Current Exhibits

Public Perspectives Exhibition Series

The Public Perspectives Exhibition Series in the Independence Community Gallery provides a creative forum for Brooklynites to have an active voice at the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) by presenting community-curated exhibits. Every Spring, BHS issues an annual open call for exhibition proposals from Brooklyn-based individuals, school and community groups, and non-profit organizations. Three recipient groups are selected per season by a panel of cultural and community representatives. Public Perspectives enables BHS to encourage community involvement not only in the content of exhibitions, but also in the selection process. The awardees collaborate with BHS staff to develop and mount their exhibitions.
 
Public Perspectives is made possible through the generous support of FHL Bank. Additional support is provided by the Kress Foundation and HBO.

2009-2010 Recipients

Oct. 1 - January 3, 2010 - Extended through Jan. 24!
Brooklyn Utopias?, curated by Katherine Gressel. An invited group of artists respond to the question of Brooklyn's future by presenting their differing visions of an ideal Brooklyn.

February 4 - August 29
Tivoli: A Place We Call Home, curated by Delphine Fawundu. Multi-media exhibition of photographs, video and words documenting the tenants of Tivoli Towers in the Crown Heights neighborhood at the onset of gentrification, as the building faces the threat of removal of its affordable housing program status.

Opens September 2010
Painting Brooklyn Stories of Immigration and Survival, curated by Nina Talbot. In collaboration with Professor Rachel Bernstein
of New York University's Public History program, striking stories of Brooklyn residents will be portrayed through paintings, oral histories and personal effects, lending individual insights
into broader social aspects of life in Brooklyn.

Application Process

BHS is not currently accepting proposals for the upcoming exhibition season. Click here for a PDF   with the guidelines and the application form for the past season. Please check back in early 2010 for information about applying for the following year.

Past Awardees:

2008-2009 Season

James and Karla Murray, Counter/Culture – The Disappearing Face of Brooklyn’s Storefronts. A vibrant photographic and narrative collection of Brooklyn’s rapidly vanishing neighborhood storefronts. September 10 – December 28, 2008.

Rebecca Layton, Sarah Bostwick and Karla Wozniak, Brooklyn Redrawn Three Brooklyn artists depict the visual and societal complexity of the borough’s urban built environment. January – April 2009.

Andrew Urban and David Madden, Brooklyn and the History of Chinese Immigration. Investigates how Brooklyn residents responded to Chinese immigration in the 19th century, and the 20th century development of a Chinatown in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. May – August 2009.

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