In a warehouse on the edge of Red Hook, the artist-run nonprofit Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) has been staging exhibitions of vibrant local art for decades.
Its summer exhibition, called “The Art of Coney Island 3,” is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 1pm to 6pm, and runs through August 25.
The show is wide-ranging, featuring the works of nearly 100 artists who “haven’t forgotten to add a good dose of freakiness into their creations,” according to the nonprofit's website.
Erin Mathewson has several works featured in the show, including two large-scale paper pop-up pieces of the iconic Cyclone and boardwalk at Coney Island.
“I really like the element of surprise in pop-up,” she said. “I think Coney Island has that same element of surprise and magic, so they go really well together.”
Artist Alicia Degener, BWAC’s director and the show’s curator, said that the Coney Island show is one of her favorite showcases by the nonprofit.
“I’ve been working on it since the beginning of the year,” she said. “It’s a really different perspective on Coney Island. All fresh and new, so for me that’s so exciting.”
Mathewson also said that the Coney Island show is her favorite. “You make friends, you get inspired by everybody,” she said. “Seeing how everyone interprets [Coney Island] differently is incredible.”
Artist Christopher Spinelli, who had several works featured in the show including a piano painted with Luna Park iconography, said he has known Degener and been involved in some version of the Coney Island show for many years.
“We started in a coffee shop in Bay Ridge,” he said. “And it was always a dream to get to do it on this larger scale.”
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