Bay Ridge

Fontbonne student selected for Storefront Art Walk

April 11, 2017 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Fontbonne senior Lauren Silverman will be among the talented artists whose work will be displayed on Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge during the Storefront Art Walk exhibition. Photo courtesy of Fontbonne Hall Academy
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A talented young artist from Fontbonne Hall Academy is getting the chance to bring her work to a larger audience thanks to a new partnership between her school and the organizers of an outdoor art exhibition on Bay Ridge’s Fifth Avenue.

Lauren Silverman will be taking part in the Eighth Annual Fifth Avenue Storefront Art Walk (SAW), a groundbreaking exhibition featuring artists creating works tailored to specific stores.

SAW organizers are teaming up with the Fontbonne Hall Academy Fine and Practical Arts Department to provide students with the opportunity to showcase their talents and work alongside established artists participating in the show.

SAW will take place on Fifth Avenue from May 13 to June 11.

Dozens of store owners are participating in this year’s exhibition, permitting their front windows to be turned into canvases for imaginative artists who will create artworks unique to those stores.

Artists work with a variety of visual media to present individual art projects in storefront windows.

The participating artists are selected by a panel of curators, arts administrators and artists. The members of the jury included Annelie McGavin, of Cheim and Read; Michael David of David and Schweitzer Contemporary; Katherine Toukhy, 2015 SAW artist; Joseph Shahadi, 2016 SAW Artist and Co-Founder/Executive Director of The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival; and Sophia Chizuco, 2016 SAW Artist.

Several Fontbonne students submitted proposals to the SAW judges this year, according to school officials, who said the panel selected Silverman, a senior, for inclusion in the 2017 show.

Silverman’s project will focus on the ever-changing nature of human communication, school officials said. Silverman, who will graduate from Fontbonne in June, plans to attend the Macaulay Honors College at the College of Staten Island in September.

Located at 9901 Shore Road in Bay Ridge, Fontbonne Hall Academy is a Catholic high school for girls.

To celebrate Silverman’s achievement, the school is inviting art lovers not only to attend the SAW opening on May 13, but to come to the school for the academy’s Art Show.

The Art Show will be held from 1 to 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, plans are already underway for this year’s SAW, which is presented with assistance from the Bay Ridge Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) and other sponsors.

In addition to Silverman, the artists selected by the judges to take part in this year’s exhibition are Henrietta Audu, Lara Attalah, Erin Dodge, Maureen Drennan, Jennifer Grimyser, Eri Honda, Maura Falfan and BerdsCarnival (in collaboration), Eirini Linardaki, Matice McMillan, Iviva Olenick, Quimetta Perle, Bethany Robertson, Linda Rolon, Kazue Taguchi and Rosemary Taylor.

SAW was founded by Heather Hamilton, owner of Long’s Wines and Liquors on Fifth Avenue and a member of the BID’s board of directors, and artist John Avelluto. The two also created a website devoted to the art show, bayridgesaw.org.

“Our goal is to support and promote emerging and mid-career Brooklyn artists while celebrating Bay Ridge businesses,” a statement on the website reads.

 

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