New Beginnings Online show
Our first show for 2026 has arrived. See interpretations of rebirth and renewal in our first show as an organization experiencing the process of rebirth.
Welcome to our Member Show curated by Janet Morgan and Renee Radenberg. We proudly share the work of our members this new beginning for us.
2025 Review
What a year we had.
As we start a new year at BWAC, we prepare to embark on a path in the literal sense. The fire last year changed everything, but we cannot allow it to define 2025 or BWAC because we had one of the most innovative and creative exhibition seasons on record.
We started the year in style, compassion, and introspection with two national juried shows featuring fashion, animals, and a solo show delving into one artist's emotional past. Along with these great exhibitions we held a cat adoption event and set the tone for a season of balanced outreach and creative exploration.
By September we had already featured a rich range of themes from biodiversity, industrial art, sustainability, and good ole Rock and Roll to urban expressions of creativity in street art. We had a room devoted digital art, gigantic contemporary sculptural pieces that made our 25,000 square foot warehouse space look small, and a New York phone booth installation straight from the past, complete with it's own litter.
These are the numbers:
• Mounted 4 member exhibitions including a member solo exhibition
• Hosted 7 national juried exhibitions which included one international exhibit
• Opened our doors to 4 art organizations
• Held multiple musical and theatrical events
• Presented seminars and workshops in cooperation with the Brooklyn Public Library and Pioneer Works
• Maintained a vibrant Artists Market made up of a variety of goods made by (mostly) members
BWAC was only able to accomplish this through the dedicated volunteer efforts and coordination of our members, who fill the roles in our organization from leadership to planning to execution. Working with a small administrative unit of 2 on staff we are proud of the 2025 season we produced despite being cut short by the fire. If this all sounds like something you would like to be a part of, consider becoming a member and join our reimagining effort.
See a bit of our 2025 Season below.
Cheers~
BWAC ONLINE FUNDRAISING AUCTION
It's our Last Fundraising Art Auction of 2025! Help us say "good-bye" to the year that changed everything!
It's our Last Fundraising Art Auction of 2025! Help us say "good-bye" to the year that changed everything by bidding on art for yourself or someone you love. Choose from great original art for your home or office.
Bid from noon on December 16 through 8 pm on December 31st and watch the progress of your bids on the site. Winning bidders will be notified after New Year’s Day.
Brooklyn Resilience
Member Artists respond to the call of interpreting resilience. What excites and pushes us to make that first pencil mark or brushstroke?
What is "resilience," and how does that relate to Brooklyn in particular? The dictionary defines it as: "the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties," or "the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape."
That meaning is appropriate for any artists, for our path is never an easy one. Bouncing back from being misunderstood, or baring our soul on canvas or other various media to be judged is not a practice for the faint of heart.
We invite you see the different ways our Member Artists express being resilient in Brooklyn.
Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, September 13 – Sunday, October 12, 2025, weekends 1‐6 P.M.
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 13, 2025, from 1‐6 P.M.
Aerosol Euphoria:Urban Street Art
Inspired by the legendary graffiti covered walls and alleys of NYC and beyond, this exhibition seeks to spotlight the full spectrum of street-influenced expression.
Think of rooftop burners, freight train tags, alley murals, and the raw visual poetry found in every corner of the urban jungle.
From street veteran to studio rebel, this exhibition displays how the euphoria of street art lives loudly in every form and is a part of our culture.
Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, September 13 – Sunday, October 12, 2025, weekends 1‐6 P.M.
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 13, 2025, from 1‐6 P.M.
NuYoRICAN Soul
We invite to see works that speak to the themes of migration, cultural memory, resilience, joy, and the dynamic relationship between the diaspora and the island.
This exhibition is a rich and layered visual narrative that serves both as a celebration and a conversation --- rooted in history, rhythm, and the voices of those who carry the island in their hearts, wherever they are.
In this space, we seek to honor the soul of Puerto Rican identity as it manifests in New York ---through vibrant color, texture, form and imagery that tells a story.
Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, September 13 – Sunday, October 12, 2025, weekends 1‐6 P.M.
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 13, 2025, from 1‐6 P.M.
Illuminations 2025
Twenty artists of the Park Slope Windsor Terrace artists collective invite you to view their paintings, prints, photographs, ceramics, collages, textiles, sculptures and mixed media over five consecutive weekends from September 13-October 12, 2025.
Art Exhibit by Park Slope Windsor Terrace Artists
Twenty artists of the Park Slope Windsor Terrace artists collective invite you to view their paintings, prints, photographs, ceramics, collages, textiles, sculptures and mixed media over five consecutive weekends from September 13-October 12, 2025.
Illuminations 2025 will be on the SECOND FLOOR of the BWAC Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition exhibition space at 481 Van Brunt Street in the lively Red Hook neighborhood, filled with restaurants (BBQ and seafood), microbreweries and a great view of New York Bay and the Statue of Liberty.
Illuminations is a great opportunity to see and buy original art, meet artists, and explore this wonderful neighborhood.
Join the artists for the Opening Reception on September 13th, 3-6 PM, and for Art Talks on September 28, 1-4 PM.
By Transit: F or G train to Smith-9th Streets, then the B61 bus to Van Brunt Street, after which is a short talk towards the water and the gallery. A, C, F train to Jay St / Metro-Tech, then B61 to Van Brunt. Take Van Brunt Street toward the water.
For more information visit ArtsPSWT website.
Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, September 13– Sunday, October 12, 2025 weekends 1‐6 P.M.
An Open Call for NuYoRICAN Soul
The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC Gallery) invites artists to submit work for an upcoming exhibition titled The Art of the NuYoRICAN Soul: A Love Letter from the Diaspora to the Island – a visual celebration of Puerto Rican identity, resilience, and cultural pride.
We invite submissions from Puerto Rican, Nuyorican artists, and artists of any background whose work thoughtfully engages with Nuyorican themes, culture, history, or community --- whether through solidarity, collaboration, or deep personal interest.
We’re looking for compelling artwork that captures the depth and complexity of the Nuyorican experience --- works that speak to the themes of migration, cultural memory, resilience, joy, and the dynamic relationship between the diaspora and the island.
This exhibition offers a platform to be part of a rich and layered visual narrative: an exhibition that serves both as a celebration and a conversation --- rooted in history, rhythm, and the voices of those who carry the island in their hearts, wherever they are. In this space, we seek to honor the soul of Puerto Rican identity as it manifests in New York ---through vibrant color, texture, form and imagery that tells a story.
We welcome a wide range of visual expressions, for example: portraits that celebrate community and family, abstract works that channel ancestral rhythms, street photography that captures life in the diaspora, installations that explore identity and displacement, or mixed media pieces that blend language, music, and memory.
Tell the story. Join the conversation.
All visual art forms are welcome, including both traditional and contemporary forms such as painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, mixed media, installation, and digital art.
The exhibition will be curated by Tamavis D. Santiago, a Visual Artist and Independent Curator.
The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC Gallery) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, artist-run organization housed in a historic Civil War-era warehouse on the Red Hook waterfront in Brooklyn. Spanning 25,000 square feet of exhibition space, BWAC cultivates a dynamic artistic community by offering artists at every stage of their careers the opportunities to showcase their work and participate in a meaningful creative exchange. Explore membership opportunities at bwac.org
CALL TO ARTISTS FOR SUBMISSIONS
● Submission Deadline: Final Application Deadline Friday, August 22, 2025
● Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, September 13 – Sunday, October 12, 2025, weekends 1‐6 P.M.
● Opening Reception: Saturday, September 13, 2025, from 1‐6 P.M.
See the full PDF Prospectus here
Submit your work on Smarter Entry here
ELEMENTS OF MOVEMENT
This summer member artists explore how motion can be seen through art. Whether it’s the sweep of a brushstroke, the suggestion of change, or the rhythm of repeated forms.
July 19 to Aug 24 - Weekends 1-6PM
This summer member artists explore how motion can be seen through art. Whether it’s the sweep of a brushstroke, the suggestion of change, or the rhythm of repeated forms.
Movement can be expressed in many ways: a figure in motion, a shifting composition, a fluid gesture, or the passage of time. This show invites our members express motion in paint, sculpture, photography, mixed media, and various other medium.
Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, July 19– Sunday, August 24, 2025 weekends 1‐6 P.M.
Brooklyn X Pittsburgh: The Industry of Art
Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, in partnership with the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, is proud to present Brooklyn X Pittsburgh: The Industry of Art, a juried exhibition featuring over 140 works by Pittsburgh and Brooklyn-based artists with a Pittsburgh connection.
July 19 to Aug 24 - Weekends 1-6PM
Pittsburgh, PA (July 11, 2025) — Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, in partnership with the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, is proud to present Brooklyn X Pittsburgh: The Industry of Art, a juried exhibition featuring over 140 works by Pittsburgh and Brooklyn-based artists with a Pittsburgh connection.
“In the footsteps of Andy Warhol, it is important for Pittsburgh’s artists to have an opportunity to engage with New York, the epicenter of the contemporary art world,” notes exhibition juror Eric Shiner. “This exhibition will give a platform to our city’s artists in the heart of Brooklyn so that they can connect, commune and engage with their NYC peers, collectors and institutions and hopefully expand their practice and network in so doing.”
Eric Shiner is the President of Powerhouse Arts, a Brooklyn not-for-profit committed to creative expression that hosts a network of art and fabrication professionals and educators who work together to co-create and share artistic practices. Shiner was also the director of The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh (2010-2016) and the Milton Fine Curator of Art at The Warhol (2008-2010).
“It’s great to have such a strong advocate for Pittsburgh artists working on this project,” says AAP Executive Director Madeline Gent. “After visiting the BWAC space in New York, Eric immediately identified the similarities between our organizations and suggested this partnership. We were thrilled that he also jumped on board as exhibition juror when we asked.”
BWAC is open for regular viewing hours Saturdays–Sundays, 1:00pm–6:00pm and by appointment. To learn more about the exhibition, visit https://www.aapgh.org/brooklyn-x-pittsburgh or https://www.bwac.org/. You can also call BWAC at 718-596-2506 or email info@bwac.org
An Open Call for AEROSOL EUPHORIA: The Urban Street Art Scene
This is a national juried exhibition celebrating the raw power, rebellious spirit, and ecstatic energy of urban creativity. We are looking for art that embodies the essence of street art; the art that lives outside the lines -- sprayed, tagged, pasted, sculpted, snapped and shouted.
Exhibition Dates: Saturday, September 13 -Sunday, Ocotber 12, 2025; weekends from 1-6 PM
Aerosol Euphoria: The Urban Street Art Scene is a national juried exhibition celebrating the raw power, rebellious spirit, and ecstatic energy of urban creativity.
Inspired by the legendary graffiti-covered walls and alleys of NYC and beyond, this exhibition seeks to spotlight the full spectrum of street-influenced expression.
Artists from across the country are invited to submit work that captures the pulse of urban life – its grit, its vibrancy, and its unfiltered voice. From aerosol-spray, gritty graffiti tags to the stories captured in street photography; we are looking for art that embodies the essence of street art. The art that lives outside the lines -- sprayed, tagged, pasted, sculpted, snapped and shouted.
So, if your work drips with grit, color, voice and movement -- submit it today.
● Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, September 19– Sunday, October 12, 2025 weekends 1‐6 P.M.
● Submission Deadline: Sunday, August 22, 2025
● Opening Reception: Saturday, September 13, 2025 from 1‐6 P.M.
Read (and/or download) the full prospectus by clicking here
Ready to submit? Click here
AMPED: The Art of Rock & Roll
This exhibition celebrates the cultural and historical impact of rock and roll, showcasing the exhilarating synergy between visual art and music while exploring the music’s transformative influence on art.
July 19 to Aug 24 - Weekends 1-6PM
This exhibition celebrates the cultural and historical impact of rock and roll, showcasing the exhilarating synergy between visual art and music while exploring the music’s transformative influence on art.
Amped is a visual expression of the energy you experience when this music moves through you and ignites a fire in your soul. We challenge you as an artist to capture and amplify that energy. The exhibition is open to all visual media.
● Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, July 19– Sunday, August 24, 2025 weekends 1‐6 P.M.
Biophilia
This exhibition explores the beauty, mystery, and pleasure of nature in all its forms. Whether delicate or untamed, fleeting or enduring, organic life inspires and connects us.
June 7 – June 29, weekends 1‐6 P.M.
From the forests that surround us to the mycelium beneath our feet, nature’s wonders are woven into our world—leaves, needles, branches, fruit and more.
This exhibition explores the beauty, mystery, and pleasure of nature in all its forms. Whether delicate or untamed, fleeting or enduring, organic life inspires and connects us.
Opening soon
● Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, June 7 – Sunday, June 29, 2025 weekends 1‐6 P.M.
● Opening Reception: Saturday, June 7, 2025 from 1‐6 P.M.
Creating with Sustainability
We are stewards of this planet we call home and as such have a responsibility to maintain it. This exhibition examines what that stewardship looks like from an artist’s point of view.
June 7 – June 29, weekends 1‐6 P.M.
We are stewards of this planet we call home and as such have a responsibility to maintain it. This exhibition examines what that stewardship looks like from an artist’s point of view as the BWAC members utilize repurposed and found materials to create wonderful works of art.
The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition is proud to partner with Materials for the Arts, who have provided access to free materials for non-profits like us as well as public schools and city agencies since 1979. For more information visit them at https://www.materialsforthearts.org/.
Opening soon
● Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, June 7 – Sunday, June 29, 2025 weekends 1‐6 P.M.
● Opening Reception: Saturday, June 7, 2025 from 1‐6 P.M.
Fungi
This multimedia art exhibition brings together diverse creative expressions all inspired by the enigmatic world of fungi.
June 7 – June 29, weekends 1‐6 P.M.
Fungi, is one of the most mysterious and least understood realms in biology. It holds the power to influence, sustain, and even kill us. This multimedia art exhibition brings together diverse creative expressions all inspired by the enigmatic world of fungi.
Coming Soon!
● Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, June 7 – Sunday, June 29, 2025 weekends 1‐6 P.M.
● Opening Reception: Saturday, June 7, 2025 from 1‐6 P.M
An Open Call For AMPED: The Art of Rock & Roll
Submission Deadline: EXTENDED June 29, 2025
This exhibition celebrates the cultural and historical impact of rock and roll, showcasing the exhilarating synergy between visual art and music while exploring the music’s transformative influence on art.
Amped: The Art of Rock & Roll is an exhibition celebrating the cultural and historical impact of rock and roll, showcasing the exhilarating synergy between visual art and music while exploring the music’s transformative influence on art.
We are looking for work that captures the rebellious spirit of rock and roll.
Amped is a visual expression of the energy you experience when this music moves through you and ignites a fire in your soul. We challenge you as an artist to capture and amplify that energy. The exhibition is open to all visual media.
CALL TO ARTISTS FOR SUBMISSIONS
● Submission Deadline: Final Application Deadline EXTENDED Sun, June 29, 2025
● Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, July 19– Sunday, August 24, 2025 weekends 1‐6 P.M.
● Opening Reception: Saturday, July 19, 2025 from 1‐6 P.M.
Complete details in Prospectus PDF
Ready to submit? Click here
New Yorkers Capturing Nature
This exhibit is designed to showcase how members of The Sierra Club see nature throughout the city from a variety of
perspectives, as photographers.
June 7 - June 29 weekends 1-6PM
This show is designed to showcase how we, as photographers, see nature throughout the city from a variety of perspectives—ranging from up-close details to sweeping, wide-angle views and everything in between. We encourage unique interpretations of nature and aim to highlight the thriving natural world within our
metropolitan environment.
Sierra Photo NYC is a sub-group of the New York City Sierra Club. We bring together nature photographers and enthusiasts who support the Sierra Club’s environmental goals.
We welcome visitors to our monthly meetings so they can meet others who share their love of nature photography and the environment.
Opening soon
● Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, June 7 – Sunday, June 29, 2025 weekends 1‐6 P.M.
● Opening Reception: Saturday, June 7, 2025 from 1‐6 P.M.
An Open Call For Fungi
Submission deadline: May 16, 2025 CLOSED
Fungi, one of the most mysterious and least understood realms in biology, holds the power to influence, sustain, and kill us. This multimedia art show brings together diverse creative expressions- such as but not limited to visual art, sculpture, sound art, video, and performance-all inspired by the enigmatic world of fungi.
The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition & Brooklyn Mushroom is proud to announce its open call for the international juried art exhibition “FUNGI.”
Fungi, one of the most mysterious and least understood realms in biology, holds the power to influence, sustain, and kill us. This multimedia art show brings together diverse creative expressions — such as but not limited to visual art, sculpture, sound art, video, and performance-all inspired by the enigmatic world of fungi.
We welcome both emerging and seasoned artists to apply. The show will exhibit approximately 40 works. Join us in exploring a realm that bridges art, science, psychedelics, and biology.
The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition is an artist-run, 501(c)3 nonprofit. With 25,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space set in a Civil War- era warehouse on the waterfront of Red Hook Brooklyn. BWAC provides exhibition opportunities to artists of various levels of experience as well as professional development and public engagement. Explore membership opportunities at bwac.org
Brooklyn Mushroom is a platform dedicated to cultivating knowledge sharing, arts, culture, and community around all things mycological. This past winter, they held their third biannual Fungi Festival, which drew 1,200 people to the one-day event.
● Submission Deadline: Final Application Deadline Sunday, May 16, 2025
● Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, June 07 – Sunday, June 29, 2025 weekends 1‐6 P.M.
● Opening Reception: Saturday, June 07, 2025 from 1‐6 P.M.
Complete details in the Prospectus PDF here
Ready to submit? Click here
Order/Chaos
Order and chaos are often considered opposites, but they are actually interconnected and can coexist. This exhibition will examine these relationships and the variety of ways to interpret them. Artists are encouraged to include a narrative addressing these concerns.
April 26 to May 18
Order and chaos are often considered opposites, but they are actually interconnected and can coexist.
In this exhibition BWAC Members tackle questions of how artists in general and how they themselves deal with this dynamic in art. Do they employ techniques governed by outside or objective concerns (physical shape, space, distance, etc. This show is about how do they approach order from that chaos.
If you enjoyed our “Creative Process” exhibition last year you will like Order/Chaos as the member artists share not just a collection of wonderful works but a bit of context as well.
We hope to see at the pier.
● Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, April 26 – Sunday, May 18, 2025 weekends 1‐6 P.M.
● Opening Reception: Saturday, April 26, 2025 from 1‐6 P.M.
Dreamscapes: Reimagining What Was Left Behind
This solo show blends personal memory and imagination of landscapes and figures from Sergei's childhood in Dagestan.
April 26 to May 18
BWAC is proud to feature Member artist Sergei Saakian's solo show Dreamscapes: Reimagining What Was Left Behind.
This show blends personal memory and imagination of landscapes and figures from Sergei's childhood in Dagestan. Through subtle abstraction and vivid imagery, his works explore the shifting nature of memory and identity, reflecting on how the places and people we leave behind continue to resonate within us.
Sergei Saakian (b. 1959, Makhachkala, Soviet Dagestan) is a New York-based artits whose work explores themes of displacement, identity, and cultural memory. Growing up in a multicultural, historically complex region deeply shaped his approach to painting and drawing, which continues to evolve since his move to NYC in 1990.
The exhibit will be on view on the second floor for our Spring open.
● Gallery Exhibition Dates: Saturday, April 26 – Sunday, May 18, 2025 weekends 1‐6 P.M.
● Opening Reception: Saturday, April 26, 2025 from 1‐6 P.M.