Three New Installations Along Flushing Avenue Showcase Artists at Every Stage of Creative Development

 

Brooklyn, N.Y. (June 17, 2026) – The Brooklyn Navy Development Corporation (BNYDC) today announced its 2026 Public Art Commissions, a trio of temporary installations that will transform Flushing Avenue from mid-May through early November 2026. Anchored by the theme of Brooklyn as a place shaped by creativity, industry, entrepreneurship and community, the commissions – BUILD THE FUTURE, Brooklyn: Layered Lenses and Brooklyn Becomes – advance BNYDC’s Public Art Program mission to activate public space, create welcoming entry points to the Yard and support the development of creative talent across multiple career stages. On June 4, BNYDC celebrated the art installations with an event that brought together more than 70 local artists, visitors, entrepreneurs, and community members.

“Brooklyn has always been defined by the ingenuity of its people, from makers and entrepreneurs to artists and innovators,” said Lindsay Greene, President and CEO of BNYDC. “Through our Public Art Program, we are creating opportunities for artists at every stage of their careers to engage with the public realm while celebrating the creativity, industry, and entrepreneurial spirit that continue to shape Brooklyn’s future. These installations enhance Flushing Avenue, while reinforcing the Navy Yard’s role as a place where creativity and innovation thrive.”

BNYDC’s Public Art Program builds on a series of successful public-facing art initiatives launched over the past six years. Beginning in 2020 with temporary installations in Buildings 77 and 92 and followed by the 2021 Atmosphere for Invention photo mesh installation stretching nearly three-quarters of a mile along Flushing Avenue, these projects laid the groundwork for the formal launch of the Public Art Program in 2023.

Now in its third year, BNYDC’s Public Art Program reflects Brooklyn’s unique creative and industrial identity while positioning the Brooklyn Navy Yard as a hub for innovation, artistic expression, and creative placemaking. The 2026 commissions support artists ranging from high school students exploring careers in the arts to graduate-level practitioners looking to launch their careers to established professional artists expanding their portfolios. Student projects were organized by invitation of the Brooklyn Navy Yard while works by professional artists were submitted through a competitive, juried open call process in late 2025. All three commissions created opportunities for artistic growth, public visibility and community engagement.

This year’s selection committee for the open call was composed of public art and public space experts from the Center for Brooklyn History/Brooklyn Public Library, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC Department of Transportation, and Recess.

“Public art imbues our open spaces with a sense of play, curiosity, and wonder, something that all three of these new installations bring to the Brooklyn Navy Yard,” said Kendal Henry, Assistant Commissioner for Public Art at the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. “With installations from students and working artists alike, the range of media and ideas on display here shows the many exciting ways that artists can approach working in the public realm and helps to cultivate the next generation of great public artists in our city.”

“When we transform public infrastructure through art, we create opportunities for communities to foster a stronger sense of place, identity, and connection where they live, work, and learn,” said Mike Flynn, Commissioner at the NYC Department of Transportation. “We are proud to support the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s commitment to welcoming artists to reimagine everyday public spaces and grateful to the Department of Cultural Affairs for their partnership in bringing this vision to life.”

Art installations at the Navy Yard include:

BUILD THE FUTURE, by Peter Miller

Selected through the open call Brooklyn Forged, inviting Brooklyn-based artists to examine this theme and how labor, material innovation, and entrepreneurial drive have shaped the borough’s industrial and cultural identity, BUILD THE FUTURE spans 350 feet along the fence line in front of Building 3 between Clermont Avenue and Adelphi Street.

“The Brooklyn Navy Yard gave me the opportunity to create a work at a scale that would not otherwise have been possible,” said BUILD THE FUTURE artist and architect Peter Miller. Equally rewarding was the connection to the surrounding community; the community’s curiosity, encouragement, and enthusiasm throughout fabrication and installation reinforced the power of public art to inspire engagement and pride in place.”

Miller’s installation transforms hand-woven strips of colored aluminum into a dynamic three-dimensional composition. Yellow, green, orange, and blue elements shift with the viewer’s movement, evoking transformation, growth, and momentum.

“2026 is such a perfect time to be thinking about the intersection of labor and art,” said select committee member Dominique Jean-Louis, Chief Historian at the Center for Brooklyn History | Brooklyn Public Library. “When we reviewed Miller’s submission, I immediately thought of people riding the B57 bus down Flushing, getting to experience BUILD THE FUTURE in motion. Good art captures our attention and rewards looking closely. As a public historian, that’s a big part of my work: taking notice. For a borough as vibrant as ours, we thrive when we invest in cultivating a creatively engaged public.”

BROOKLYN: LAYERED LENSES, by Tanvi Shaha and Joris Van Helmond

Developed through a partnership with Pratt Institute and the graduate course Project in the Public Realm, taught by Adjunct Professor Jean Shin, Brooklyn Connects provided graduate students with hands-on experience in public art development and implementation.

“Pratt Institute is proud to partner with the Brooklyn Navy Yard on a project that brings together academic inquiry, public art, and civic engagement in such a meaningful way,” said Frances Bronet, President of Pratt Institute. “Through Project in the Public Realm led by our talented faculty member Jean Shin, students are able to connect their learning to the life of the city, developing ambitious creative work in direct dialogue with place, history, and community. We are delighted to see our students Tanvi Shaha and Joris Van Helmond’s Brooklyn: Layered Lenses come to life at Building 92, where Pratt and the Navy Yard can contribute so thoughtfully to Brooklyn’s public landscape.”

“My students gained valuable insight into making proposals and realizing site-specific work through this initiative with the Brooklyn Navy Yard,” said Jean Shin, Adjunct Professor at Pratt Institute. These professional opportunities extend our classroom learning and ready students for the complexities and joys of working in the public realm.”

Selected from six proposals, Brooklyn: Layered Lenses by Tanvi Shaha and Joris Van Helmond is installed at Building 92. Through layered imagery of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Prospect Park, and Coney Island, the work explores Brooklyn’s interconnected systems of production, commons, and spectacle. Colored vinyl and clear acrylic create shifting interactions of light, color, and perspective, encouraging viewers to consider the connections between distinct places, communities, and ways of seeing.

Brooklyn artist and longtime BNYDC collaborator Amy Lemaire provided fabrication and installation support for participating students.

“This project changed the way I see Brooklyn,” said Brooklyn: Layered Lenses artist Tanvi Shaha. “Through the process of creating the work, I spent time looking, listening, and learning. The experience taught me that public art is not just about placing an object in a space; it’s about building a relationship with the place and the community that inhabits it. I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to Brooklyn’s public landscape and to create something that reflects both my own growth and the vibrant character of the borough itself.”

“Working on this project has deepened my appreciation for Brooklyn and the many layers that shape its identity,” said Brooklyn: Layered Lenses Joris Van Helmond. “I see the work as a reminder that Brooklyn’s richness comes from the many voices that overlap and coexist within it. I’m very grateful for this opportunity and hopeful that this project can create a welcoming space where people connect with one another and recognize their place within a larger story, just as Brooklyn does for me.”

BROOKLYN BECOMES, by Dr. Susan S. McKinney Secondary School of the Arts Students

Brooklyn Becomes reflects a partnership between BNYDC and McKinney Secondary School of the Arts, located less than half a mile from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Developed in collaboration with Eleanor Chung, Visual and Performing Arts Chair, the initiative invited students to imagine Brooklyn’s future with boldness, curiosity and creativity.

Thirty-three submissions were received, with nineteen works selected for a 100-foot photo mesh installation along the Flushing Avenue fence line between N. Portland Ave and N. Oxford St. Organized around five themes: Journeys, Pathways & Discovery; The Power of Community & Connections; Vibrancy, Culture & Diversity; Proactive Policymaking for a Better Future; and Hi-Tech & Imagined Futures, the installation presents a collective vision of Brooklyn through the eyes of emerging young artists.

“Brooklyn Becomes gave my art students an opportunity to experience a very important part of the creative process: responding to real-world situations,” said Eleanor Chung, Visual and Performing Arts Chair at McKinney Secondary School of the Arts. “As young people growing up in Brooklyn, they witness change every day—in their neighborhoods, schools, and communities—and this project gave them a meaningful opportunity to reflect on those transformations through a creative lens. Seeing their artwork beyond the walls of the school reinforces that their ideas and voices matter.”

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About the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation

Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) is a not-for-profit corporation that serves as the real estate developer and property manager of the Yard on behalf of its owner, the City of New York. BNYDC’s mission is to fuel New York City’s economic vitality by creating and preserving quality jobs, growing the City’s modern industrial sector and its businesses, and connecting the local community with the economic opportunity and resources of the Yard. BNYDC helps connect local talent to quality jobs via the Albert C. Wiltshire Employment Center and the Brooklyn STEAM Center high school located on the campus. BNYDC’s vision is a vibrant and dense, modern manufacturing community where businesses are provided the stability they need to invest, grow, and thrive and where diverse candidates can attain quality jobs. Brooklynnavyyard.org