Ever in search of cheaper pastures, New York’s contemporary art scene tends towards the nomadic. Its newest stomping ground is DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), where lofts and galleries dot the crooked streets under the bridge’s steel span. The Galapagos Art Space, a high-ceilinged venue that is hung with enormous canvases and dotted with reflecting pools of water, is one of the first certified “green” art galleries in New York.
Its wide range of eclectic exhibits and performances includes live music from neo-soul bands; Coney Island burlesque; gamelan Indonesian concerts; nights of spoken word and poetry by the contributors of Poets & Writers magazine; puppetry; and the 60 x 60 show, involving 60 works by 60 composers in 60 seconds or less, and featuring writhing dancers in leotards.
It’s modern performance art in all its earnest (and sometimes questionable) artistry – but you won’t easily forget an evening here. Kids can also get their fill of entertainment, with kite-flying on the first Saturday of each month at the nearby Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Kites are provided, and participants get the chance to fly them over the East River between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, and compete for titles such as “longest-running kite.”
Practical Information
Address 16 Main Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn;
Getting There Subway: line F to York Street or line A to High Street.
Opening Times Times vary, so call ahead.