Art on display — and up for grabs!
For the second year in a row, local artists opened their studios to holiday shoppers during Dumbo’s Shop the Studios event.
Held in partnership with the Brooklyn Flea Holiday Market, 35 local artists opened their doors to sell their work on Saturday, Dec. 10 — and dozens of patrons perused their pieces, admiring and purchasing a wide variety of beautifully crafted holiday gifts along with wares from the flea market itself.
Shop the Studios was born out of a desire to help artists and artisans recover financially during the COVID-19 pandemic, with event sponsors also involving the artists in the popular Dumbo holiday market. Last weekend, hundreds of visitors were able to stroll through the open studios to shop and get to chat with the artists themselves to learn more about the craft.
Last year’s event was a monumental success, organizers told Brooklyn Paper, prompting them to try and replicate it this holiday season.
“I’m thrilled with the success of this year’s Shop the Studios event,” organizer Kate Gavriel said last year. “Not only did shoppers get the chance to see Dumbo’s incredible artists in action and purchase one-of-a-kind gifts, but the event also provided a platform for the artists to connect with new audiences and make additional sales during this holiday season.”
The event, organized by Art in DUMBO and the DUMBO Improvement District, aims to help support local artists in the area by increasing sales and visibility — and allowing shoppers to walk away with one-of-a-kind gifts.
“Art in DUMBO’s goal is to celebrate our neighborhood’s artists and arts organizations, and we’re thrilled with the high turnout of Dumbo locals and enthusiasm from Brooklyn residents at the second annual Shop the Studios,” said Ariel Willmott, cultural affairs program coordinator for the Walentas Family Foundation, which supports the event.
Willmott and others are already looking ahead to this coming spring’s DUMBO Open Studios, which also invites shoppers into the North Brooklyn studios.
“We look forward to welcoming visitors to our upcoming First Thursdays from February to June and DUMBO Open Studios April 22 and 23,” she said.
For more information on Shop the Studios or the artists involved, check out Art in DUMBO’s website.
