Art in the Parks

Since 2020, each of the school’s graduating 8th grade classes has researched the history of the Prospect Expressway and its impact on local communities. The students have made observations of other nearby parks to inform plant selection, written letters to community members with proposed plans asking for feedback, created scale models of the pocket parks, researched native plants that would grow well in the pocket park’s environment, designed a garden, planted, and repainted the park. Throughout this project, students reflect on how they were including stakeholders and engaging with multiple perspectives and planning with a future mindset. This mural is a testament to environmental and social sustainability work being done by students at BUGS.

This exhibition is presented by the Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School.

American Gold: A Ship of Human Bondage is an Augmented Reality (AR) installation based on slave ships and enslaved people. The installation describes the captives as figures made of gold. American Gold aims to draw attention to the monetary value of captives and the inhumane treatment of African captives. American Gold makes the slave ship an almost invisible structure that floats above the viewer, giving the viewer a glimpse of how many people were squeezed into a slaving vessel from below. The installation is part of a larger series of art installations about slavery called Slavery Trails, placed at historical sites throughout the United States.

The Hanging Gardens of Brooklyn is a traveling art installation that serves as a creative commons for artistic expression, public well-being, and collective stewardship. The work features a trellised canopy of edible and native plants, as well as a solar-powered lighting and audio system to support public programming hosted within and around the artwork. Throughout the summer and fall until the end of October, The Hanging Gardens of Brooklyn will serve as a publicly accessible venue for the local community, hosting activations including performances, workshops, and wellness offerings. More information on related programming can be found here.

This site-specific mural by artist Yukiko Izumi was made in collaboration with volunteers of Apex for Youth, a non-profit organization serving low-income and immigrant Asian youth. The artists worked with the volunteers to identify their favorite things about the park which viewers will find depicted in this mural.

This exhibition is presented by Apex for Youth.

Lenticular Histories is based on the Praxinoscope and Zoetrope, 19th century devices of wonder that transform still photographs into moving images. Two seven-foot-tall rainbow-colored, luminous sculptures in the form of “eternal remembrance columns” are placed at the corner of Highland Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue in Lower Highland Park. The surface of the sculptures host colorful plexiglass panels and reflective mirrors adorned with historic photographs of Highland Park and the surrounding neighborhood. The photographs are interrupted by mirror panels that, when viewed from a distance, reflect back the park’s landscape and engage the viewer in an interactive moment of immersive optical intrigue and history.

This exhibition is the recipient of the Art in the Parks: Highland Park Art Grant.