The Art Of Real Estate
Story by Tim Eldridge
Photos by Aki Tuccu
Anyone perusing 'for sale" notices at Douglis Elliman Real Estate at 156 Montague Street over the past couple of weeks will have had more to feast their eyes on than picturesque Brooklyn brownstones and co-ops. Seemingly every square inch of wall-space not in use to display homes-for-sale is being used to display the art work of PS8 students.
The gallery is the brainchild of Gregory Williamson who, in addition to being a realtor is also a regular substitute teacher at PS8, and was a full-time PS8 first-grade teacher for three years from 2004 to 2007.
Greg's family has been in the 'hood since the early 60s - many PS8 parents may also know Greg's mom, Madeline Williamson, is Senior Vice President of the Williamson Group -- and so he was pleased to be able to do something for the community.
The real-estate office is no stranger to art: it regularly exhibits the work of professional artists. To create this exhibition, Greg collaborated with art teacher Ms. Kravitz . The children's work is based on the theme "Things We Love" to coincide with Valentine's Day earlier this month.
The display is organized by class -- virtually the whole school was involved -- and those children who swing by to take a look are given a star sign and stick on their personal contribution.
"It was so nice to see how many children made artwork that demonstrated their love for family and friends. You could tell this was a PS 8 exhibit because it was all about our family and the community - to me, it represented what great values the children of our school have," said Greg. "I am proud of the whole student body and of the invaluable help that Ms. Kravitz gave the children along the way."
The good news is that if you haven't had a chance to stop by yet, the display will stay up through Easter.
For more photographs of this exhibition please click here
Posted on: February 28, 2008
