Paper Garden playground at 3rd Ward

By Aaron Short

3rd Ward Brooklyn is quickly becoming the go-to venue for vibrant, multipurpose arts and music performances.

In the past month alone, 3rd Ward hosted the Last Supper Festival and The Nonsense List had its 10th anniversary party, both of which featured performances across multiple artistic mediums that lasted into the wee hours of the morning.

Add Paper Garden Records’ “Multiverse Playground” to the list too. The multimedia event comes to 3rd Ward on November 7, starting at 6 p.m., for eight hours of live music and art exhibitions.

According to Paper Garden President Bryan Vaughan, colleagues began brainstorming an event to show off their favorite musicians and raise the profile of their record label.

“As the record label is expanding into more artsy things, we wanted to have this in an actual art gallery space,” said Vaughan, who noted Williamsburg’s history of art and culture. “We’re actually going to get more people drawn to a place like 3rd ward in Williamsburg, as opposed to somewhere in Manhattan.”

Bands as diverse as Emanuel and the Fear’s classical orchestral electronica, acoustic pop singer-songwriter Peasant, and eccentric carnival-rock group Darla Farmer will be performing sets, along with Das Racist and Boy Crisis, declared by Pitchfork Media last year as “the absolute worst band in the world right now.”

Vaughan assures that they have improved.

The centerpiece of the party is a neon light installation created specifically for the event by Larry Mayorga, which will combine elements of music and art in the same exhibit, a challenging feat for any artist.

“We are really creating an atmosphere specific to the music that will incorporate the music with the artwork,” said Vaughan. “(Mayorga) is even changing the light for each band.”

And if that is not enough, in the side rooms there will be a photography exhibit by Brooklyn photographer Heidi Greenwood displaying the musicians in concert, a comedy set by Comedy Central’s Kurt Metzger, and live concept paintings on large canvasses hosted by the NYC art-collective Art Battles.

“What we’re hoping is a branding thing for Paper Gardens where everybody can get along and have fun together, even if they don’t typically hang in the same circles,” said Vaughan. “Ultimately we want everyone to have fun, come away with it saying, ‘Wow, that was an incredible thing from start to finish.’”

Paper Garden Records’ Multiverse Playground will take place at 3rd Ward Brooklyn (195 Morgan Ave.) from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m. For more information, call 718-715-4961.

Photo: Emanuel and the Fear, by Heidi Greenwood