Open Studios returns to connect artists and audiences across the neighborhood

Rocío Gómez

Open Studios returns to connect artists and audiences across the neighborhood
Visitors gather among the artwork at the opening-night party for Every Piece Has Its Story at Industry City during Sunset Park Open Studios in 2025. Photo by Charles Velasquez-Witosky

Open Studios returns to Sunset Park Oct. 16–18, bringing artists, makers, performers and arts spaces together across the neighborhood.

“The idea was born from creating a unified community of artists in Sunset Park,” said Angélica M. Fuentes, a program manager at NARS Foundation. “We wanted artists to be able to talk to each other, welcome the public and welcome art.”

Fuentes said Sunset Park’s size and industrial layout have sometimes made it difficult for artists and visitors to move between studios and communicate with one another, pushing organizers to find ways to make both the event and the neighborhood’s art more accessible.

Open Studios began in 2019 through the nonprofit NARS Foundation and became independent in 2023, with the goal of continuing to build a platform for local artists and creative communities. Since its first exhibitions, the festival has expanded substantially.

“I started as an intern. It is very rewarding to have grown with the festival,” said Open Studios coordinator Manning Cheng.

One new component this year is “Sunset Park Through the Lens,” a photography exhibition running Oct. 3–31 that focuses on the neighborhood’s history and daily life. The exhibition includes a collaboration with MADE Bush Terminal and the Sunset Park branch of Brooklyn Public Library.

Organizers also plan transportation options intended to make the geographically spread-out festival easier to navigate, including shuttle buses and connections involving Citi Bike and the Sunset Park ferry.

This year, Open Studios will span more than 20 locations between Prospect Avenue and 65th Street and between First and Fifth avenues. More than 200 artists had registered by the Aug. 14 deadline, according to the organizers interviewed for this story; the event’s current website now lists more than 300 artists, makers and creative spaces. Participating work includes painting, sculpture, performance and other forms of creative practice.

The festival is also designed as a place for artists to meet one another and build connections. In a neighborhood with deep immigrant and working-class roots, organizers say that creating accessible places for artists and residents to encounter one another is central to the event.

Among the participating sites are Makerspace NYC and BioBAT Art Space at Brooklyn Army Terminal, as well as studios on the seventh floor of Building B. These locations will be open Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.

Makerspace NYC is at 140 58th St., Brooklyn Army Terminal, Building A, Unit 5N-1.

BioBAT Art Space is at 140 58th St., Brooklyn Army Terminal, Building A, waterfront entrance. Participating artists listed by the organizers include Aradhita Ajaykumar Parasrampuria, Katie Hubbell, Elaine Young, Karen Ingram, Laura Kung, Juyon Lee, LoLo Oteria, John Roach, Iz Nettere and Shihori Yamamoto, curated by Elena Soterakis and Eve Barro.

Brooklyn Army Terminal Building B’s seventh-floor studios will include work by Ella Wearing, JB Morton, Julia Rooney, Esther K Smith, Dikko Faust, Ianthe Jackson, Mike Estabrook, Vandana Jain, Matt Rubendall, Nino Tsiklauri and Oscar Lopez.