Proposed Public Art Installation Would Light Up Brooklyn Queens Expressway
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) - It's not nearly so grandiose as the waterfall under the Brooklyn Bridge, but the Artists Build Collaborative wants to add light and color to a pedestrian area under the Brooklyn Queens Expressway in Brooklyn.
The "Silent Lights" project already has received a $5,000 grant from the New York City Department of Transportation, but needs at least $15,000 more to make the project a reality.
The project can only go forward if it meets its pledge goal by February 11.
The temporary installation would be located under the BQE on the median of 9th Street and Hamilton Avenue, which is one of the few paths connecting Red Hook to the the G subway stop - its nearest mass transit site, and link to the rest of the borough.
It would be interactive art. The gates under the roadway would react to whatever sound is around it, particularly the roadways overhead and on the sides, with lights intensifying depending on what the computer processes.
"'Silent Lights' is a project that takes a busy intersection at Red Hook and puts a light installation that makes it safer," said project member Michelle Brick.
LINK: Donate To The Project
The hope is that the project, which would be in place for about a year, would help to rejuvenate the area and make it a safer place to be. Right now, this isn't even a path many would feel safe walking on at night.
The Artists Build Collaborative is working with the local group Red Hook Initiative, as well as the IT firm Control Group, on the project, both of which will use the project as part of their efforts to educate as well as inspire an interest in design, technology, and physical computing in local teenagers.
To make a donation to the project visit its Kickstarter page.
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