One big art weekend in Brooklyn

By Meredith Deliso

This spring, art is synonymous with the first weekend in June.

In neighborhoods all across the borough from June 2 to 5, unique festivals will bring dance, music, workshops and, of course, art to the galleries, streets and bars of Red Hook, Bushwick, Downtown and Coney Island. It’s a choose your own arts adventure.

  

Red Hook Fest

Are you ready for the remix? On June 3 and 4, the Red Hook Fest returns to the waterfront, with two days of arts events that encourage audience participation, from photojournalism to drawing. That doesn’t mean it’s all you; performers include La Roka RPM and Full Circle, hip-hop, break-dance salsa mash up; Tato Torres y Yerbabuena, a Boricuan roots band; Paul Josephs and MetroSonics; hip-hop theater duo Climbing PoeTree; and the all-female dance collective INSPIRIT.

Red Hook Fest at PS 15 [71 Sullivan St. between Richards and Van Brunt streets in Red Hook, (718) 330-9280], June 3, 6-9 pm; Louis J. Valentino, Jr. Park and Pier (Coffey and Ferris streets), June 4, 11 am-7 pm. Free. For info, visit www.redhookfest.com.

ArtWalk

In Boerum Hill, ArtWalk takes over Atlantic Avenue on June 4 and 5 with art, live music and restaurant deals. Since forming six years ago, the annual arts festival has gradually spilled out into neighboring galleries and studios, with Downtown, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights hosting more than 200 artists at home studios and such diverse sites as Proteus Gowanus, the Micro Museum, Flavor Paper, the Brooklyn Ballet, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and, in a sneak preview, Roulette Brooklyn, which is opening this September.

ArtWalk, June 4-5, 1-6 pm. Locations vary. Free. For info, visit www.artwalk2011.com.

Bushwhack Series and Bushwick Opens Studios

It’s one mad weekend in Bushwick, with the Bushwhack Series from June 2 to 5 and the Bushwick Open Studios from June 3 to 5. The former bunkers down at the Bushwick Starr, with four days of new experimental performance art, while the latter can be found at galleries and street corners-turned-galleries all over the neighborhood. With more than 350 shows promised, they have to improvise.

Bushwhack Series at the Bushwick Starr [207 Starr St. between Wyckoff and Irving avenues in Bushwick, (212) 868-4444], June 2-5 at 8 pm. Tickets $12. For info, visit www.thebushwickstarr.org; Bushwick Open Studios from June 3-5. Venues vary. Free. For info, visit artsinbushwick.org.

Artists Day Out

Maybe it’s a coincidence, but June 4 also happens to be National Drawing Day. To celebrate, Kensington-based artist Sherry Davis is throwing the Coney Island-themed Artists Day Out at Ruby’s on the Boardwalk. Artwork relevant to the area will be shown indoors and out, and artists are invited to add their mark to the fabled bar, which closes after this summer as landlord Central Park Amusement looks to expand its theme park. Fittingly, artists are invited to fight the man and create a “Save Ruby’s” mural inside.

Artists Day Out at Ruby’s [1213 Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island Avenue in Coney Island, (718) 372-9079], June 4, 1-6 pm. For info, visit drawingday.org.