46 JUNE 23 – JUNE 29, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
GEC hosts annual art show
BY JAIME DEJESUS
JDEJESUS@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
It was a work of art.
Students from the Guild of Exceptional
Children (GEC) displayed
their works at the organization's fifth
annual art show.
The event was held on Friday, June
9 at the GEC Main Building, 260 68th
Street, and featured a broad range of
artwork on display, with attendees
from the community embracing the
festive atmosphere that included refreshments
and entertainment
Art teacher Connie Diaz discussed
how hard her students, who range
in age from 21 to 91, worked on the
project. “We’ve been collecting work
for over two years and it’s pretty
much a self-expression art show,” she
explained. “We wanted the artists to
be able to express themselves in all
mediums from ceramics to painting.
It was them coming up with ideas, and
us filtering out what it is that they
want to say, and everything just came
together.”
Students proudly showed off their
work and explained their inspiration
along with how it was created. Items
for sale included ceramic frames, light
switches, paintings and more.
“I’m extremely proud to see them
grow over the course of the years,”
Diaz added. “They flourished and
showed how they had matured and
how they were able to take a step
back and watch the process. It takes
patience, especially with ceramics, to
wait for something to be finished.”
GEC Executive Director Paul
Cassone was very impressed as he
looked at each piece of art. “I’m really
proud of all of our artists. They have
tremendous creativity and they move
past any obstacles they have to make
beautiful creations,” he said. “They’ve
been working for quite a long time
on all of this and we manage to get
participation from everyone within
this building and some of our other
programs. I’m amazed by some of
their work. There are works here that
are worthy of display in any gallery.”
Cassone added that Crossroads
Christian Church allowed the GEC to
display some of the work within its
storefront on Fourth Avenue, which
helped attract attendees.
“I came here last year for the
first time and it was so wonderful,"
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Jaime DeJesus
GEC student and artist Paul D. shows off his work.
remarked Victoria Hofmo, president
of the Scandinavian East Coast Museum.
“I wanted to come back with
the kids from my program. It’s really
imaginative and I find the arts amazing
here. I also buy the ceramic things
they sell here for my staff.”
Cassone hopes the show will increase
in popularity over the years.
“I think there aren’t as many people
aware of it as we’d like,” he said. “Anyone
who has come has been impressed
with the level of creativity. It will
grow.”
Fabolous, Jean-Michel Basquiat awarded
"keys to Brooklyn" during arts weekend
BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK
MMCGOLDRICK@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
Brooklyn was in the spotlight
earlier this month as the
borough celebrated its second
annual Central Brooklyn Arts &
Culture Weekend.
Headlined by Borough President
Eric Adams, the event included a
special "Welcome Back to Brooklyn"
ceremony on Sunday, June 11, focused
around the debut of engraved pavers
along the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's
famed Celebrity Path. Also bestowed
that day were "keys to Brooklyn" to
multi-platinum hip-hop star Fabolous
and the late groundbreaking
abstract/neo-expressionist artist
Jean-Michel Basquiat, two world-famous
sons of the borough.
“Fabolous and Jean-Michel Basquiat
have shown the world the best
of Brooklyn — the sheer genius of
their respective music and art broke
ground and touched countless lives
around the world,” said Adams.
“What better way to celebrate their
many contributions, and the wonderful
artistic and cultural offerings
of central Brooklyn than by placing
Photo by Erica Sherman/Brooklyn Borough President’s Office
their names on the famed Celebrity
Path? Each paver is encircled by the
phrase, ‘The Greatness of Brooklyn Is
Its People.’ This is the essential spirit
of One Brooklyn, and the spirit of
our Central Brooklyn Arts & Culture
Weekend embodies that as well.”
This ceremony was just one of many
highlights of the family-friendly
weekend celebration, which took
place from Saturday, June 10 through
Sunday, June 11 along the stretch of
Eastern Parkway from Grand Army
Plaza to Washington Avenue.
Performers at the Central Brooklyn Arts & Culture Weekend.