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Inside The Brooklyn Art Library And The Sketchbook Project 2012
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 9, 2012
Modified Apr 11, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 9, 2012
Modified Apr 11, 2012
Share
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Six years ago, Atlanta art school buddies Shane Zucker and Steven Peterman started a mail art project, sending random items to a group of volunteer artists just to see what would happen. The flood of creativity they received in response was overwhelming, and the two were particularly inspired by their ability to forge personal connections between strangers in a way that social media cannot. In the years since, they've created a massively popular phenomenon called The Sketchbook Project, in which everyone on Earth is invited to participate (for a $25 fee, while sketchbook supplies last). Here's a cute little video explaining what it's all about:
The Sketchbook Project explained in 96 seconds from Art House on Vimeo.
We paid a visit to the project's headquarters in Williamsburg recently. Called The Brooklyn Art Library, it's quite a charming place—over ten thousand sketchbooks created by artists all over the world are stored and cataloged there. The space literally functions like a library, with each sketchbook getting its own digital code. Visitors to the library can "check out" books to view on the premises, and search for them according to a variety of topics which the artists have the option of choosing.
You could easily spend an afternoon here (with breaks to nibble on the free chocolate samples at Mast Brothers next door) flipping through the books, each of which opens a little window into a stranger's inner life unfolding somewhere a world away. And every time an artist's book is "checked out," the artists get an email letting them know someone saw their work.
On April 14th, the Sketchbook Project will kick off its annual world tour, setting up libraries featuring this year's sketchbooks in cities across America and abroad. For the last two weeks of this month, the new sketchbooks will be on view at The Brooklyn Art Library, before they take the show on the road. (You can also view scanned version of many of the books online.) Here's a look at what's currently on the shelves, and a peek at the satellite Brooklyn Archives on Bedford Avenue and South 4th Street, which sells an array of vintage ephemera and will soon display art inside a giant old card catalog.
If you'd like to participate in The Sketchbook Project 2013, you can sign up starting April 18th. The Brooklyn Art Library, located at 103A N. 3rd St, Brooklyn, is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Tagged
art
brooklyn
brooklyn art library
sketchbook project
williamsburg
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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