Save The City Reliquary!

Photo courtesy of E. Bartholomew, via Flickr.

The City Reliquary is one of those places that can make a Brooklynite feel smug about "discovering" one of the sweetest secret hangouts in the borough. Meandering down Metropolitan Avenue a couple years ago, I felt exactly that way when I ducked into this tiny museum and found, behind its yellow and red awning, the coolest, quirkiest, old-timiest collection of NYC ephemera I'd ever seen--everything from a crazy collection of kitschy Statue of Liberty replicas to chunks of long-gone buildings. But later, when I attended my first event at the Reliquary (a reception for the exhibition "76 Kisses " in February, 2008), I found out this hangout wasn't my little secret after all. The place was packed, bursting at the seams with revelers. Turns out that lots of New Yorkers were onto the spot waaay before I marched in, and all its parties, concerts and films draw a big crowd. In warmer weather, people even spill out into the backyard.

While its steady increase in popularity is a good thing, the Reliquary is also experiencing its share of growing pains, according to the museum's president, Dave Herman, who founded the Reliquary as a nonprofit museum--originally a single display window and recorded "tour"(which still exist) at his Williamsburg apartment--and civic organization in 2002. "Our needs are growing larger," Herman says. Among other things, the museum needs to hire an administrator to apply for larger grants and city funding, and if it doesn't raise $60,000 by December, it might have to consider moving out of its current storefront digs at 370 Metropolitan (where it has been since 2006). Although Herman says the Reliquary won't close, its collection might have to seek a home in a public library or other alternative space.

Besides the awesomeness of the Reliquary's permanent collection, rotating exhibitions (past shows have included giant pencils, an impressive display of copper Jell-O molds, and photos and interviews with former Miss Subways), and parties, its mission alone is enough to make anyone want to keep it alive: Connecting visitors to both the past and present of New York. "People have been here [in Williamsburg] for hundreds of years, and I think it's important to acknowledge that," Herman says. "We want to add to the culture and highlight its rich history."

So how can you help? Donate some money or head over to this benefit concert:

What: St. Patrick's Day Benefit Concert for The City Reliquary
When: Wednesday, March 17th 2010, Doors 6:00PM/Show 7:30 PM
Where: Knitting Factory, 361 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn
Who: Bands will include: Cecilia Brauer, Drink Me, Brian Dewan, Frankenpine, Lucky Chops and more.
How Much: $20

If you're too broke to do either, just visit and voice your support-- you'll be glad you did!

It's a Museum, Girl

George Clive and his Family with an Indian Maid, by Joshua Reynolds, 1765. Staatliche Museen, Berlin. WikiCommons, courtesy Girl Museum.

When arts writer Ashley Remer visited museums over the past three decades, what she noticed the most was girls-- more specifically, the lack thereof.

"[I have been to] literally hundreds and hundreds of museums around the world over the course of my life," says Remer, 35, who grew up in Gainesville, Fla. and has lived everywhere from New York to New Zealand. "I have never seen a show that exclusively looked at the point of view of the girl, or with the girl as its subject. Of course, there have been a few-- most notably at the McCord Museum in Montreal, the 2006 exhibition called ‘Picturing Her: Images of Girlhood,' which concentrated on Canadian art-- but having studied art history [at Florida State University and the University of Auckland in New Zealand], I always found it troublesome how women and girls usually come off as just decoration rather than subject matter."

With that in mind, in March, Remer launched her nonprofit, virtual Girl Museum, dedicated to research, exhibitions, and education centered on the simple yet complex subject of "being a girl." The museum recently unveiled its first online exhibition, "Defining Our Terms," including a broad overview of girlhood in art. Striking images are paired with insightful explanations that will make viewers see each work-- and the role of females in art-- in a whole new light.

Remer says each artwork is overflowing with visual clues to how girls and women have been included and perceived in different cultures throughout the ages. For example, "Reynolds’ portrait George Clive and his Family with an Indian Maid (above) is an amazingly informative image," she says. "There is just so much history overtly stated in the costume and setting and implicit on the physicality and gesture. To have a painted family portrait that includes your servant, engaged in an activity like holding the girl still, which was totally unnecessary, is such a quintessential imperial picture. The ayah’s averted eyes make the scene even more devastating. It should always be remembered when looking at portraits that these people existed. It seems obvious to say, but our visual lives are so inundated with façade and manufactured Hollywood fictions that it is important to keep in mind."

"Defining Our Terms" serves as both the Girl Museum's inaugural exhibition and its future press kit, explaining its mission.

"Our mission is to explore and document the unique experience of growing up female through historic and contemporary images, stories and material culture," says Remer, who runs the museum with the help of volunteers. "We want to raise global awareness about the realities and issues, both nature and nurture, facing girls yesterday, today, and tomorrow. To achieve this, we want to do original research, produce exhibitions, build an archive, and partner with organizations that are already out there doing good work so we can support them and provide venues for girls themselves to have a voice."

The Girl Museum also opened its online boutique on November 27, and you can support the site and help the museum grow by scoring original art or Girl Museum T-shirts. You can also visit the Girl Museum store on Amazon to purchase some suggested reading.

Still want more? Connect with the Girl Museum via Facebook or check out Remer's blog here.