Named for one of the famous amusement parks of Coney Island’s heyday, The Dreamland Artist Club consisted of more than twenty-five emerging and established artists who repainted rides and created custom signs, murals, and scenic backdrops for a range of Coney Island attractions. As a long-time admirer of the fading craft of sign painting, curator Steve Powers looked for inspiration in the tradition of colorful, hand-painted signage and advertisements that date back more than a century in the community.

Like Powers, each of the participating artists had a personal, social, or aesthetic interest in the visual culture of the area; many were from Brooklyn or greater New York, though some came from Chicago and Los Angeles to participate. With a dramatic range of styles and practices, The Dreamland Artist Club offered a sampling of this era’s artistry and imagination to Coney Island, as well as proposed a new model for creative urban revitalization strategies that both compliments and builds upon the existing character of this legendary New York neighborhood.

Photograph by Charlie Samuels

Multiple Artists

The Dreamland Artist Club

Coney Island

2004