Call it Coney Island Hospital Gallery.
Paint slingers and mixed-media maestros from around the city hung their art at the venerable hospital on July 24 as part of an installation organized by the Brooklyn Streetcar Artists Group. For many members, the exhibition, called “City Heat,” is an opportunity to show off their work outside of their normal venues.
“It’s how we get our exposure and get to know people in different communities,” said Clarence Moore, Jr., a Canarsie artist who joined the group in 2011.
The group artists has been hanging their work at the medical center for five years, filling a gap in local access to the fine arts, the hospital’s executive director said.
“As far as Southern Brooklyn goes, we are it,” said Arthur Melnick. “There’s nothing else where we are — there are no fine arts in the area.”
In addition to bringing art to the neighborhood, the group aims to give creative types a platform, and membership only costs $50 a year — which Melnick said is a bargain for access to gallery space.
“That’s pretty reasonable, considering no hanging or submission fees,” he said. “You see some commissions paid to galleries, and its outrageous — these artists put all their effort into creating works and everyone else is profiting from it.”
“City Heat” at Coney Island Hospital [2601 Coney Island Avenue between Avenue Z and Manor Court in Gravesend]. Through Sept. 30. Free.
