Two Artsy October Weekends: Dumbo + Gowanus

This weekend and next will feature two of the Brooklyn art events we most look forward to every year. Coincidentally, both are celebrating their tenth anniversaries. We're talking about the Dumbo Under the Bridge Festival, which runs from October 13-15, and the Annual Gowanus Artists Studio Tour (AGAST), which will take place October 20-21.

Both nabes have changed radically in the decade these events have been taking place, so much so that there is concern that the community of artists in Dumbo is rapidly diminishing because of the influx of million-dollar condo buyers and offices. The Gowanus artists population is not as threatened. Yet. A decade ago there were 15 artists on the studio tour; today there are more than 120.

In any case, the Dumbo Festival starts Friday evening and includes a huge number of performances, street theater and open artists' studios. The website for the event is here at the Dumbo Arts Center's website and the full schedule is on this page of the site. "Project Glow," with night illuminations in Brooklyn Bridge Park should be especially cool. Dumbo NYC also have a nice item with links about the festival.

Next weekend, AGAST takes center stage. It offers open houses at a large number of artist's studios and will run from 1-6PM both days. You can find the Gowanus Artists website here and a map of all the participating locations (some of which are actually in Park Slope and Carroll Gardens). Brooklyn Ramblings posted an item about AGAST yesterday, and thoughtfully included some links to some of the street art you can find around Gowanus.

Both events are excellent. We especially like all the outdoor performances and performance art that is part of the Dumbo Festival. (See above. You just don't get the opportunity to shoot many photos like that.) They're also reminders of what Brooklyn stands to lose if artists continue being gentrified out of nabes like Dumbo and Gowanus.