BRIC (arts center)

BRIC (arts center)
Name	BRIC
Founded	1979
Location	Brooklyn, New York City, United States
Type	Nonprofit arts organization
Services	Visual arts, performing arts, media

BRIC (arts center) is a nonprofit arts and media institution based in Brooklyn, New York City, in the United States. Founded in 1979 as a community arts organization, it has evolved into a major presenter of contemporary visual arts, performing arts, and media production with a flagship facility in Downtown Brooklyn that partners with institutions such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York Public Library, Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, and Carnegie Hall. The organization engages artists, neighborhood residents, and cultural producers through exhibitions, performances, education, and broadcast initiatives tied to citywide initiatives like Cultural Institutions Group projects and borough-focused programs including collaborations with Mayor of New York City administrations and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs initiatives.

History

BRIC emerged in 1979 amid a wave of community arts development alongside organizations such as Community Arts Network, Public Theater, Queens Theatre, Bronx Museum of the Arts, and Staten Island Museum. Early leadership connected BRIC to philanthropic and municipal networks including the Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts, while contemporaneous urban cultural development paralleled projects like South Street Seaport revitalization and Times Square renewal. During the 1990s and 2000s BRIC expanded programming similar to MoMA PS1, The Kitchen, Judson Memorial Church, and Apexart, fostering relationships with artists from movements associated with Contemporary Art, Hip hop culture, Experimental performance and community-oriented initiatives linked to the October Gallery and Lower East Side Tenement Museum. The opening of BRIC House in Downtown Brooklyn followed cultural-investment strategies comparable to the Brooklyn Academy of Music expansion and municipal redevelopment plans involving New York City Economic Development Corporation and private partnerships with entities like Forest City Ratner Companies.

Facilities and Architecture

BRIC’s principal venue, BRIC House, occupies renovated space in Downtown Brooklyn with architecture and adaptive reuse approaches resonant with projects such as High Line conversions, Tate Modern redevelopment, and the Dia:Beacon model. The building houses galleries, a performance space, and media studios, designed with input from architectural firms experienced on projects like Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Snøhetta, and firms active in Brooklyn Navy Yard redevelopment. The performance hall accommodates formats akin to those at BAM Harvey Theater, Lincoln Center studios, and Joe's Pub, while gallery layouts facilitate exhibitions comparable to Guggenheim Museum Bilbao satellite programming and Whitney Museum of American Art branch initiatives. Technical infrastructure supports partnerships with media outlets including WNYC, PBS, NPR, and production practices similar to studios at CENTER for the Arts.

Programs and Exhibitions

BRIC presents rotating exhibitions, performance series, and festivals that align with programs at SummerStage, Lincoln Center Festival, New York Film Festival, Frieze New York, and Art Basel Miami Beach satellite events. Visual-art exhibitions have featured practices related to movements associated with artists exhibited at Studio Museum in Harlem, Dia Foundation, Whitney Biennial participants, and collectors from institutions like Metropolitan Museum of Art and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Performance programming includes music, dance, theater, and cross-disciplinary works akin to offerings by Brooklyn Academy of Music, St. Ann's Warehouse, and the Kitchen, while festival-scale initiatives echo collaborations seen at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! and citywide events supported by NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and Foundation for Contemporary Arts grants.

Education and Community Engagement

BRIC operates youth and adult education programs comparable to outreach by Lincoln Center Education, Juilliard Community Arts, MoMA Education, and Metropolitan Opera initiatives, partnering with local schools in Coney Island, Bedford–Stuyvesant, East New York, and Fort Greene. Its community partnerships resemble workforce and cultural development projects undertaken by Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, City University of New York campuses, and NYU community arts programs, while offering artist residencies and mentorships similar to Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, MacDowell, and Headlands Center for the Arts. BRIC’s youth media training echoes curricula found at School of Visual Arts, New York Film Academy, and Digital Workshop Center models.

Media and Broadcasting

BRIC Media produces broadcasts and digital content with distribution practices comparable to PBS Newshour, NPR, WNYC, Vox Media, and Vice Media. Its production studios have enabled partnerships with filmmakers and journalists affiliated with Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Independent Television Service, and public media initiatives like American Public Media. Programming spans documentary, arts journalism, and civic engagement pieces similar in scope to work presented by Frontline, Arts & Entertainment, and BBC Arts collaborations, while supporting local independent producers and community reporters in ways paralleling City Limits and Gothamist.

Notable Artists and Collaborations

BRIC has exhibited and collaborated with artists and ensembles whose careers intersect with institutions such as MoMA, Tate Modern, Whitney Museum, Guggenheim Museum, and festivals like Venice Biennale and Documenta. Collaborators have included choreographers and musicians associated with Merce Cunningham Trust, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and New York Philharmonic guest artists, as well as visual artists whose work circles names presented at Whitney Biennial, Frieze Art Fair, Skowhegan, and galleries represented at Armory Show. BRIC’s partnerships extend to cultural organizations such as P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, Dance Theater Workshop, Performa, and media producers linked to Sundance Institute.

Governance and Funding

BRIC is governed by a board of directors and executive leadership interacting with funders and partners like the New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, National Endowment for the Arts, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and private donors including foundations active in arts philanthropy such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York. Its governance model parallels nonprofit cultural institutions including Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and Lincoln Center constituents, adhering to fiscal practices similar to those of American Alliance of Museums–affiliated organizations and reporting standards promoted by Independent Sector.

Category:Arts organizations based in New York City Category:Non-profit organizations based in Brooklyn Category:Cultural organizations established in 1979