Opening Reception and Performance: June 9, 6-9pm
The Olympia Project
87 Grand Street, Brooklyn, NY
The Olympia Project is pleased to present Broken Windows, a solo exhibition by New York-based interdisciplinary artist Justin Sterling.
What is the economic cost to society of one broken window? As cities evolve around us, broken and discarded windows can symbolize growth, new construction, change, upward mobility, but also the loss of authenticity through the displacement of most of the previous community members. For many, one broken window is a sign that no one cares, therefore breaking more windows costs nothing. In New York City, broken windows come with the additional context of “broken windows policing,” a policy intended to make existing communities feel safer by reducing “nuisance crime;” that is maintaining public order at the lowest levels to improve the overall sense of safety and security in the community. In New York, as in many other cities, the application of this practice was very different in reality, leading to the arrest and incarceration of innumerable young men of color, and to other notoriously racist police practices such as stop and frisk, turnstile and graffiti laws, and the bolstering of the war on drugs. Does fixing the small crime fix the big crime? These policies and tactics forever changed the landscape and history of the city and specifically here, in Williamsburg. What does it mean to lose an entire neighborhood, an entire community?
Light refreshments will be served.
Free and open to all. RSVP requested.
