RSVP HERE
November 22
From 11am to 12:30pm
Collage artist Rich Garr will guide a walk through local sites and stories about attacked freedom during this unique collaboratively created walking tour. The tour will end at Textile Arts Center, where participants will get a tour of the space and learn more about the work of AIR 17 resident, Margaret Roleke.
"Join this "collage of community" collaboratively-created stroll over and around the infamous Gowanus Canal. It is neither traditional walking tour nor Christian pilgrimage, yet it is inspired by both. Instead of "Stations of the Cross", stops along this scenic Brooklyn route will link specific stories of freedoms under attack with local sites. Music and local flavors will keep the event lively... as will the 15th and final "station", Resurrection!"
Fall of Freedom Gowanus Brooklyn "SideWalk" is part of the Fall of Freedom nationwide events happening on November 21-22. Learn more here.
Margaret Roleke
Artist Statement
"America is at a crossroads, facing converging crises—systemic racism, gun violence, climate change, war, and the erosion of truth. My work is a response to this fractured moment, aiming to provoke dialogue and inspire action. Drawing from my proximity to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where a mass shooting occurred in 2012, I often use spent shotgun shells in sculptures to symbolize both violence and the possibility of transformation.
Working fluidly across mediums—cyanotypes, prints, sculpture, and installations—I incorporate textiles, sewn elements, and fiber processes to explore fragility, repair, and resilience.
By blending printmaking, found objects, and textile practices, my work invites viewers to confront uncomfortable realities while offering space for reflection, resistance, and the imagining of a more just future."
Bio:
Originally from Long Island, New York, Margaret Roleke lives and works in Brooklyn and Connecticut. Roleke earned her M.F.A. from Long Island University, C.W. Post Brookville, NY and a b.a. from Marymount Manhattan College. She also studied at the Art Students League, NY and School of Visual Arts, NY. Her work appears nationally in galleries and museums. Roleke has had recent solo exhibits at Pen+Brush Gallery New York, NY, and Five Points Art Gallery, Torrington, CT. Her work has been included in shows at The Aldrich, Katonah Museum of Art, and WhiteBox New York, NY. Roleke received an Artist Respond Grant from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts in 2024. An outdoor sculpture of Roleke’s was installed in Jackie Robinson Park in Harlem in April 2025. Past residencies include Vermont Studio Center , Teton ArtLab, ArtPort KIngston and 4 Heads Portal at Governors Island, NYC.