https://hyperallergic.com/806540/the-ineffable-charm-of-an-artists-sketchbook-brooklyn-art-library/ https://brooklynartlibrary.org/ https://www.gofundme.com/f/sketchbookproj In 2006, undergraduate art students Steven Peterman and Shane Zucker began the “Sketchbook Project.” Over the next 17 years, the initiative turned into a collection of over 50,000 works by more than 30,000 artists. Their contributions ranged from love letters and diary entries to graphic novels and intricately-detailed masterpieces, all inside the pages of five-by-seven-inch, paper-bound books. The Brooklyn Art Library (28 Frost St.), has closed its physical home of over a decade, located just south of McCarren Park, in the midst of the pandemic. The library’s answering machine confirms the closure with this message: “Closed to the public for covid until further notice.” “Like so many, COVID has impacted how we manage our physical library space while continuing to foster an inclusive creative community. It’s led us to decide that while we’ll need to close our physical library space in Brooklyn on February 25th, 2022, we’ll in turn be opening the doors for much more growth and sustainability long-term,” a joint statement from board president Jess Sugarman, founder Steven Peterman, and director Jenna Carrens on the library’s website reads. On Monday, February 28th, 2022, the moving trailer that we were using to transport the entire Sketchbook Project collection from Brooklyn to St. Pete caught fire while driving through Baltimore. First, we are incredibly thankful that everyone involved is safe and not hurt. We are working on getting answers to why this happened, but from what we can tell, it was a devastating accident. Luckily AT LEAST 70% of the collection was saved by a bunch of volunteers and firefighters who heroically moved the books off as fast as possible at the scene. A local church then helped move each box of books into the parking lot one by one. Lost in the fire were all of our office supplies and around 7,000 books of the collection. We are assessing the damage, but it will take us months to sort through this. We are hopeful that this number drops as we go through the books. We have decided to fully shut down The Sketchbook Project and Brooklyn Art Library non-profit and gift the collection to other amazing institutions that can better care for the books. https://www.taubemuseum.org/index.html Brooklyn Art Library 2622 Fairfield Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL, 33712, United States [email protected]