Mighty Real
- frida@artyardbklyn.org
- 6 days ago
- 13 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
We began the week in Advanced Studio on Zoom with Teaching artist Reg Lewis who used his recent visit to the Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum as the inspiration for his lesson titled, “Temporarily Permanent: Migration Toward Tranquility.”
Reg recaps: “Students were tasked with designing their own museums to serve as both gallery space for their artwork and sanctuary for retreat and restoration. The session essentially answers the question, how would you render a space that is at once inviting/worthy of migration and suitable to feature your life’s work? In the spirit of Noguchi’s “Playscapes,” students were also give the option to design sculpture driven playgrounds for children. With this sense of agency, the participants crafted and designed outcomes that were wonderful, exquisite, playful, and utterly fascinating.
Vyomika’s sketch depicts a meditative sanctuary centered around a prominent tree, creating a tranquil, Zen garden-like atmosphere. The space is illuminated by both natural daylight and overhead lighting integrated into column structures, enhancing its sense of calm and contemplation. It certainly serves as an invitation for peaceful migration, contemplation, and meditation.
Marilyn’s diorama envisions a playful playground enriched with a diverse range of materials and textures that actively invite children to explore and engage. A standout feature is the tree, which serves not only as a natural focal point but also as a display for artwork, reinforcing the space’s creativity and sense of discovery. The whimsical slides also take a page from Noguchi’s playful sense of form.
Pat’s 3D structure creates a warm, functional public space designed to support meetings and conferences. Smaller alcoves throughout the wave-like design encourage more intimate conversations, while the carpeting enhances comfort and acoustics through its sound-absorbing qualities. Drawing inspiration from concepts explored in the previous Art Yard remote session, the structure successfully functions as an inviting “third space” that fosters both collaboration and connection.
Pat Larash, Personal Gallery
Flo’s model envisions a dynamic, multi-level vertical space centered around a tree, represented by a twig that reinforces the museum’s organic character. The design features movable elements, including hydraulically adjustable floors that allow the space to transform. A particularly memorable feature is the basement level which houses an arrangement of drums designed to receive falling objects from the central tree to generate random percussion. His brief video demonstrates these innovations.
Florian Kiniffo-Neven du Mont, Personal Gallery (2 views) and in action video
Karla’s artwork uses collage elements to create a museum environment that thoughtfully explores the relationship between indoor and outdoor space. Viewed almost as if from above or from outer space, the floor plan reveals a structured, grid-like composition that seamlessly integrates organic forms with large-scale manufactured materials. The result is a compelling design that balances natural and built environments while inviting viewers to consider the connections between them.
Sigrid’s sketch adopts the format of a traditional floor plan, enhanced with conceptual annotations that clarify the relationships between architectural elements and the artworks displayed within the space. Her design highlights how everyday structural features of a room can serve as points of reference for artistic content, creating meaningful connections between form, function, and interpretation. For example, a wall outlet might be paired with artwork that evokes the idea of an emotional outlet or encourages “outward attention.” Through these thoughtful associations, the sketch invites viewers to consider how physical spaces and artistic experiences can reflect and reinforce one another.
Adji’s beautifully rendered sketch, inspired by a source photograph, depicts her place of happiness within a lush botanical garden beside a serene koi pond. The composition invites viewers into an enchanting and tranquil environment where nature, reflection, and imagination converge. Through the artwork, Adji appears as a mystical, goddess-like figure whose presence suggests a deep connection and quiet dialogue with the life and energy of the pond. The result is a captivating scene that conveys both wonder and a profound sense of belonging within the natural world.
Fisola’s three-dimensional form evokes the sense of a presence emerging from beyond the familiar world. The celadon structure suggests an intergalactic landscape or otherworldly canyon, inviting viewers into a space that feels both futuristic and mysterious. The curving and swirling violet and burgundy lines and dots create dynamic grid-like patterns, while gravity-defying origami figures attached to its walls enhance the sensation of entering an alternate realm. The result is an imaginative work that blends architecture, science fiction, and spatial exploration into a compelling visual experience.
Meridith’s video submission transforms her home into a gallery-like environment, inviting viewers to tour a layered world where paintings function as portals to other rooms, memories, and places of personal significance. These depicted spaces are echoed in meticulously crafted miniature recreations that faithfully preserve the details of the original interiors. By seamlessly integrating the miniatures with the surrounding environment, Meridith creates moments of visual ambiguity that pleasantly challenge perception, blurring the boundaries between representation and reality. The result is an immersive exploration of place and how we experience and reconstruct meaningful spaces.
Vee’s work combines poetic text and digital imagery to examine the concept of space, particularly as it relates to artistic practice and the economic realities that shape access to exhibition opportunities. Set within a digitally constructed white space, two figures occupy an environment that is intentionally sparse, prompting reflection on who is granted access to such spaces and who is excluded from them. The work invites viewers to imagine possibilities for shared creative experience, while drawing attention to the ways economic systems can influence participation in cultural life. The result is a thoughtful exploration of space, access, and collective imagination.
Leah’s watercolor floor plan envisions a conversation pit that appears submerged beneath a shallow surface of water, creating an atmosphere that is both moody and enigmatic. The composition balances muted tones with carefully placed accents, including a striking crimson seat that contrasts with the opposing rows of grey colored seats. Similarly, among the screens depicted in this work-in-progress, a forward-facing display glows with an intense amber hue, drawing the viewer’s attention and enhancing the sense of mystery. Together, these elements evoke the feeling of an exclusive gathering space—an intimate setting for thoughtful, elevated discourse within an immersive environment.
Reg’s floor plan is a detailed recreation of the storage room behind his classroom, a space he has transformed into both a working studio and exhibition gallery. The drawing carefully maps the placement of his artwork, functioning as a kind of graphic organizer that helps maximize the room’s limited size. Within the space, representational works, abstract “playgrounds,” and text-based charts that serve as personal lifestyle guidelines coexist in a thoughtfully curated arrangement. Reg described how both the intimate scale of the room and the selection of artworks support his concept of The Crawl Space—a retreat that offers reflection, creativity, and respite from the demands of his work as an educator within the Department of Education and the greater context of our relentlessly demanding globalized planet.
Overall, once given the mere suggestion of agency, each artist presented visions and the idea of sanctuary through the lens of imagination and personal experience, transforming the concept of the museum (and playground) into migration spaces for reflection, creativity, connection, and possibility.
Traveling in style!
On Tuesday, Advanced Studio in person at 180 Franklin Avenue, AYB Artist Ajani Russell led us in the creation of our own tour bus inspired by the iconic vehicle from Priscilla Queen of the Desert! Pride Ride for the tail end of the AYB Year of Migration. Alive with trees and plants, cats, dogs, sleepy-time lullabies, and more, our own tour buses were painted, cut, and constructed.
Examples from Ajani's presentation
Ajani sums up: “Bob created the ‘pretty bus,’ which was alive with a rooftop garden. ‘I’ve been on a lot of stinky buses lately,’ said Bob, saying that inspired her to create a bus she would like to travel in. She also complimented Jules’ puppy bus for its expressiveness.
Evelyn’s bus has trees on it. ‘I like to be in the woods,’ they mentioned. It incorporates imagery that suggests sustainability or eco-friendly modes of transportation and brings the energy of nature outside to the vehicle. There were many people on Evelyn’s bus, which we saw through how they drew people in the windows. Evelyn complimented the different ways everyone approached 3D construction.
Evelyn Beliveau, Bus with Trees
TJ created the ‘travel bus,’ which featured countries that she has traveled to. The flags of those countries were strung along the outside of the bus. TJ complimented Meridith’s glitter bus, saying that although it was on the smaller side compared to the group’s, its detail made it very impactful.
Vee created a rendering of a partial view of an MTA bus with eyes in the windows. They talked about the idea of art being in small, nontraditional art spaces—such as a bus—and where it would be placed. They also mentioned the different kinds of advertisements on buses and how those spaces could be used for art.
Renee’s pink bus was inspired by the swirling, brightly colored jacket she wore that day and also by the fact that pink is her favorite color. The bus featured sand dunes, hinting at her love for the desert, and a nod to Georgia O’Keeffe’s ombré color schemes. Renee’s love of the moon and Sailor Moon was highlighted by the decorative, shiny gold moon that adorned the top of the bus.
Rocky noted the watercolor paper was reminiscent of the paper used at her elementary school, which was significant because it had no hard edges—only soft corners. She said the soft corners conceptually evoked feelings of love, making the connection between softness and tenderness. Her drag bus was directly inspired by visuals from Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Miranda Priestly’s hair in The Devil Wears Prada. She asked herself, ‘How can I make this bus a diva?’ as she was making it, and that definitely shows. Rocky said Renee’s piece reminds them of tarot cards.
Kevin said he was thinking about his trip to Jamaica while working on his piece. He included the flowers and greenery native to the land. He complimented the cultural representation on TJ’s bus.
Jules’ bus has similar construction to her puppet from her recent class. The dog bus opens up to reveal a luxe interior complete with a tiger-skin rug. She was inspired by the show Banana Splits from 1968 and My Neighbor Totoro’s anthropomorphic Catbus. She was very invested in the comfort of the furniture.
Jules Lorenzo, Dog Bus (outside/inside)
Sebastien created a yellow magical school bus that also seemed to double as a spaceship. He thought about being on tour and the monotony of getting from one place to another and questioned how he would make it more fun. His answer was the Magic School Bus, also inspired by the childhood TV show The Magic School Bus.
Briana painted a sleepy elephant bus because she was feeling very sleepy, and elephants remind her of sleep. The colors reflected the peaceful and quiet atmosphere needed for sleeping. Briana said the way Kevin painted his bus reminds her of the Studio Ghibli art style.
Chris included angel wings on his bus—a symbol from his childhood that is recurrent in his art. He said he focused more on the physical construction of the bus.
Chris Allen, Bus with Angel Wings
Meridith’s piece shows her cat Lola wearing a shawl atop her bus; the fabric is blowing in the wind like that of the Priscilla bus. The patterns are inspired by blankets Lola was lying on and under while Meridith was working on the piece. She told the story of the sparkly, feathery hula-hoop van that AYB friend Jana toured in throughout Europe and how they serendipitously found each other in Lisbon, Portugal.
Delanny made the rainbow bus that incorporated hearts and many windows.
Dylan made a school bus in anticipation of traveling to Philly with his school on a field trip this week. It features his school logo and is very detailed.”
Use arrows to scroll photos of class at work.
Dennis writes: “I went out to PS 6 (our ART YARD Art Matters partnership school in Jersey City) on Tuesday to tie up some knots after our exhibit opening last week. The school is hosting tours of the gallery throughout this week and our expert docents are "on call" when visitors arrive. I know they will all be great.
For several years, I've been planning to coordinate a project with Bobby, the chess coach at PS 6, and I think next year will finally be the right time. He and I chatted about it - and I met with Jackie, the school nurse who is also the knitting club instructor - and she and I discussed collarating on a project. We have a lot of ideas which need to be ironed out to make them all work and we plan to be in communication over the summer.
I noticed a really lovely note from Nadene Bracken (the PS 6 librarian and a gigantic advocate of ART YARD's) in our guest book, which I hadn't seen last Friday. Thanks, Mrs. Bracken!”
AYB Artist Evelyn Beliveau reports: “On Wednesday at ART YARD Art Matters at PS 17, Dennis, Nick, and I (Evelyn) installed the end-of-year art exhibition and worked with an excellent team of Grade 7 docents-in-training. The exhibition opens next Wednesday, June 17, so we had a busy day!
The exhibition features the projects that all of our classes (Grades 1, 2, 4, and 7) worked on during the spring. We chose a sampling of student work from each project to fit in the space provided in the school library, basing our curatorial choices on the completeness of each artwork and the overall breadth of the exhibition—aiming to showcase the variety of student responses to each lesson, rather than making value judgments of students’ work. We would install every piece if we could!
Gold Finch installation
Our exhibition space consists of five bookcases adjacent to the mural completed by Teaching Artist Gia Gutierrez last year. We installed nine projects within the bookcases (left to right, top to bottom within each bookcase): Road to the Horizon (Grade 7), Snow Tracks (Grades 1 and 2), Exploring Outer Space (Grades 4 and 7), Jazz Collages (Grades 1 and 2), Shoes: On the Grid (Grade 4), Schools of Fish (Grades 1 and 2), The Migration Series: Collages after Jacob Lawrence (Grade 7), Cars on the Street (Grades 1 and 2), and Women’s History Month Portraits (Grades 1 and 2).
While I finished up installing those projects, Nick got to work on Grade 4’s project Goldfinch in Flight: The State Bird of New Jersey. He created loops of fishing line and suspended each papier-mâché sculpture from a paper tree painted last week by Grade 4 students. The result is a flock of birds caught in midair among the branches.
Meanwhile, Dennis met with this year’s docents, Grade 7 students Nyala, Morgan, Ryam, Ambrielle, Ryan, and King. The students arrived in high spirits and did a great job; while at first a bit self-conscious or giggly in front of their peers, each student rose to the occasion. Dennis explained what it is to be a docent and provided each student with a packet of information on each lesson in the exhibit, especially useful for the projects that these students didn’t work on. Each student took a turn improvising an off-the-cuff explanation of all eleven projects! They expressed themselves eloquently, practiced maintaining eye contact and holding the audience’s attention, and were already starting to memorize the medium and artistic inspiration for each project so they’ll be ready to answer visitor questions during the exhibition opening.
Dennis at work docent training
As the students were practicing, I installed one last project—a sampling of life-size puppets from the Women’s History Month project, Grades 4 and 7—and then jumped in to participate in docent training. I’m very proud of these 7th Graders, and it will be great to see them shine after they’ve worked so hard throughout the spring.”
Other Art News
Congratulations to AYB Board President Tangie Murray who was honored by District 15 for being one of the remarkable people making the greatest impact in fostering family partnership and community in schools.
Tangie pictured with Leah Ruggiero MS839 Parent Coordinator, and Asst Principal Dana Lawit
Kudos to AYB Artist & Board Member Ajani Russell on the premiere of their new film Hallowarrior at Tribeca Film Festival. Ajani plays a character named Wendy in this newly released post-apocalyptic Halloween film.
Photo from the premier and Ajani in costume
Congratulations to AYB Artist Free Inside who has a song included in Dark/Light through MEANS a community-led magazine for independent music, writing and art. Click here to listen to Track 11: Free Inside, Do You Wanna.
Exhibitions to See
Ajani and I (Meridith) recommend two Brooklyn exhibitions currently on view: AYB Supporter Jennifer McGregor, Charting the Narrows & The Harbor at Stand4 Gallery and Community Art Space in Bay Ridge though June 27, 2026, and AYB Board Member Cecile Chong, BROKEN CHINA at Old Stone House in Park Slope through June 14, 2026.
Charting the Narrows & The Harbor, a solo installation by Jennifer Jo McGregor at Stand4 Gallery and Community Arts Space, had us moving in close to peer at the materials and miniscule map notations! Working with collected materials including fabric, journal pages and maps which have been cut, woven, painted and covered in encaustic, the work considers the evolving relationship between landscape, place, and personal experience along New York Harbor. Jennifer graciously answered our questions about the work, and shared the experiences, such as a residency at the Women’s Studio Workshop, which opened her process up to working in new materials.
Installation photos by Meridith McNeal and Ajani Russell
BROKEN CHINA, a two-person exhibition by Tao Leigh Goffe and Cecile Chong at the Old Stone House in Park Slope marks the U.S. debut of this collaborative exhibition exploring histories of migration, exclusion, and belonging through the lens of the Chinese diaspora. We loved Cecile Chong’s broken ceramics, and photographs which trace connections between China, Ecuador, Macau, and beyond. Drawing from family archives, textiles, collage, and installation, the exhibition offers a powerful meditation on memory, identity, and the stories that survive across generations. Cecile’s sense of style and art-inspired playful fashion really impressed us and insured that the work is imbued with a great sense of fun!
Installation photos by Meridith McNeal and Ajani Russell
AYB Artist Jacob Rath recommends Gabriela Lena Frank’s remarkably accomplished first opera, “El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego” (“The Last Dream of Frida and Diego”), with a libretto by Nilo Cruz at the Metropolitan Opera.
Jacob enthuses: “It was incredible! A true delight for anyone who is familiar with both Frida Kahlo’s and Diego Rivera’s art, and their relationship. Both of their works are vividly repainted on the stage. The opera relieves the emotions felt by these two, struggling to figure out whose story is being told. How is this both a love story and a story of agony? An uncomfortable thing for people to comprehend, especially when we live in times like this.
I loved looking at the fashions of people in the crowd. So many flowery dresses. Frida is a true style icon for both women and queers. She’s always been an icon for me. She knows how to be whimsical and honest at the same time.
I am still struggling to articulate my thoughts on the Frida and Diego opera. There was just so much to process, both in the opera itself and in the ritual experience of going to the opera.”
Opportunities
AYB Artist Lilo Lewis writes: “I invite you to join me for Stardust & Shadows: A Sunset Social, a conversation about death/what happens after on Thursday 6/18 @7pm . Here’s the link to register.”
Comments