Myrtle Windows Gallery Previewing SONYA Artists

From April 23rd to May 18th, Myrtle Avenue will again play host to the Myrtle Windows Gallery, an open-air art gallery of ten storefront windows, with a group exhibition of paintings and mixed-media works by SONYA Artists.  For this Prelude Exhibition to the 10th SONYA Studio Stroll, local restaurant Tamboril will show additional pieces in their dining area, for a total of 26 pieces and 17 artists. This Prelude Exhibition is co-sponsored by the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership (the Partnership) as part of their larger effort to bring art to public spaces on the retail corridor.

The Myrtle Windows Gallery brings two-dimensional art traditionally limited to the private gallery to the public arena via the storefront window, where it is accessible to anyone walking down the street. The current exhibition features the work of various artists affiliated with South of the Navy Yard Artists (SONYA), a non-profit organization of artists living, creating, and/or exhibiting in Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Wallabout, and Bed-Stuy.  The exhibition offers a sneak peek of the artists you will encounter on the annual SONYA Studio Stroll, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.  “The immediacy of seeing art in the Myrtle Windows Gallery is a win for everyone.  Passersby are afforded a visual ‘treat’ and the SONYA artists get great exposure”, says Wendy Burke, the exhibition’s curator and SONYA member.  The Stroll, which takes place on Saturday, May 16th and Sunday, May 17th from noon-6pm both days (rain or shine), is a free, self-guided tour that includes 36 studios and galleries representing over 50 artist members of SONYA.  The Stroll map will be available for download on www.sonyaonline.org in the coming weeks.

“By bringing Art to Myrtle, we can enrich the regular sidewalk experience of the visitor, shopper, and resident, and also draw attention to participating businesses,” explains Meredith Phillips Almeida, the Partnership’s Director of Community Development.  “We are thrilled to partner with SONYA to offer opportunities for artists from our own community to show their work through this initiative.” Conceived as an innovative local economic development strategy with the dual purpose of increasing access to art and driving foot traffic to Myrtle Avenue, Myrtle Windows Gallery offers an added bonus for participating merchants – if a piece is sold, the store where it is displayed receives a commission.

The pieces will be on display from April 23rd to May 18th in the following storefronts, all located within three blocks on Myrtle Avenue between Clinton Avenue and Hall Street: Karrot Health Food (431 Myrtle); Karen’s Body Beautiful (436 Myrtle);  Three Stars Laundromat (439 Myrtle); Thai 101 Restaurant (455A Myrtle); Joseph Tyler Salon (456 Myrtle); Anima (458 Myrtle);  Five Spot Supper Club (459 Myrtle); Move with Grace Dance & Yoga Studio (469 Myrtle);  Miracles Barber Shop (473A Myrtle); Optimum Care Rehab (474 Myrtle). Additional pieces will be on display at Tamboril (527 Myrtle). The Partnership’s public art program is funded in part by a grant from the Lily Auchincloss Foundation and Myrtle’s Business Improvement District.