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Vacant Williamsburg Shop to Host Art Shows Before Affordable Housing Built

By Serena Dai | February 25, 2015 12:14pm
 The first show opens on Friday, Feb. 27.
Art Shows at Future Affordable Housing Site
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EAST WILLIAMSBURG — A former discount store on Grand Street that is set to be demolished and replaced by affordable housing will become the backdrop for art shows until construction begins.

The former GEM store at 695 Grand St. will be torn down this summer before the city and nonprofit St. Nicks Alliance build an eight-story building with 51 affordable housing units in its place.

In the meantime, the vacant discount store space will be used for several mixed-media art shows hosted by Arts@Renaissance, a group that aims to connect artists in North Brooklyn to the community as the neighborhoods evolves.

The exhibits are a way for the space to be maximized for locals' benefit before housing rises at the site, said Monica Carrier, who organized the first show.

"[The space] would just be sitting empy, waiting," she said. "Instead, it becomes this community hub for the arts."

The first show opens on Friday, Feb. 27, with work from more than 100 artists. It's intended to give a snapshot of the current New York City art scene, with particular emphasis on Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bushwick artists, Carrier said.

Future events include displays from the School of Visual Arts' MFA program and shows curated by Kat Griefen of Accola Griefen Gallery.

Arts@Renaissance will eventually have a permanent renovated space at 601 Metropolitan Ave., set to open in early 2016.

"Their main goal is to provide a space where artists and the community at large can come together," Carrier said.