WHO WE ARE
Sunset Park Wide Open (SPWO) is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that exists to celebrate, sustain, and amplify the creative community of Sunset Park, a neighborhood with deep roots in working-class and immigrant culture, and a thriving arts scene that keeps growing. Through free, accessible programming and neighborhood-wide cultural initiatives, we build connections between artists, cultural workers, and the broader public, deepening local engagement and enriching the creative life of the community we call home.
MISSION
Sunset Park Wide Open is dedicated to uplifting the artists and cultural workers based in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The main event that SPWO stewards is Sunset Park Open Studios (SPOS), an annual multi-day event featuring open studios, exhibitions, performances, and cultural programming, free and open to all. SPWO is actively expanding its collaborations and growing its community. We aim to bring public-based art programs and events that make art an everyday part of Sunset Park's public fabric. We are committed to bridging artists with residents, institutions, and visitors, fostering authentic relationships that center the neighborhood's unique history, diversity, and identity.
HISTORY
Sunset Park Open Studios (SPOS) was born in 2019 from a shared belief: that the artists of Sunset Park deserved a spotlight in their own neighborhood. Founded by the NARS Foundation in collaboration with a coalition of local arts organizations, SPOS began as a grassroots celebration, an open invitation for the neighborhood to step inside its studios, meet its makers, and witness the creative work that surrounds us.
Each year, SPOS expanded its reach, drawing hundreds of visitors into the heart of Sunset Park and revealing the neighborhood's emergence as one of Brooklyn's most vital arts districts. In 2023, Sunset Park Wide Open was established as an independent nonprofit to carry this work forward with greater intention and capacity. SPWO took stewardship of SPOS and committed to building on its founding spirit: collaborative and accessible to the neighborhood it serves.
Financial support for Sunset Park Open Studios 2025 was provided in part by a number of generous sponsors. If you’d like more information about becoming a sponsor, please reach us via e-mail at SPWO2023@GMAIL.COM
Each year, SPOS expanded its reach, drawing hundreds of visitors into the heart of Sunset Park and revealing the neighborhood's emergence as one of Brooklyn's most vital arts districts. In 2023, Sunset Park Wide Open was established as an independent nonprofit to carry this work forward with greater intention and capacity. SPWO took stewardship of SPOS and committed to building on its founding spirit: collaborative and accessible to the neighborhood it serves.
Financial support for Sunset Park Open Studios 2025 was provided in part by a number of generous sponsors. If you’d like more information about becoming a sponsor, please reach us via e-mail at SPWO2023@GMAIL.COM
Images Courtesy of Young Yu & NARS Foundation