Brooklyn, NY (June 26, 2024) – Dumbo is host this summer to a large variety of free activities that includes concerts, visual arts programming, and more! Events hosted by the Dumbo Improvement District include: Live at the Archway concerts and visual arts exhibits (Thursdays through August 15, 2024 with concerts at 6pm and doors at 5pm; no concert on July 4) and Drink and Draw workshops (Wednesdays, 6pm to 8pm through August 14, 2024). Taking place beneath the unique setting of the Manhattan Bridge Archway, plus Dumbo Family Game Time (Sundays, 11am to 1pm) taking place on car-free Washington Street.
Live at the Archway is an annual series of free concerts and interactive visual arts programming in the unique setting of the Dumbo Archway, one of the only covered outdoor spaces in New York City. Founded in 2015, the series reflects the neighborhood’s diversity and commitment to the arts and showcases a broad variety of music, dance, and visual art styles. Programming consists of a headlining act on stage, including music and dance in a diversity of genres, and an interactive experience led by a Dumbo-based visual artist, also in the Archway. Live at the Archway is presented by the DUMBO Improvement District, and curated by Clara Inés Schuhmacher of the DUMBO Improvement District, together with Jan Bell of the Brooklyn Americana Music Festival. Additional partners include Brasil Summerfest.
Dumbo Drink and Draw Workshops are presented by the Dumbo Improvement District with Creatively Wild Art Studio, and give participants the opportunity to work with some of Dumbo’s best artists. Workshops are specially designed for adult artists with all levels welcome. Prior registration is required with two ticket options — free if you bring your own art supplies, or $20 to get access to all art supplies on-site. Easels or tables are supplied for all participants. Drinks are available for purchase from the Dumbo Station.
Dumbo Family Games features family-friendly games including a Lego table, building blocks, arts and crafts, and more, on Washington Street, in partnership with Brooklyn Bridge Parents. Dumbo Family Games is sponsored in part by Leaf Medical & Dental (at 18 Adams Street).
A full August events calendar is below.
Gentleman Brawlers
Art Wall by Annick Martin
Acclaimed by the BBC’s Tom Robinson as “a virtuoso live band, grooving together like a beautifully engineered machine,” the Gentleman Brawlers blends disco-based horn lines, sticky highlife guitar, and polyrhythms from West Africa, Trinidad, and Brazil into live shows that ignite a community-based, improvisational energy.
Annick Martin is a Latinx, New York-based art director and graphic designer who loves candy, traveling, and her dog Ronnie Macaronnie. As a Design Director at Nickelodeon, she can be foundmaking kids’ worlds a little more colorful via the many channels she art directs on YouTube, including SpongeBob Squarepants and more recently Dora the Explorer. Aside from her role at Nick, Annick is very in touch with her culture and loves to bring her Latin roots to all elements of her life, especially all her creative projects.
Drink and Draw
Figure Drawing with Creatively Wild Teaching Artist Ty Peterson
This relaxing figure-drawing workshop gives artists the perfect opportunity to put into practice the essential elements of drawing anatomy. The art of sketching the human figure enables participants to gather the tools for capturing the essence of the human body’s musculature, texture, and posture while honing observational skills.
Art supplies will be available for use for $20, but participants are encouraged to bring their own supplies if they have them. Easels will be provided. Prior registration required.
Tracy Bonham
Art Wall by Joshua Reynolds
Two time GRAMMY® nominee Tracy Bonham is a classically trained violinist, pianist, and vocalist turned alt-rock singer-songwriter who rose to fame in 1996 with her twice GRAMMY nominated album, The Burdens of Being Upright (Island Records). This debut album cast Bonham into the global spotlight with MTV fame and major radio airplay with her #1 alternative chart-topping song “Mother Mother”, an anthem for disgruntled teenagers of all ages. When playing live, her songs from the 90s blend and blur with stylistic changes that she has created over time making her entire repertoire make sense as an entire body of work.
Joshua Reynolds is a creator by nature, calling his style of photography/videography, “PhotoGraffix”, a clean graphic style comprised of symmetry, reflections and low angles. He utilizes unorthodox angles, helping to reshape the viewer’s perspective, and incorporates birds and bridges into his imagery
Drink and Draw
Billie Elise presents founding artist Nailah “Billie” Fuller with
Sculpt & Sprout: Creating Functional Art with Germination Stations
The workshop, led by Billie Elise‘s founding artist Nailah “Billie” Fuller, offers a comprehensive introduction to sculpture. With a focus on the essential principles of structural integrity and aesthetic appeal, participants will learn to craft a plant germination station under Billie’s expert guidance. Using wood pieces with pre-drilled holes for test tubes, students will select various pieces of wood most relevant to their design. Through hands-on instruction, attendees will choose, sand, and assemble the wood pieces, ensuring proper alignment of the pre-drilled holes for the test tubes.
Art supplies will be available for use for $20, but participants are encouraged to bring their own supplies if they have them. Easels will be provided. Prior registration required.
NYC Queer Music Festival
Art Wall by Melanie Hope Greenberg
Talented singer-songwriter Kiernan and visionary Price Troche joined forces to establish the NYC Queer Music Festival, a festival that celebrates inclusivity ando amplifies the voices and experiences of queer artists. As the sole monthly festival in New York City, the festival has successfully booked more than 70 LGBTQ artists and remains at the forefront of the local music scene. Live at the Archway performing line-up to be announced.
Melanie Hope Greenberg is an illustrator and author with long ties to Dumbo. She has published illustrations with UNICEF, Children’s Defense Fund, Southern Poverty Law Center, as well as hundreds of images in magazines, on greeting cards, and gift items. She has illustrated 17 trade published picture books, six of which she also wrote. Her books have won awards and are on notable, honor, and library reading lists.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 4
SUNDAY, AUGUST 11
SUNDAY, AUGUST 18
SUNDAY, AUGUST 25
Dumbo Family Games
Join the Dumbo Improvement District and Brooklyn Bridge Parents for family-friendly games on car-free Washington Street!
Sponsored by Leaf Medical + Dental.
About the DUMBO Improvement District
The DUMBO Improvement District, founded in 2006, is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing and promoting DUMBO, Brooklyn—a bustling enclave on the waterfront where quintessential old New York charm meets creative Brooklyn at its very best. The DUMBO Improvement District showcases DUMBO as a world-class destination, advocating on behalf of DUMBO’s businesses, property owners, and residents, and amplifying its creative and innovative vibe through The Archway programming, public art, free WiFi, public space maintenance & beautification, and the #DUMBOVIP card, among other initiatives. @dumbo_brooklyn
Image at top of release courtesy of Dumbo Improvement District
