Community: bloggers@brooklynmuseum

As I am busily preparing for this month’s Target First Saturday, it’s a perfect time to reflect on last month’s, when we kicked off our special exhibition Who Shot Rock and Roll with a showcase of indie bands from the Brooklyn scene, curated by indie show organizer Todd Patrick, aka Todd P. As I discussed in my earlier post, in the spirit of the exhibition we wanted to highlight photography as well as music. I was excited to have the opportunity to invite local photographers to come and shoot the bands and post their photos to our Flickr stream so they could be viewed by us all and commented on by acclaimed rock photographer Bob Gruen.

As I posted on various Flickr groups and reached out to different photographers in preparation for the event I wasn’t sure how many people would actually show up. I was so delighted when, as the Beets prepared to go on stage, I looked out at the assembled crowd and saw a whole pack of enthusiastic photographers looking back at me, cameras at the ready. I felt a flush of pride and a jitter of nerves that our idea actually worked. That feeling continued throughout the evening as Grass Widow and the Crystal Stilts played and the shutter clicked in time to the music.

The results were breathtaking! It was wonderful to see the photos in our Flickr group of the Museum looking so rock and roll.  Bob Gruen has taken a good look at the photos as well and contributed his feedback on the discussion board and here’s a slideshow of Bob’s picks below. Thank you again to all the photographers who participated for sharing your work with us!

I am really looking forward to November’s Target First Saturday, which takes place on November 7^th and highlights our special exhibition Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present. Rock music and rock journalism are two of my passions and I’m excited to see them coming together with the programming around this exhibit.

As a public programmer I’m always looking for new entry points into an exhibition’s content and how to make that content accessible and engaging for Museum visitors. In conversations about public programming for the exhibit with Gail Buckland, the guest curator, she discussed how one of her goals with the exhibition was to focus on the photographers and the images they have created, not only on the musicians and bands featured in them. She also wanted to have an event that captured what up-and-coming rock photographers are doing now and invite them to participate.

Inspired by Gail’s idea, and because we love Brooklyn photographers, on First Saturday we are inviting local photographers to come and shoot the bands that are playing and post their photos to the Brooklyn Museum’s flickr group. Afterwards, Bob Gruen, a rock photography legend who is featured in the exhibition and has shot the likes of Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and The Clash, will look at the photos and blog about his favorites here!

The Beets.  Photo by Aubrey Stallard.  All Rights Reserved.

In addition, I couldn’t be more thrilled about the lineup of bands: The Beets, Grass Widow, and Crystal Stilts. In choosing the bands, my colleagues and I wanted to try to capture the feeling and energy of the Brooklyn indie scene that’s really taken off over the past few years.  To select the bands and capture the feeling of shows in clubs alternative spaces around the borough we teamed up with New York City indie show organizer extraordinaire Todd Patrick (aka Todd P.). I first went to one of Todd’s shows in Portland, Oregon in the late 1990’s, and felt there was something special and community oriented about it. Since then, he and I have both moved to New York and he’s been organizing shows in Brooklyn for years.  He really has his finger on the pulse of the scene here and able to spot talent as it emerges, while keeping that community vibe to his shows.

As a final note, even if you don’t take pictures you can participate by dressing up as your favorite rock star. I look forward to seeing you here with your camera and your outfit! You’ll know me, I’ll be the Brooklyn Museum staff member ensuring the bands have sound checked, the photographers are happy while dressed like a 1960’s French popstar.

Summer’s Target First Saturdays have been great and I’ve loved watching everyone stream into the Museum’s parking lot to dance under the stars.

West Indian-American Carnival 2008 - Brooklyn, NY by David Berkowitz via Flickr.

This is just a reminder that there’s no First Saturday in September, but there will be plenty going on around the Museum with the all events surrounding the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association’s Labor Day parade that will be taking place.

My colleagues and I are not taking a break, however, and are busily preparing for the next season of Target First Saturdays. We’ll be kicking things off on October 3rd with a collaboration with the Hungarian Cultural Center as part of their year long Extremely Hungary festival. We’re excited to offer a night of art and culture beyond visitor’s expectations that will include a performance by Vertical Players Repertory, an Opera Open Mic with Brooklyn’s beer swilling, jeans wearing opera singers from Opera on Tap, and a soulful dance party hosted by Brooklyn’s DJ Reborn and a top Hungarian DJ.

If you just can’t wait for October, you can join me on the Brooklyn Museum’s Facebook page during the month of September where I’ll be asking questions about visitor’s experience at and thoughts about First Saturday. Please join me. I’d love to hear what you think!

West Indian American Day Parade, 2006. Photo courtesy Sam Liu. All rights reserved.

I always know that Labor Day weekend is coming when the the stage for the events and concerts for the West Indian American Day Carnival Festival is assembled in the Museum’s back parking lot. These events add excitement to the still late summer air and culminate in the renowned on Monday with the Labor Day Carnival Parade on Eastern Parkway. For more information about all of the event’s you can visit WIADCA’s website and we hope to see you there!

There is no Target First Saturday in September because of all the festivities. However, my colleagues in the Education Division and I have been very busy getting ready to kick off our 10th anniversary season of Target First Saturdays on October 4th with “Brooklyn’s Biggest Birthday Bash.” I’m excited about all that will take place that evening to celebrate our 10 years and thank our visitors for all of their support, including: a showcase of emerging Brooklyn musicians Mark Yodice, Opsvik and Jennings, Christy and Emily, and Brazz Tree; ten curator talks in the Museum’s permanent collection; a performance by trailblazing artist Kate Bornstein; dance performances by Brian Brooks and Creative Outlet; a dance party hosted by creative-duo Andrew Andrew; and a special salsa dance party with Willie Alvarez and Trombori. There will also be cake. What birthday party is complete without cake? I hope you can join us in October with your party hat on!

Photos by Leah Golubchick

I am excited to announce Dawn Mostow as the winner of our Cosplay Costume Contest that was held at Target First Saturday on April 5^th. The theme of the evening was “Japanimated! The Arts and Culture of Japan,” which related to our two exhibitions of Japanese art, © MURAKMI and Utagawa: Masters of the Japanese Print, 1770–1900. Cosplay (which comes from the words “costume” and “play”) is very popular among anime and manga fans in both Japan and the United States. We chose to have a Cosplay Contest because in planning the program we were looking for an activity that would engage visitors and encourage them to participate celebrating the unique, creative cultures coming out of Japan. For this contest we invited visitors to come dressed up as their favorite anime or manga character and have their picture taken by our volunteer photographers Priscilla Vazquez and Leah Golubchick. Many people dressed up and you can see their fabulous costumes on our flickr stream. It was hard for our panel of judges to pick a winner from the many wonderful costumes, but all chose Dawn’s as one of their favorites.

Rei Ayanami from Evangelion, left, with Dawn at Target First Saturday, right. Photo by Leigh Paris.

Dawn is dressed up as Rei Ayanami, a character from the anime series Evangelion. Dawn chose Rei Ayanami because, “I wanted a popular character that is easily recognizable to anime fans, but also holds a visual interest to people not familiar with Japanese animation, thereby creating an interest in the genre.” Dawn has been involved in Cosplay for ten years and made her costume herself. She has a background in costume design, and is currently studying for an MFA at Pratt Institute. She remarked that making the costume was challenging because she had to work on bringing a two-dimensional character to life. Thanks to Dawn and everyone else who participated in the contest and made April’s Target First Saturday memorable! I hope you can all join us again in May.