Red Hook’s arts community is nothing if not defiant in the face of tragedy.
Nearly 13 months after a five-alarm fire scorched part of a historic Van Brunt Street warehouse, the Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood's open studios festival returned for its 11th year on October 10 and 11.
Some artists displaced by the fire have come back to the area too, moving into studios in nearby buildings closer to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. But the Civil War-era structure remained under a partial vacate order, with an unsightly green sidewalk shed surrounding part of the block just before the pier.
When festival co-coordinator Deborah Ugoretz distributed flyers promoting the event a few weeks ago, some residents told her they were surprised it was still happening.
“They assumed that all the artists and makers in Red Hook were affected by the fire, but there are still hundreds of makers and artists here,” Ugoretz, whose studio a few doors down avoided fire and water damage, told Hyperallergic.
