An influx of artists during the past few decades helped transform Dumbo from a sleepy post-industrial area into the thriving arts center it is today. A.I.R. Gallery, Janet Borden, Klompching Gallery, Minus Space, and Platform are among the neighborhood’s thriving art galleries, and the monthly First Thursdays Gallery Walk, in which participating galleries stay open late and host special events, is a local highlight—just one of many.
Intro credit_ Art in Dumbo
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Dumbo shares this 85-acre waterfront park with Brooklyn Heights—and really, with all of Brooklyn. Amid the lawns, gardens, wildflowers, and 3,000 trees are playgrounds and picnic areas; art installations and basketball, handball, pickleball, and volleyball courts; a dog run and the interactive Environmental Education Station. Free Waterfront Workouts, which range from yoga to Zumba, attract those who want a change from biking or running along the park’s paths. Every other Thursday night throughout the summer the park hosts free outdoor movies, and of course, there are spectacular views of Manhattan year-round.
Park credit_ John Eng_Brooklyn Bridge Park
St. Ann’s Warehouse
Located within Brooklyn Bridge Park, St. Ann’s has become recognized for hosting plays, musicals, and other performances from emerging, experimental, and overseas talents. Musical adaptations of Wuthering Heights and Mira Nair’s acclaimed film Monsoon Wedding, directed by Nair herself, were among recent highlights.
St. Ann’s credit_ St. Ann’s Warehouse
The Museum of Digital Experiences
Billed as New York’s first all-digital museum, the MoDE features more than a dozen interactive, immersive digital audio-visual experiences. While many museums describe themselves as appealing to kids and adults alike, this one definitely delivers on that promise. It also offers plenty of photo ops certain to enliven any Instagram feed.
Museum of Digital Experiences credit_Museum of Digital Experiences