Bushwick Collective: An Open Street-Art Gallery

 

Alex and I ventured out of Manhattan and into Brooklyn yesterday to look at the street art, specifically a famous part of Bushwick call Bushwick Collective. We’ve always seen pictures and heard people talk about the street art there and definitely wanted to take time out of our days to see all the amazing artwork in person. There was literally artwork everywhere, from the ground, to walls to even vents on buildings! What is even more amazing after seeing the intensive street art yesterday was learning the story of how this small neighborhood of Bushwick became what it is today known as Bushwick Collective.

 

 

Bushwick Collective is described as a street art gallery and the artists of these masterpieces come from all over the world! The Bushwick Collective was founded in 2011 by a man name Joe Ficalora, a local of Bushwick who transformed the dark periods of his life into works of art. While dealing with hard times of his life, he wanted to create beauty at a place he always considered home. Thus, he embarked on the journey of merging the community from asking local businesses to donate their walls to inviting artists to come paint their pieces. And the most amazing aspect of it all is that no one is paid for their work, time or supplies! All the street art present are from those artists who are passionate to donate their time and piece and from the community who care enough to give a part to this gallery. Even walking through that neighborhood, you can get the sense of community and pride that comes with the artwork.

 

 

Every single piece of artwork there needed to be admired—the work and detailing that is in every piece is evident through every stroke seen. While I am not one to understand most art out there, I can definitely appreciate the history and amount of dedication put into each piece at Bushwick Collective. All the pieces were breathtaking from how realistic they are to how creative an artist can get. I can’t seem to put into words how in awe I was the whole time on how different each piece was yet they still were all able to capture my attention in some way. There was no one piece that took my attention because they all did! With each wall or section of the neighborhood, you get to see so many varieties of artwork, forms of messaged being portrayed and techniques being displayed. It was hard not to wonder what went through the artists minds when they painted their creations and how much time it must have took them to do each piece.

 

 

Even the small community of Bushwick that Alex and I were able to walk through was a change of scenery from Manhattan. It was very residential-like with cute little delicious cafes and restaurants. We stopped to grab some ice coffee from a cafe called AP Cafe that served delicious ice lattes and had the cutest interior design going on. Later, we grabbed lunch at a Mexican restaurant called Amaranto and took advantage of the happy hour deal with their delicious sangrias. Being able to walk around and not hear the city rumbles was quite a nice change. It was so calming and relaxing to take our time and slow down our pace. And after Alex told me that the artwork changes throughout the year as new (and old) artists get to come in and paint new walls so we definitely want to make our way back there again! This place is a must go, not only for all the cute pictures you would get but also to admire all the history and artwork that comes with the neighborhood!

Until my next lil’ thought then!

jen ❣️