For the third year, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) is inviting Brooklyn-based creatives to submit designs for a fence-line public art installation to be displayed in front of Building 3 along Flushing Avenue between Clermont and Adelphi streets from mid-May to early November 2026.
The request for proposals (RFP) is open until Nov. 2. Inspired by the theme “Brooklyn Forged,” artists are encouraged to blend historic and contemporary narratives that reflect the Yard’s industrial legacy and Brooklyn’s ongoing ingenuity, while celebrating the skills, materials and entrepreneurial spirit that have shaped the borough’s identity through industrial innovation.
Carli Beseau, vice president of public engagement for BNYDC, told Brooklyn Paper the installation offers an opportunity for BNYDC to connect more deeply with the community while giving local creatives a platform to showcase their work.
The call is open to artists who work for a business at the Brooklyn Navy Yard — including current full- or part-time employees and business owners — or who live in Brooklyn.
“We have so many amazing creatives on our campus. Creativity defines Brooklyn, so it’s really this great opportunity. We’re hoping to get proposals from both those who work at the Navy Yard, but also Brooklyn-based creatives, and really start to more intentionally message that it’s not just the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It’s really our Brooklyn Navy Yard,” Beseau said.
BNY will celebrate its 225th anniversary in 2026, and the theme “Brooklyn Forged” pays homage to the borough’s ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit.
Creatives are encouraged to submit proposals that explore the intersection of labor, culture and economics, and demonstrate how Brooklyn continues to forge its identity through creativity and industry — honoring the workers, makers and innovators who sustain its cultural and economic vitality.
Beseau said she looks forward to seeing how Brooklynites interpret the theme — through history or the future, realistic or abstract — using a variety of materials. Because the artwork will be installed along the fence line, she noted, artists have the chance to design something big and bold while exploring three-dimensionality.
“We really want to give creatives the opportunity to really tap into this idea of how we were forged, how we continue to be forged, and how we’re forging ahead,” Beseau said.
Since the Navy Yard is home to hundreds of artist studios, BNYDC recognizes the value of the creative economy and the contributions of artistic ingenuity.
“Art has a wonderful quality. It can transform space. It can foster community dialog, celebrate innovation, and create an opportunity for us to continue supporting the artists,” Beseau said.
A selection committee composed of BNYDC staff and external art, architecture and design specialists will choose the finalist.
“We really try to bring a nice mix of experts to the table who are thinking about creative placemaking, urban planning and creativity, and how they all orbit around community engagement, really creating an opportunity that Brooklynites [and] people going up and down Flushing [Avenue] can really enjoy,” Beseau said.
To learn more about the 2026 Brooklyn Forged RFP, interested creatives can visit the BNYDC website.
