Points of Promise

Common Build

Ongoing

Dear Neighbor,

Coming in Spring 2025!

Launched by Van Alen Institute in 2023, Points of Promise is a multiyear initiative to create public art and design tools that support civic engagement and foster connection among Gowanus residents in the midst of significant neighborhood redevelopment.

The next Points of Promise installation, on view in Spring 2025, will increase public awareness of the evolving risk and impact of flooding in Gowanus. The project seeks fresh ideas for community engagement in order to provide Gowanus residents with new, enriching ways to stay informed about issues shaping the neighborhood.

An artist open call held in Spring 2024 received more than 100 responses, and approximately half of the applicants had close ties to Gowanus or personal experience of flooding in New York City. Three artists were invited to submit a proposal, and the winning proposal will be announced in Fall 2024. The winning artist will be awarded $50,000 to complete the project, with low bono engineering review services provided by Silman.

Finalists were asked to consider the following:

• How do residents currently deal with living in the flood zone? What are their stories? Is it possible to make their experiences, along with the physical impacts of flooding, more visible?
• Looking ahead, how might the threat of flooding evolve over time in Gowanus? How might the neighborhood’s communities be impacted in the future? How might your piece inform the public of efforts led by community groups and/or city leaders to help Gowanus manage water and bounce back from flooding?
• There’s a lot of new construction in Gowanus’ flood zone – how might you reach potential future residents about flooding in Gowanus, in addition to long-time residents?

Dear Neighbor,

Created by Tiffany Baker, Dear Neighbor, is a multi-site campaign and art showcase spotlighting the experiences of Gowanus residents impacted by flooding, depicted through experiential murals, audio recordings and abstracted portraits. The project aims to reflect how neighbors across the community care and support each other through a public, visual display of their stories.

Futures Without Flooding

Created by artist Ali Rufrano-Ruffner, Futures Without Flooding proposes a series of vibrant mural panels that vividly depict stories of flooding — and futures without flooding — in Gowanus. During community activations and pop-up events, youth participants contribute their own ideas and visions to interactive mural panels. The project’s journey is compiled into a coloring book that prompts young people to continue envisioning their own futures for Gowanus.

Tidal Shift

Created by Leah Harper, Tidal Shift proposes a collection of public art interventions to raises awareness of flooding in Gowanus. At the canal’s edge, colorful, phosphorescent asphalt murals — painted with local residents — draw attention to flooding threats. In the water, sails installed on flotation devices rise and fall with the tides, bringing the sea level to eye level. Additionally, Van Alen Institute’s storefront windows serve as an information hub about the future of flooding in Gowanus and solutions for mitigating floodwaters.

In 2021, the New York City Council approved the Gowanus Neighborhood Plan, transforming (or “rezoning”) former manufacturing sites into residential and mixed-use properties, including an estimated 8,200 new apartments. Residents and community organizers have been working to ensure current Gowanus residents benefit from the rezoning. Their advocacy resulted in the 56 Points of Agreement (POAs) — commitments made by New York City to support housing, infrastructure, public space, community amenities, and business programs. In total, NYC will invest $450 million for these improvements in Gowanus. Approximately $200 million of that total will address high priority needs in Gowanus’ NYCHA developments.

Points of Promise calls on artists and designers to create local temporary art installations or public space activations that help inform Gowanus residents about these immense changes. Each year, artists are invited to respond to an RFP (request for proposals) that addresses a topic present in the 56 Points of Agreement (POAs). To create these public art and design tools in truly community-led and responsive ways, Van Alen seeks artists and designers with demonstrated experience facilitating community-engaged social practice work that centers the lived experiences and needs of the respective communities they collaborate with.

This initiative was developed with the support of a selection committee of Gowanus residents and local stakeholders from the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, Gowanus Houses Tenants Association, the Gowanus Oversight Task Force, and Gowanus Mutual Aid.