Last week, a five-alarm fire swept through a warehouse complex along the Red Hook waterfront. The blaze at 481 Van Brunt Street, which started late the night of Wednesday, September 17, and continued to burn well through Thursday, September 18, severely damaged five buildings, housing dozens of galleries, shops, and studios for literally hundreds of artists and business owners who have not yet been cleared to return to their spaces and take inventory of precisely what’s been lost.
On Friday, September 18, even before anyone was able to actually tally their damages, a general fund was launched on GoFundMe for both artists and businesses impacted by the fire, which has brought in roughly $160,000. But, as noted, loads of artists used the warehouses to work on, keep, or show their pieces (more than 500 artists were storing work in the warehouse for a show last weekend), who have now reached out to their neighbors and across the borough to help them salvage what’s left of their work or entirely rebuild. Dedicated campaigns have been launched for Hot Wood Arts, 9D Studios, Ain’t Wet, and Art Yard. The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, a non-profit arts group running a gallery out of one of the devastated buildings, has also started a fund. Vintage furniture store Lanoba (completely destroyed in the fire) has a campaign running, as does hi-fi audio component dealer Resolution A/V, and the Red Hook Business Alliance has collected links to some of the other funds that have launched in the last few days. See them all here.
We’ll also update this page with links as they surface in the days ahead.
Beyond donating to all or any of these collectives and businesses, many are looking for volunteers to help them go through what’s left of their respective spaces. Reach out to them directly if you want to lend a hand.
The post How to Help Artists and Businesses Impacted by The Red Hook Warehouse Fire appeared first on BKMAG.
