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Maps and Art Collide in New Brooklyn Exhibit

By Nikhita Venugopal | February 9, 2015 7:37am
 Brooklyn Historical Society and BRIC are hosting a mapping event and art exhibit this month.
Mapping Brooklyn
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BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — More than a dozen artists who have turned maps into art will have their work featured in an exhibit that's all about Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Historical Society and BRIC are teaming up for “Mapping Brooklyn,” a new show for contemporary artwork that highlights mapping and cartography, organizers said.

The exhibit, which kicks off Feb. 26 at two locations, will include paintings, photography, drawings, sculptures and interactive projects that range in size and scale, said Elizabeth Ferrer, vice president of contemporary art at BRIC, who curated the show.

One such piece is artist Jennifer Maravillas’ massive map of Brooklyn, which is made from paper litter she collected while walking through every block in the borough.

Other pieces offer an in-depth look at the borough’s racial and economic lines.

“It’s a monumental look at Brooklyn,” Ferrer said.

Most of the 18 participating artists were also able to select maps from BHS’ archives of thousands of contemporary and historical maps, including recent transit maps and ones from the Revolutionary War, said Deborah Schwartz, president of BHS.

Those selected maps, which artists felt resonated with their work, will be presented alongside their pieces during the exhibit, Schwartz added.

“It’s just amazing to understand over time all the ways that maps have been used,” she said. “They have embedded in them so many different interesting stories.”

Mapping Brooklyn will kick off Feb. 26 at BRIC House, located at 647 Fulton St. in Downtown Brooklyn and will run till May 3. An opening reception will be held on Feb. 25 from 7 to 9 p.m. The exhibit will be at BHS, 128 Pierrepont St. in Brooklyn Heights, through Sept. 6.