Creating a Coalition: on the 25th Anniversary of The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition
Leon Nicholas Kalas
The art work I have chosen for the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition’s 25th Anniversary Preview Art Exhibition does not and should not have any directions, given the diversity of individual artists who have participated. My intentions as a curator were to exhibit artists whose work deserved to be highlighted in a public forum. I see my job as a curator to be a form of agent for the artists, but also as sparing partner, critic, tour manager, press officer, and admirer. Often I made propositions concerning a show, but am happy that this show has taken a completely different turn. Artists have the potential to bend the rules; if they get predictable, the suspense is gone.
Art operates in a sphere within society, a space of freedom, of critical revision, of questioning, of argument, hope, experience, reflection…it is the role of the artists to occupy and bring life to this space. This is a global challenge and responsibility, this importance of maintaining artistic independence and freedom should always have first priority.
