{"id":290927,"date":"2026-07-08T23:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T23:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/290927\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T23:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T23:58:14","slug":"bwacs-summer-show-marries-history-soccer-and-more-at-the-whale-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/290927\/","title":{"rendered":"BWAC\u2019s summer show marries history, soccer and more at The Whale \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new show at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) captures the spirit of a historic summer in New York City.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

The org\u2019s summer exhibition<\/a>, on display at The Whale in Sunset Park through Aug. 2, features three separate shows: \u201cBetween Two Waterfronts: A Brooklyn Landscape,\u201d \u201cSummer of Soccer: The World\u2019s Game\u201d and \u201cCrazy Joy Time for You.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those shows \u201cspan the diversity and depth of the American experience,\u201d according to BWAC, and were timed to overlap with America250 celebrations and the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis co-mingling of past and present, of history and culture, of freedom and restriction, is a reminder that Art, like Democracy, is a Big Idea that belongs to all of us,\u201d the org said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\"photographNehemiah Barshlomo\u2019s photograph of the Red Hook waterfront, part of the exhibition \u201cBetween two Waterfronts.\u201d Image courtesy of Nehemiah Barshlomo\/BWAC<\/p>\n

In \u201cBetween Two Waterfronts,\u201d BWAC member artists took inspiration from the borough\u2019s ever-changing coastline. The waterfront has played a critical role in Brooklyn\u2019s culture and history since colonial days, when Americans fired at British naval ships in the New York Harbor.<\/p>\n

Since then, it has changed significantly. Parts of the waterfront, including in Sunset Park, became heavily industrialized and remain that way today. Other sections have become lush green havens. Artists and artisans have always gravitated toward the water, from Dumbo to Red Hook \u2014 where BWAC resided in an industrial warehouse until a devastating fire last fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some artists took the opportunity to explore the physical space where soil meets water. In his oil painting \u201cOn the Waterfront,\u201d artist Timothy Brewer captured the sun setting behind a lush Brooklyn wetland; Nehemiah Barshlomo opted for a photograph of the massive cranes looming over the Red Hook pier in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Others shone a light on the people and culture of the waterfront. A photograph and drawing by David Fitzgerald captured a Brooklynite sitting on their fire escape with a book; artist Lenore Fiore-Mills used a wax-resist dye technique called Batik to recreate the nautical decorations and people of the Red Hook Yacht Club in painstaking detail.<\/p>\n

\"\"Timothy Brewer\u2019s lush waterfront sunset oil painting.Photo courtesy of Timothy Brewer\/BWAC \"redLenore Fiore-Mills used a wax-resist dye technique called Batik to recreate the nautical decorations and people of the Red Hook Yacht Club. Image courtesy of Lenore Fiore-Mills\/BWAC<\/p>\n

While \u201cBetween Two Waterfronts\u201d stays close to home, \u201cSummer of Soccer: The World\u2019s Game\u201d zooms out. A juried exhibition developed in partnership with Socceroof in Sunset Park and the Favela Project, the show welcomed artists from all over the world to submit work related to the worldwide passion for soccer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 2026 World Cup has electrified New York City as locals and international visitors alike gather to root<\/a> for their beloved national teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cReflecting personal experiences, local soccer culture, legendary\u00a0 moments, or the sport\u2019s influence around the world, these artists have captured the excitement, emotion, diversity, and universal appeal of what has been called, \u2018the beautiful game,\u2019\u201d BWAC said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"worldCordelia Stephens captured the joy and despair of World Cup watch parties. Image courtesy of Cordelia Stephens\/BWAC<\/p>\n

An oil painting by Cordelia Stephens captured the scenes playing out in bars across the city: fans in varying stages of ecstasy and despair watching their teams duke it out on screen. Some artists, like Matt Fricovsky and Tad Sare, captured the fast-moving energy of World Cup players on paper and canvas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brazilian artist Wallison Martins, meanwhile, kept things simple with a mixed media sketch of Argentinian phenom Lionel Messi.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\"\"Tad Sare\u2019s pastel depiction of a heart-stopping Brazil game. Photo courtesy of Tad Sare\/BWAC \"lionelWallison Martins\u2019 sketch of Lionel Messi. Photo courtesy of Wallison Martins\/BWAC<\/p>\n

The final show, \u201cCrazy Joy Time for You,\u201d features the work of just one artist, Kumi Hirose.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

On first impression, Hirose\u2019s vibrant pieces \u2014 a hot-pink strawberry with four glittering eyes, a colorful, near-abstract painting titled \u201cShower Head\u201d \u2014 look vibrant and joyful.<\/p>\n

But below the surface, Hirose wants to depict the wide range of emotions humans peddle in every day, from joy to worry and anger. Her pieces are meant to offer encouragement to viewers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Kumi Hirose\u2019s vibrant, complex works. Images courtesy of Kumi Hirose\/BWAC<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that those who view the works in this exhibition will reconnect with the free emotions that reside within themselves,\u201d Hirose said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

BWAC\u2019s summer exhibition<\/a> is on display at The Whale, 14 53rd Street in Sunset Park, on weekends at 1-6 p.m. through Aug. 2. Admission is free.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new show at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) captures the spirit of a historic summer in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290928,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[78256,3456,2571,111162,98,100,99,35874,33833,111163,111164,4442,111165,111166,111167,111168,9,24,370,63,400,111169,7125,111170,111171,904,111172,111173,11385,14771],"class_list":["post-290927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-art-exhibit","tag-artists","tag-arts-and-entertainment","tag-between-two-waterfronts","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-brooklyn-waterfront-artists-coalition","tag-bwac","tag-cordelia-stephens","tag-david-fitzgerald","tag-exhibit","tag-kumi-hirose","tag-lenore-fiore-mills","tag-matt-fricovsky","tag-nehemiah-barshlomo","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newsletter","tag-nyc","tag-soccer","tag-summer-of-soccer","tag-sunset-park","tag-tad-sare","tag-the-whale","tag-things-to-do","tag-timothy-brewer","tag-wallison-martins","tag-waterfront","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}