Industrial Makeover: East Williamsburg Breaks Out the Cans

As the Borough of Brooklyn continues a rolling cultural renaissance the spotlight shifts from one neighborhood to the next as investors and cultural workers leapfrog one another in search of opportunity. Naturally, “capitalizing” on that opportunity can be interpreted in a variety of ways, and is.

Gabriel Gimenez AKA GG (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Williamsburg Industrial Park, sometimes referred to as East Williamsburg, has been known for light manufacturing industry such as food processing, furniture making, packing/shipping of dry goods, warehousing – and of course it has played host to a growing number of artists studios in the mix. Of course it has been impacted by the ballooning interest in Bushwick and Williamsburg and all-things-Brooklyn in general but for some reason this still feels fresh and unjaded. Because you don’t have to worry too much about nervous neighborhoody types it has also been a welcoming environment for musicians to rehearse and artists to experiment.

Sonni for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The doors of cafes, live music venues, scattered galleries and performance spaces have opened in the last couple of years and a growing number of legal murals alongside an occasionally lively graffiti / Street Art scene has been cropping up and out. As is the case with new bohemia and a heady mix of hormones/entrepreneurship/euphoria/good weed, some of these dreams will take off and grow while others will fade into the lore of an experimenting NY scene that proudly cuts a notch with a pen knife into the cultural timeline. The best idea is always to jump in and be a part of it right now and enjoy it to its fullest. But that’s just us.

A music and mural art festival called “Juicy Art” saw its first edition this past weekend and the transformation continues with entire blocks getting smashed by a mix of independently produced work, unsanctioned guerilla pieces, and naturally, murals. Take a look at this survey of a popping scene captured by photographer Jaime Rojo in the last couple of weeks.

Sonni for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cruz (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ramiro Davaro-Comas for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kremen (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Never for The Juicy Art Festival. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Don Rimx, Ricardo Cabret and Son for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Matthew Reid (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ever for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ever in collaboration with Zio Ziegler for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

NM Salgar and Chuck Berrett (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nepo for The Juicy Art Festival. Piece in progress. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Tony Washington and Ramiro Davaro-Comas for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Denton Burrows (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dasic for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Muro, Txemy, Stinkfish and Meca for the Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Exit Room Gallery current show. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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