banish said. “Oftentimes, they are passing through New York making art, and they just don’t know where to go. We are very often an entry point for that.

“Last year, we had someone send something from Hawaii, and it cost $400 to ship! People really want to have the exposure, get their work seen, and ultimately sell their pieces.”

On an average opening weekend, Banish pointed out, one can expect upwards of 1,000 guests and, for the duration of the year, which consists of several seasonal shows, 10,000 visitors.

Alicia Degener, artist and president of BWAC and curator of the “Fine Grit: Art & Ideas in Wood” exhibit, explained that the mission of BWAC is simply to give artists a space to exhibit their creations, “but it’s a lot of work, and it’s an endless job.” Despite this, Degener loves what she does, adding that it means quite a bit to the surrounding community and, of course, the artists themselves.

Artist Janet Rothholz described the feeling of having her work on display as exhilarating. “Hopefully, people will like what it is that I do, as everybody has a different aesthetic sensibility,” Rothholz said. “But when people get your work, you can tell. They will stare and examine, and that’s really just a great thing.”

Artist Ryan Frank pointed out, “One of the things I was most struck by is that we are right on the water here, and many of the sculptures that I have in the show use pieces of driftwood that I have procured from the Brooklyn waterfront — so there is an interesting connection.”

All exhibits will remain on display at the two-floor, 25,000-square-foot facility through Sunday, May 12, and each weekend between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.

BWAC, an artist-run nonprofit organization in existence for nearly half a century, has been exhibiting the artwork of local and national artists with seasonal exhibits that include national juried and local member shows. These exhibitions present a wide variety of contemporary visual arts, from the traditional to the experimental cutting edge. The gallery is housed in a massive Civil War-era warehouse on the Red Hook waterfront. Brooklyn Eagle covered BWAC’s 2019 (which Al Pacino attended) and 2022 Spring exhibitions, as well as their Fall exhibition in 2023.