Brooklyn’s A/D/O (29 Norman Ave.) is currently showcasing the Solar Panel Art Series, which features 12 original works by New York-based artists on repurposed solar panels, with proceeds benefitting the Little Sun Foundation’s “solar schools” program in Rwanda.
The featured artists are SWOON // FELIPE PANTONE // ZARIA FORMAN // MAYA HAYUK // EDWARD GRANGER // OLEK // JAMES REKA // BRIAN KENNY // AARON LI-HILL // PAUL RICHARD.
Solar panels used as mediums in the Brooklyn show were provided by DUMBO-based solar manufacturer Pvillion; the panels are no longer functional as energy harvesters.
Abou Aboughazala, project manager of the art series, describes the project as “an international social art initiative seeking to promote art as a tool for change and use it to foster a more sustainable and conscious global community.”
The solar panel art is currently on display at A/D/O until Nov. 20, with a chance that the show will be extended for an additional week. The bidding is open online until Nov. 27 via auction house Paddle8.
The art series was originally started by The Beam, a Berlin-based tri-annual publication covering green tech, and their neighbors happened to be working on sustainability issues, sparking the project. “The Little Sun Foundation’s offices are actually down the street from our offices in Berlin,’ Aboughazala said.
“The idea of the Solar Panel Art Series came as a way for us to use it as a tool for positive change while generating impact, which is why we partnered with Little Sun Foundation. With the proximity of their offices to ours and us liking the work they do, we approached them and they jumped on board,” he said.
Tech Open Air hosted the first solar exhibition in 2017 in Berlin, and the Greenpoint opening marks the first solar panel show in the U.S. for the organization.
“We had some artists I curated that we had previously been in touch with. Those were Edward Granger and Felipe Pantone. And then the remaining artists were selected and approached by a local curator in New York, Georgia Frances King,” Aboughazala said. Greenpoint-based artist Paul Richard, curated by COALITION, also participated in the project, creating two of his signature drip paintings.
“We are going to be in L.A. for our next U.S. edition to take it to the other side of the U.S.,” Aboughazala said, with a target date set for mid-2019.