NOW ON VIEW: IMMENSITY + INTIMACY: BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK

With the first exhibition in Van Alen’s River City series currently on view in our sixth-floor gallery, we’re gearing up for exciting fall programs exploring the innovative ways cities are using waterfront design to address critical cultural and ecological challenges. Immensity + Intimacy: Brooklyn Bridge Park examines how these issues are addressed in our own backyard, looking at this still evolving urban park along Brooklyn's western waterfront, and how it has reshaped the urban edge by creatively integrating complex marine infrastructure, salvaged local materials, self-sustaining ecologies, and new cultural resources.

To kick off the season, please join us on Wednesday, September 12 at 7:00 p.m. for the exhibition party—a festive evening with representatives from the park’s design team at Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, as well as riverfront advocates and the broader Van Alen community—to celebrate the show, which remains on view through October 19. Just RSVP here.

If you haven't yet had a chance to stop by, be sure to visit us during regular exhibitions hours, Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Please note that Van Alen Institute and Van Alen Books will be closed from August 25-31, and will reopen on September 4. Enjoy the rest of your summer—and get set for a season of action-packed fall events!

JOIN US FOR SUMMER PICKS AT VAN ALEN BOOKS

This month, Van Alen Books is hosting a special series of evenings spotlighting just-off-the-presses new arrivals in architecture and design. Join us every Thursday in August from 7 to 9 p.m. for Summer Picks, where you can peruse our featured new releases, journals, zines, and more along with ice-cold beer courtesy of Brooklyn Brewery. To whet your appetite, check out a few of our most recent featured titles:

Open 23: Autonomy
Amid an explosion of interest in new modes of political engagement, the latest issue of the journal Open explores the theme of autonomy, asking how novel forms of independence can reinforce the public relevance of art and culture. An initiative of Amsterdam-based SKOR, Open offers a wide-ranging debate on the public domain from the standpoints of art, art history, philosophy, political theory, and cultural criticism.

Food for the City: A Future for the Metropolis
In 2050, nine billion people will be living on earth, 75 percent of them in cities. Given current agricultural practices, feeding this soaring population could take several extra planets simply to produce our food. Asking how cities can be a part of the solution, Food for the City offers visions for the future of urban food systems, with contributions from a chef, an architect, a farmer, an artist, a philosopher, and others working on this global predicament.

Skyscraper: Art and Architecture Against Gravity
In this exhibition catalog from the critically acclaimed show at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, a group of artists from around the world explore humanity’s desire to build forever upward, examining the form of the skyscraper through video, film, sculpture, painting, and photography.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to find out about special selections we’ll be featuring each night of Summer Picks!

SEPTEMBER 6: DESIGN AFTER DECLINE

On Thursday, September 6, the conversation continues at Van Alen Books with a panel discussion on Design After Decline: How America Rebuilds Shrinking Cities, an account of how America's two largest shrinking cities, Detroit and Philadelphia, faced the challenge of design after decline in dramatically different ways. We'll be joined by Brent D. Ryan, Toni Griffin, and Bob Beauregard to examine how innovative design and planning can shape a brighter future for shrinking cities and their residents.  Keep your eyes on the Van Alen Books website for the full list of upcoming events!

AWARDS AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR DESIGNERS

The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Swing Space residency gives short-term space to visual and performing artists for projects with creative, experimental, and collaborative approaches—apply by August 30. Meanwhile, LMCC’s Manhattan Community Arts Fund provides seed grants to artists and organizations to support arts projects that engage the public. Applications are due September 13.

The Green Infrastructure Ideas Competition for a New London Landscape, initiated by the Landscape Institute, the Mayor of London, and the Garden Museum, is an open ideas competition seeking innovative designs to strengthen London’s green infrastructure. Submit by September 14.

The Graham Foundation is offering grants to individuals for projects that explore the history and future of architecture and the designed environment. The opportunity is open to a wide range of practitioners, from architects and academics to visual artists and theorists. Apply by September 15.

The MacDowell Colony provides space and creative community to selected artists for their Winter/Spring 2013 residency, which includes studio space, accommodations, and meals for up to eight weeks for artists working in architecture, film, literature, music, theater, visual arts, and interdisciplinary practices. Apply by September 15.

The Fitch Charitable Foundation is offering its annual Fitch Mid-Career Grant to professionals in the field of historic preservation, architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, environmental planning, architectural history, and the decorative arts, as well as the Richard L. Blinder Award for proposals exploring architectural preservation. Applications for both are due September 15.

SUMMERTIME IS A PERFECT TIME FOR VAN ALEN MEMBERSHIP

It’s that summer season of inspiring excursions—and who doesn’t love a road trip that explores a vibrant future for our cities and public spaces? Come embark with Van Alen on our mission to reimagine public life through design competitions, fellowships, exhibitions, and public programs by joining us today. Your membership provides essential support in sustaining all the work we do to bring the best design ideas to civic life through innovative programs, inclusive dialogue, and visionary public architecture. Find out more about our membership opportunities and how you can join our diverse network of supporters here.