Art in the Park: ARTELFEST Livens Up the McCarren Block Party
Written by T.K. Mills
McCarren Park is the spiritual heart of North Brooklyn, and on any given day you’re likely to see picnics, frisbees, joggers, and cute dogs, among other natural habitant of the green commons. However on August 3rd, McCarren got something more unique to celebrate it’s first annual block party – live painting.
The Block Party was a collaborative event established by a number of municipal political constituents, institutions, and grass-roots delegations in conjunction with ARTELFEST, with the aim of making the ‘Driggs Passage’ an open street plaza, all the time. The Driggs Passage refers to the strip of Driggs Avenue that bisects the park; normally it is a road for cars, but there is a growing movement to convert the connective corridor it to be a permanent pedestrian byway.
Despite the threat of rain, the weather held sunny throughout the hours of 10am-4pm when the event took place, as if the universe itself approved the move. Up and down the avenue, artists of all varieties had set up shop, planting their easels with brushes like branches budding new ideas. Rich Ramsay, founder and creative director of ARTELFEST, had enlisted over a host of live painters (plus poets, dancers, and other alternative types of creatives) to bring a bit of art to the North Brooklyn heart. Providing vibes through-out the day was Soul Summit, a Brooklyn-based DJ collective known for their elevated aura and blissful beats – a key element of the event’s atmosphere that ARTELFEST worked to ensure. “Having Soul Summit here, is something major” Ramsay emphasized.
Kevin LaCherra, a 4th generation Greenpointer and community activist who focuses his energy on street safety and environmental justice, was a key figure coordinating the block party. “People have been discussing this space for a long time. McCarren Park is a 36-acre lot that’s divided by a number of roads, that cut up this beautiful park with dangerous traffic. And so, people have been wanting to change that. This was accomplished over on Union, where the Green Market is. And now there is an effort to bring that all together here.”
LaCherra and Ramsay had worked together before on a street shutdown, over at Memorial Gore in Williamsburg on a weekend in early June 2024. While of a smaller scale, the project was a huge success, and that success invited something more grandiose. “The Memorial Gore event was phenomenal, so we said let’s do a bigger one,” LaCherra explained. “So in cooperation with our elected officials and the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance, a few other amazing civic and community groups, and ARTELFEST, we made this happen.”
Ramsay, “It’s been a long road of building connections with artists, but I’m grateful it came together. It’s amazing. I’m insanely grateful for all the artists. I couldn’t do it without them and their support.”
Explaining the curation process, Ramsay told UP that they maintain a database with thousands of submissions that they’ve been collecting over the past few years. Browsing this network, Ramsay will go through and see whose work seems like the best fit and reach out to see if they were interested. “That’s why I always tell people to submit to our open call, even if we don’t have any shows coming up immediately, we’ll keep you in mind for the future.” For the McCarren Block Party, ARTELFEST provided free paint and canvases to artists, to assist in their creative output. Artists were free to sell their work, and keep the cut.
Exploring the passage, I spoke with a number of artists about their works and thoughts on the block party.
June1One was painting a woman ‘stuck interdimensionally.’ The artist explained, “I’m a vivid and lucid dreamer – I’ve been document my dreams going back 15 years. I’ll write down whatever I dream. Then sometimes I’ll paint from what I remember.” On what brought him to volunteer his day painting at the park, June said, “it’s a beautiful day. And it’s just a good vibe, being out here with good people, around fellow creatives. I feel like I’m at home.” June brought home with him as well – his wife and children had come by to support and enjoy the day.
Further down the road, Hillary ‘Hava’ Mizrachi and Rosa Guadalupe were collaborating on a large canvas. The two were painting vibrant yellow and blue piece, adorned in the center by a mermaid. “My palette is based off primaries, with some accents like beige which give it a feminine touch,” Mizrachi elaborated. After noticing they were both on the roster, Mizrachi had asked Guadalupe if she wanted to paint next to each other, to which she countered with the idea of doing a collaboration.
Despite the challenges of the day, both artists were excited to be creating in the street. “It’s hot but it’s fun,” Guadalupe said with a laugh. Mizrachi added, “There’s always a challenge to painting in the elements, you’ve got the heat with paints drying fast. Dealing with the wind, sometimes bits of nature get blown into the canvas but that’s the beauty off of the process. But I love the block party energy! You’ve got music, you’ve got artists, you’ve got craftspeople. All the lively aspects of Brooklyn.”
Elsewhere on the other end of the strip, Ryla Louise aka Ryla the Creator and Lili Rochelle two recurring collaborators of ARTELFEST were posted up by the HQ tent. Under separate trees, they had each individually found inspiration for their paintings in nature.
“Rich reached out to me, and I loved the creative energy at the Chelsea show, so I came out here to live paint and teach a workshop. Today I’m working on these little dancing trees!” Lili said with exuberance. “Lately I’ve been doing this series of incorporating mother nature in here female form, and so it’s amazing to paint under this big old birch tree in the park!”
“We first synced up via Instagram,” Ryla said, speaking of when she first connected with ARTELFEST, “Rich reached out to me and it was just a nice surprise.” “I love painting out here, though I’m just hoping I don’t get burnt,” she said with a laugh. Continuing, she explained, “We’re out here under a lot of trees, thankfully. I don’t know what I’m working on yet, but I’m feeling inspired by nature, and trying to channel some feminine energy.
Other artists like Katya Goltseva, Luca Goly, and Keilley Banks expressed similar sentiments of the blessed feeling of painting freely in the park, even if meant battling the wind and elements at times. “It’s a new concept to me, but I really love it!” Goltseva said, as she displayed her triptych modeled on Past, Present, and Future, which were inspire by floral ornaments. “Weather is always something to think about [when painting outdoors], you have to stay hydrated. I’ve painted outside a bit during the summer, and you have to be ready for the wind,” Banks told me as placed a zip-tie on her easel to steady it against gusts.
Even with the challenges of the day, there was a joyous spirit that radiated across the park. Camille Curtis, a casual attendee of the block party expressed to me, “it’s really good energy, a lot of people out. A lot of interesting paintings, and interesting dynamics. I just think this is something great for Brooklyn.”
The good vibrations carried on through the day, as people embraced the sunshine, music, and art. I learned, near the end of the day that the occasion had a particular resonance with Ramsay, the ARTELFEST founder. Beyond being a major boon for his company, it also happened to be his birthday. When asked his feeling on the matter, he summarized the day; “It’s wild. I don’t want to make it about me, because it isn’t. ARTEL is about Art everyone loves. It’s about community and bringing people together. But I am grateful, I feel like the universe has given me a little birthday present. It’s definitely one of the best I’ve had, and the most memorable.” Ramsay said with a smile.
There’s more on the horizon for ARTELFEST. Ramsay has already secured another block party event for November 3rd, and is prepping for the next international show in London this Septmeber.
T.K. Mills is the Editor-in-Chief of UP Magazine, a street art publication based in New York City. After receiving a Master’s Degree in Global Affairs, he discovered a love for graffiti while backpacking through Cuba and pursued life as a writer. Outside of UP, T.K. enjoys writing poetry, personal travel essays, and occasionally short stories. His work has been published in The Smart Set, The Vignette Review, Genre Urban Arts, and Eternal Remedy among others. Beyond art, T.K. loves reading and traveling.
