The artist community in Red Hook has a history of resilience in the face of significant disasters.
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy brought catastrophic flooding, leaving the coastal enclave of Brooklyn under five feet of water and devoid of electricity for an extended period. In response, local artists organized benefit exhibitions featuring artwork damaged by the storm. Following the devastation, some artists initiated an open studios event to honor their tenacity.
Recently, just weeks ahead of the event’s 10th anniversary, a five-alarm blaze swept through a historic warehouse from the 19th century, destroying numerous artist studios and businesses. Many artists lost decades of creations as their workplaces were consumed by flames. Others were concerned about the potential mold damage to their artworks, which had been exposed to seawater after firefighters extinguished the fire.
Community members rushed to set up online fundraising initiatives and assisted in relocating artists affected by the fire. Nevertheless, there was never any question that the anniversary celebration would proceed.
“I never even considered cancelling it, not for a second,” remarked Deborah Ugoretz, co-founder of the Red Hook Open Studios, to Hyperallergic. “We have over 40 studios participating and a sculpture garden to commemorate our anniversary.”
This weekend, on October 11 and 12, art enthusiasts braved rainy conditions and a possible offshore nor’easter to explore various art venues beneath the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.
The section of the Van Brunt Street property that once served as a hub for Open Studios remains closed as investigations into the fire’s cause continue. In its place, the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition and Hot Wood Arts assembled a temporary exhibit featuring works from 50 artists at Swan Club, a newly opened yoga studio located above the Red Hook Cidery and Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pie shop.
This exhibition included works curated from artists’ homes and other locations, as many items from studios had been destroyed or were undergoing mold treatment at Pier 11, courtesy of volunteer art restorers.
Ethan Cornell, a resident artist at Hot Wood Arts, showcased a large oil painting titled “Heroes.” He recalled how he was framing works for a show the night the fire broke out when he heard strange sounds from the carpentry studio overhead. At 11:30 PM, he spotted smoke curling into the air and shouted, “Fire!” as he hurriedly exited the building.
“It had a burning smell, but nothing like campfire smoke,” he described. “I managed to grab only my studio keys as I fled.”
Carolyn Sheehan displayed three mixed-media pieces of handmade paper dresses on canvases from her studio in Roscoe, New York, which served as prototypes for a larger project. She was troubled over the loss of full-sized versions she had stored in Red Hook. “Paper dresses don’t withstand fire or water,” she lamented.
The fire was a constant topic of conversation at other local art venues. Leo Tecosky, a sculptor and glassblower, had shifted his studio out of the Token furniture showroom, located in the Van Brunt Street building, to Pier Glass earlier in April. He expressed relief that his new location only experienced a brief power outage.
Elaine Young’s studio also escaped both fire and water damage. She remarked on her feelings of devastation, saying it left her “speechless, shocked, and so saddened.” Throughout the weekend, she engaged with visiting art enthusiasts while altering black dress shirts she had produced in Midtown by adding words banned during the Trump administration.
The festival served as a spotlight on the challenges faced by artists beyond just South Brooklyn. To date, the Red Hook Business Alliance, which advocates for neighborhood businesses and artists, has successfully raised over $186,000, while two other arts organizations have each garnered close to $40,000.
Megan Suttles, the founder of Hot Wood Arts and co-coordinator of Red Hook Open Studios, struggled to come to terms with the extent of the losses. She had lost two decades’ worth of artwork in the fire and recently participated in saving pieces from the Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition’s flooded exhibition space, all while clad in goggles, gloves, and a hazmat suit.
“I’m still processing everything and can’t quite grasp what occurred,” she admitted. “It’s just so overwhelming. People have asked us to create some drawings, but I don’t even have pencils or paper. All of our supplies are gone.”
