NEWSLETTER
Brooklyn, NY (June 10, 2025) – Dumbo is host this summer to a large variety of free activities that includes concerts, visual arts programming, and more! Team Dumbo programming includes the return of Live at the Archway concerts and visual arts programming (Thursdays at 6pm through July 31 with concerts at 6pm), and Drink and Draw workshops (Wednesdays, 6pm to 8pm through August 13), all beneath the unique setting of the Manhattan Bridge Archway.
Live at the Archway is an annual series of free concerts and interactive visual arts programming in the unique setting of the Dumbo Archway, one of the only covered outdoor spaces in New York City. Founded in 2015, the series reflects the neighborhood’s diversity and commitment to the arts, and showcases a broad variety of music, dance and visual art styles. Programming consists of a headlining act on stage, including music and dance in a diversity of genres, and an interactive experience led by a Dumbo-based visual artist, also in the Archway. Live at the Archway is presented by Team Dumbo, and curated by Clara Inés Schuhmacher of Team Dumbo, together with Jan Bell of the Brooklyn Americana Music Festival.
Dumbo Drink and Draw workshops are presented by Team Dumbo with Creatively Wild Art Studio, and give participants the opportunity to work with some of Dumbo’s best artists. Workshops are specially designed for adult artists with all levels welcome. Prior registration is required with two ticket options — free, if participants bring their own art supplies, or $20 to get access to all art supplies on-site. Easels or tables are supplied for all participants. Drinks are available for purchase from the Dumbo Station.
A full July events calendar is below.
Drink and Draw
Rodney Ewing
Objects in perspective
Join visual artist Rodney Ewing—whose powerful mixed-media work explores overlooked histories of the Black Diaspora—as he guides participants through the fundamentals of two-point perspective drawing. With a background in drawing, printmaking, and installation, Ewing’s practice bridges memory, fact, and form. In this session, participants will learn to create three-dimensional objects on a flat surface using horizon lines, vanishing points, and perspective lines to build depth and structure. Starting with a simple cuboid, participants will follow a step-by-step process to expand and create their own imagined spaces or architectural compositions.
Art supplies will be available for use for $20, but participants are encouraged to bring their own supplies if they have them. Easels will be provided. Prior registration required.
Drink and Draw
Tyler Scott
Van Gogh style painting
Brooklyn-born artist Tyler Scott gives a bold and expressive painting session inspired by the vibrant brushwork of Vincent van Gogh. Using acrylics, participants will learn how to layer thick paint, build dynamic textures, and use color emotionally rather than realistically—hallmarks of Van Gogh’s powerful style. Tyler’s workshop will help participants let go of perfection and paint with feeling.
Tyler holds a BFA in Illustration from FIT and leads both teen and adult programs at Creatively Wild Art Studio. He is known for his approachable style and strong foundation in both traditional and digital mediums, and will guide participants in embracing spontaneity and trusting creative instincts—just as Van Gogh once did.
Art supplies will be available for use for $20, but participants are encouraged to bring their own supplies if they have them. Easels will be provided. Prior registration required.
Brasil Summerfest present Os Clavelitos
Art Wall by 20x200 in collaboration with Joan LeMay
Brasil Summerfest is the largest international Brazilian music and arts festival in the world. Launched in 2011, Brasil Summerfest presents an unprecedented lineup of music, film, workshops, and a street fair at high profile venues in New York City. This is the seventh year of Brasil Summerfest’s collaboration with Live at the Archway.
Os Clavelitos is an "American Samba" band based in New York City, who creates original music combining traditional Brazilian rhythms (samba, baiao, bossa nova, and frevo) with English lyrics. With band members from Brazil, Japan, and the U.S., the six piece ensemble celebrates Brazil's rich musical heritage, while incorporating their eclectic performing backgrounds in "Latin", indie, jazz, pop, and folkloric styles. Os Clavelitos also perform traditional and popular Brazilian songs, sung in Portuguese. They often incorporate batucada (percussion ensemble) into their shows. Os Clavelitos' album, "Arriving", debuted at #1 on the Roots Music Report Top 50 World Chart and is #7 on the RMR Top 200 World Albums of 2016.
20x200 is a pioneering online art company that sells a curated collection of limited-edition, museum-quality prints and artworks by emerging, established and legendary artists. A woman-owned, small, independent business, 20x200 has been introducing incredible artists and exceptional art to collectors since 2007. From the start, its motto has been It’s Art for Everyone®, and it always will be. The company works hard to deliver an authentic collecting experience to novices and experts alike, and are unwavering about offering art that’s accessible for a wide range of budgets, believing that everyone can—and should—collect art, and that artists should have more opportunities to make a living making work.
Artist Joan LeMay excavates and communicates the emotional and energetic core of her subjects, herself included, as an act of connection and projection. Whether painting in high-chroma or drawing in greyscale, her work prizes visceral emotionality. LeMay’s fine art has been exhibited internationally in galleries, museums, alternative venues, and public spaces in New York City, New York; Los Angeles and Pomona, California; Seattle and Anacortes, Washington; Portland, Oregon, Provincetown, Massachusetts, London, England and Koln, Germany. Her work has been published in dozens of publications and multiple books, and she has collaborated extensively with independent filmmakers and creative agencies. Her artwork appears on several album covers.
Drink and Draw
Tanya Rynd
Artistic expression with Superfine!
Step into the word of one of the creative minds of Dumbo. Tanya brings a Superfine approach to all things art. Learn the process behind the master as participants join Superfine’s co-owner down for a night of fun and creativity!
Art supplies will be available for use for $20, but participants are encouraged to bring their own supplies if they have them. Easels will be provided. Prior registration required.
Kaleta and the Super Yamba Band
Art Wall by Cara Lee Sparry
Brooklyn’s Kaleta & Super Yamba Band are fronted by Afrobeat and Juju veteran Leon Ligan-Majek a.k.a. Kaleta. The singer/guitarist from the West African country of Benin Republic lived his adolescent life in Lagos, Nigeria where Afrobeat was born. Kaleta's guitar chops earned him decades of touring and recording with Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Lauryn Hill, and more. Kaleta toured the world playing guitar for Fela Kuti, the King of Afrobeat, in his storied band Egypt 80 through the 1980s and into the 1990s. Now based in New York City, Kaleta has been leading Super Yamba Band since 2017. Their debut album 'Mèdaho,' which was released by California indie label Ubiquity Records, draws on the group’s shared reverence for the raw, psychedelic sounds that captivated Kaleta as a music loving kid in 1970s Benin. The album was included on Bandcamp's “Best Albums of Summer 2019” list and two of the songs were chosen for the ABC/Hulu series High Fidelity starring Zoe Kravitz. Kaleta and his band have also erupted onto the stages and video screens of major music festivals and music publications across the US, including performing at the historic Apollo Theatre in 2019.
Local Dumbo artist Cara Lee Sparry is the co-owner of Superfine. Originally from Dallas, Texas, she is a Gen-X artist, DJ, award-winning impresario, daydreamer, and general fixer of stuff. Upon graduating from Pratt with a Bachelor’s of Industrial Design in 1992, she moved to Dumbo.
Drink and Draw
Leysan Nigmatova
Surrealist watercolor and collage paintings
Participants will explore the unexpected through surrealist painting and collage in this playful mixed-media workshop beginning with loose watercolor washes to create a dreamy, abstract background, then layering in found images, cut paper, and drawn elements to build a one-of-a-kind composition that blends reality with imagination.
This session encourages intuitive choices and creative surprises; this is a chance to experiment with color, texture, and narrative in unexpected ways.
Art supplies will be available for use for $20, but participants are encouraged to bring their own supplies if they have them. Easels will be provided. Prior registration required.
Sug Daniels
Art Wall by Jenn MackSoud
Sug Daniels is a Delaware born, Philadelphia based, singer-songwriter, story teller, and producer who is using the tools around her to capture the emotions of an era. Daniels’ work is as colorful, vulnerable, and charismatic as her personality. She thoughtfully combines elements of folk, rock, and soul alternatives to create personal and tender music interlaced with messages of truth and positive change. Her single release with Don Giovanni Records, "When I'm Gone", garnished well deserved attention from local and regional radio and venues and opened new paths. After years of touring with The Black Opry, playing official showcases in SXSW 2022, and supporting acts such as Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, Molly Tuttle, Adeem The Artist, and Buffalo Nichols. Daniels is working on her debut studio album, "I Believe In You," set to be released in the fall of 2025.
Jenn MackSoud is a self-taught artist who has been working primarily in pen and ink since 2013. Her intricate and contemplative drawings span a wide stylistic range—from densely layered mandalas to minimal, elegant interpretations of everyday forms. Rooted in a meditative process, her work invites viewers into a quiet, immersive space that reflects both discipline and spontaneity. Macksoud’s art has found collectors across the globe, drawn to the precision and emotional resonance of her linework. Formerly based in Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn, with a studio in the creative hub of DUMBO, she now lives and works in Boerum Hill, where she continues to explore the subtle interplay of form, rhythm, and stillness on paper.
Drink and Draw
Austin Aura
Graffiti exploration: Lettering and design
Austin brings a very wild style to a cozy night under the Archway. Participants will spend the evening creating in a way never thought possible. This spray paint instructor will show participants how to express their inner graffiti artist from lettering to imagery.
Art supplies will be available for use for $20, but participants are encouraged to bring their own supplies if they have them. Easels will be provided. Prior registration required.
Chicha Libre
Art Wall by Chelsea Bonosky
After an eight years hiatus, psychedelic cumbia group Chicha Libre is back with a new EP – Tequila y Aguardiente, a collaboration with Mexico’s Son Rompe Pera and Colombia’s La Sonora Mazuren – and just played a series of shows in Mexico City including an epic show for Dia de Los Muertos Son Rompe Pera and legendary chicha band Los Mirlos. The group started out in 2007 as a tribute to Peruvian pioneers but quickly evolved into an original project. Chicha Libre's music draws from all of its members' backgrounds: the 6 musicians hail from Mexico, Venezuela, France, Puerto Rico and the US, and use synth sounds, treated guitars, French songs, classical music and pop debris from three continents for its freeform take on tropical genres. The band has proven especially popular in South America and Mexico but has also toured extensively in Europe and North America.
Chelsea Bonosky, LMSW is an artist, activist, and psychotherapist. Her area of focus is women's reproductive rights, sexual trauma, and conflict resolution. Chelsea's work utilizes art as a powerful tool for activism, transforming the way we engage with and think about societal issues. Each piece is a reflection of the urgent need for healing and resolution, striving to create spaces where dialogue and empathy can flourish. Currently, Chelsea is a counselor in the Special Victims Division at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. Prior to this position, Chelsea worked as a High-Impact Practices Coordinator for the United Nations Foundation's FP2030. She has spoken and been awarded at the New York Academy of Medicine, highlighting the importance and benefits of movement interventions for youth, youth relationships, consent, and mental health.
About Team Dumbo / The Dumbo Business Improvement District
Team Dumbo, a Business Improvement District founded in 2006, is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing and promoting DUMBO, Brooklyn — a bustling enclave on the waterfront where quintessential old New York charm meets creative Brooklyn at its very best. Team Dumbo showcases Dumbo as a world-class destination, advocating on behalf of Dumbo's businesses, property owners, and residents, and amplifying its creative and innovative vibe through The Archway programming, public art, free WiFi, public space maintenance & beautification, and the #DUMBOVIP card, among other initiatives. @dumbo_brooklyn
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Top Image by Noemie Trusty
Contact: Katlyn Morahan | Morahan Arts and Media
katlyn@morahanartsandmedia.com | (646) 378-9386