GLOwanus Giveaway

This event is now sold out! To be added to the waitlist for a GLOwanus light, email us at vai@vanalen.org.

Saturday, December 16, 12:30–2 pm
Van Alen Institute
303 Bond Street, Brooklyn

GLOwanus is a public art project designed to inform Gowanus residents about water quality in the Gowanus Canal. Join us in December for the official launch of the newly-designed GLOwanus light at our neighborhood giveaway event!

Open to all ages; participants under 18 must attend with an adult. Light refreshments and snacks will be served.

Designed by Brooklyn-based artists Manav Singla and Ridima Jain, GLOwanus is a small lantern that flashes when the Gowanus Canal is under a City-issued waterbody advisory — meaning there’s a good chance Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) has recently spilled or may soon spill into the Canal. When GLOwanus flashes, it’s signaling that untreated wastewater is polluting or has recently polluted the Canal. Using less water in your home or business, especially immediately before and during rainstorms, is one way to help reduce the level of CSO.

Attendees will receive GLOwanus lights to display in their homes, offices and businesses. The GLOwanus team will also share updates about their work and lead a discussion about water conditions in the Canal, along with the various ongoing government-led clean up actions. The conversation will center ideas for improving water quality in Gowanus and holding public officials accountable in the future.

The first 40 people to RSVP will receive free GLOwanus lights. We’ll keep a waitlist and produce more lights if there’s sufficient interest.

The GLOwanus team is led by Gowanus residents Francesca Bastianini and Steven Koller, two fellows from Van Alen Institute’s Neighborhood Design Fellowship program with continued support from Van Alen.

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.