Join us at our next scheduled Neighborhood meeting to be held on Monday February 22, 2010 -7:30PM, at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, 85 South Oxford Street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

Feeling the squeeze? As Fort Greeners know all too well, the neighborhood has experienced dramatic cost of living increases in recent years. Come share your experiences with others and learn about efforts to keep Fort Greene affordable.

Ask questions, and get answers. Plus all the goings on in Fort Greene and don’t forget to come early and meet your neighbors with refreshments starting at 7PM.

On the Agenda:

As detailed in the New York Times Article, December 7, 2009, “2 Brooklyn Complexes with a Ghost-Town Feel” by Manny Fernandez many Fort Greeners were shocked to learn of the ongoing conditions of Ingersoll and Whitman. William Cardinale, Acting Director of the New York City Housing Authority [NYCHA] for Brooklyn will speak about the renovations of the Whitman & Ingersoll Housing Developments. This update will focus on when NYCHA expects to conclude the renovations.

Deb Howard, Executive Director, of Pratt Area Community Council, a community development corporation that has been serving Fort Greene for nearly fifty years, will overview their efforts to both improve quality of life and prevent displacement of longtime residents. PACC’s Drew Kiriazides, Director of Housing, will update the neighborhood on PACC’s new affordable housing developments and John Furlong, Deputy Director of Community Organizing, will highlight their campaign to repeal vacancy decontrol and maintain affordable rental units.

Tameeka Ford, the inaugural executive director of the brand new Ingersoll Community Center, will speak about the suite of athletic and educational services available to the neighborhood.

A One-Day, Small Group Art Exhibition in a Studio and Garden Space
Sponsored by SONYA in partnership with the FGA
Curator, Maribeth Flynn

Sunday, May 2, 2010
noon to 5:00 pm
Studio G, South Oxford Space
138 S. Oxford Street, Brooklyn, NY

Contact
Kennis Baptiste, SONYA Exhibitions Committee Chair, 718-498-6082, [email protected]
To submit work for consideration: Artist Calls and Event Registration

About the Exhibition
South of the Navy Yard Artists (SONYA) in partnership with the Fort Greene Association, is pleased to announce its next exhibition entitled: Live, Work, Play, Fort Greene. The exhibition is a one day exhibition and will be a stop on the Fort Greene Association’s annual House Tour, Sunday, May 2nd, from noon to 5pm. The gallery space opens on a small garden that will be included in the exhibition. It will be open only to ticketed tour goers and will be viewed by over 1500 people.

About the Curator
SONYA’s guest curator, Maribeth Flynn, is an art historian and independent museum education consultant with over twenty years experience working with adult audiences and educators in a museum setting. She has taught art history at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus and has also lectured on American and European painting to general audiences in the metropolitan New York area, and she is delighted to have the opportunity to work with artist neighbors on this project. Maribeth and her husband Tom Gubanich are long-time Fort Greene residents .
Artist and Artwork Eligibility
This will be a small group show and we hope to tell a story about Fort Greene through choosing one to 3 works from about 6 artists. All media will be considered, and sculptors are strongly encouraged to submit work for consideration.

The exhibition bears the same title as this year’s House Tour, “Live, Work, Play, Fort Greene”. We are seeking works that respond to this title and that are created by Brooklyn-based artists, age 21 and older. Artists need not be SONYA members to be eligible.

Media
All media will be accepted. Sculpture, suitable for outdoor display (rain or shine) is particularly sought.
Installation artists take note—we are seeking proposals for an installation piece using this bookcase in one corner of the studio. Piece must be temporary, leaving no trace when it is removed (that is, no nails, sticky tape or paint may be used).

Number of Works: Up to three (3) works and or proposals may be submitted.

Entry Procedures
Please follow this three-step online entry procedure:

Go to SONYA’s member registration page at: www.sonyamembers.org/register .
Find “Call for Artists: Live, Work, Play Ft Greene Exhibition” and click on “Register”.
Follow the prompts to enter contact info and descriptions of your work.
A confirmation email will be sent to the artist’s email address.
Artist must than send their images as jpeg attachments to: [email protected] using subject line: “FGA House Tour Exhibition”.
Images should not exceed 300kb each.
Limitations
All work will be given due consideration. The SONYA staff and the curator reserve the right to reject work that the gallery is unable to physically accommodate or which differs from the submitted image.

Artists are advised to submit their work ASAP and during the submission period only. We can only accommodate a limited number of participants. The number of participants and the amount of artwork to be displayed will depend on space and theme limitations weighed against the number of submissions received during the submission period.

Sales: SONYA will provide interested buyers with artist contact information. Commission: 30% to SONYA.

Notification: Artists will be notified by e-mail the week of March 15-20th, 2010.

Delivery of Artworks
Participating artists are responsible for delivering their work to the gallery, 138 S. Oxford St., from 3 to 6pm, Saturday, May 1st, 2010.

Entry Fee: There are no entry fees for this exhibition.

Pick Up Artworks: Sun, May 2, 5 - 6:00 pm; or Mon, May 3, 9 - 11:00 am, 138 S. Oxford St.

Calendar

Submission Period
February 2 - March 10

Submission Deadline
5:00 pm, March 10

Acceptance
Notification:

March 15 - 20, 2010

Work Delivered by:
3:00 - 6:00 pm, May 1

Installation:
3:00 - 8:00 pm, May 1

Exhibition:
noon - 5:00 pm, May 2

Pick Up Artworks:
5:00 - 6:00 pm, May 2

9:00 - 11:00 am, May 3

About SONYA
South Of the Navy Yard Artists, (SONYA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization of visual artists living, creating, and/or exhibiting in the Ft. Greene, Clinton Hill, Wallabout, and Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhoods of Brooklyn. We are as diverse and dynamic as the community we serve. Our geographic boundaries are the area bounded by Flushing Ave. on the north (including the Navy Yard), Bedford Ave on the east, Atlantic Ave on the south and Flatbush on the west.

In the belief that art and community nurture each other, SONYA’s mission is to recognize, support, and celebrate the visual arts and artists within our community by bringing people together in an environment that encourages exploration, dialogue and enjoyment of the visual arts. SONYA offers a full season of exhibitions, studio tours, education events and public programs, open to the public each year. www.sonyaonline.org

About the FGA and the House Tour
The Fort Greene Association (FGA) is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization devoted to neighborhood and park enhancement, historic preservation, as well as cultural, economic, and housing advancement. Held every two years, the FGA House Tour is an important opportunity to tell the world that we are proud of this ever-evolving community; its homes, its people, its underlying spirit. All the money raised during the tour goes right back into the Fort Greene community through the advocacy efforts and programs of the FGA.

About South Oxford Space
Located in Fort Greene (near downtown Brooklyn and BAM), South Oxford Space is a five story, 19,200 square foot Federal Style building that provides office space to 20 small and midsize theatre companies for below-market rate, and subsidizes utilities and storage space. In addition to individual offices, the building has a variety of shared facilities and amenities such as rehearsal studios, kitchen and mail room. http://www.art-newyork.org/index.php/programs/real-estate/south-oxford/