When you’re feeling glum or lonely or uninspired, what do you do? When everything seems bleak, what do you reach for? I’ve always turned to museums for cheer and companionship, creativity, or quiet. And I think you should too.
Here’s how it works: Maybe you’re trying to plan an uplifting Brooklyn day with your family and you’re not sure where to start. Maybe you’re unlucky in love. Maybe you hate your job or your in-laws or the state of the world. Maybe you just need a dose of inspiration. Whatever it is, you can tell me. Send your questions to yo@brooklynmuseum.org, starting your subject line with “ADVICE.” I’ll do my best to recommend something just for you.
Below, you’ll find suggestions for the latest batch of advice seekers. And if you missed them, check out previous burning questions I’ve answered. Letters have been lightly edited for clarity and concision.
Dear Ms. Lonely Arts,
As a teenager, museums were my haven. The space for me and my friends as inner-city kids to have big-world ideas. Feel big things. Really connect to creativity. Connection to the diversity of cultures around the world and history that we were holding as NYC kids.
Now I’m 30, working a corporate job and somehow became a stepdad with a lot of anxiety about fascism. How do I keep that energy of wonder in art alive now?
—5pointz 4ever
Dear 5pointz,
I love this question. I often find myself wondering the same thing. For all I got wrong as a teenager (wearing dresses over jeans, anyone?), there was an openness in my approach to art and the world that I sorely miss now.
Here’s my best advice: Go back to the museum. Try to see it through the eyes of your younger self. What would you have gravitated toward? Be earnest in your interest.
You said you’re a stepdad. Perhaps you and your stepchild(ren) could make the trip together. Corny as it sounds, returning to a place or a piece of art with someone who’s seeing it for the first time might make it come alive again.
Our exhibition Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200 features a remarkable array of artworks, from ceramics to vibrant contemporary paintings to photographs of Coney Island. Together they tell the story of how the Museum built its collection—a story of people caring about art, like you do.
Something else that might help is hearing artists talk about their work. When you’re in the room with that kind of creativity, your own passion might be ignited.
Warmly,
Ms. Lonely Arts
Need advice?
Drop me a line.
From the top: Suzuki Harunobu. A Woman Writing, ca. 1764–68. Color woodblock print on paper. Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, X1119.1. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Jenna Gribbon. Big Peek, 2022. Oil on linen. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Jonathan and Debbie Rosen, 2023.30. © Jenna Gribbon. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
