08/10/2026
Join us at Longwood @ Governors Island for the opening of "The Birds Are Looking," an exhibition by Havana-born, Bronx-based multimedia artist, curator, and educator Nelson Alvarez.
Alvarez’s nationally exhibited practice explores the tension between industry and nature in post-industrial urban environments. Since immigrating to the U.S. in 1996, his work has been rooted in community engagement, social justice, immigration, and environmental inequality. Through watercolor and ink, his series "The Birds Are Looking" invites viewers to see coastal landscapes from a bird’s-eye perspective revealing patterns, textures, and details often hidden from the ground. Driftwood, seashells, weathered rocks, sand, and water become abstract topographies, transforming familiar coastal scenes into meditations on nature, perception, and place.
The exhibition extends beyond the gallery through Alvarez’s "Drawing in a Bottle Project," a long-term initiative that invites the public to encounter art unexpectedly. Bottles containing original drawings and instructions are placed in public spaces, allowing whoever discovers one to keep the artwork while sharing the time and location of its discovery with the artist.
During the opening, Alvarez will also present a "Chalkboard Action Drawing," transforming a large chalk surface through sweeping gestures, rapid strokes, and improvisational movement. The drawing will evolve in real time, inviting audiences to witness the exhibition’s narrative take shape before them.
OPENING RECEPTION
đź“… Saturday, August 15, 2026
⏰ 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
đź“Ť Longwood @ Governors Island, Colonels Row House 406B
CHALKBOARD ACTION DRAWING
⏰ 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Come experience the work, connect with the artist and community, and take part in an afternoon of art, movement, and reflection on our relationship with the ocean.
