Brooklyn Pop: An experience as rich as the borough itself, created by Mr. Kaves

INDUSTRY CITY, Brooklyn — Brooklyn’s own Mr. Kaves is out to show the borough how its dreams come true.

Building 2 in Industry City is home to “Brooklyn Pop,” an exhibit showcasing some of the most iconic sights and scenes from the borough’s storied history. It also acts as the set for the immersive play, “A Brooklyn Dream,” and is a life’s work for the artist, who goes by Mr. Kaves.

The experience is part pop culture, part autobiography and takes visitors on a ride through the eras. Actors portraying Jackie Robinson, Jackie Gleason and Barbra Streisand (among others) provide local nostalgia, while other performers balance a family’s bittersweet story. Kaves says it’s key to representing life in Brooklyn. “We find beauty out of struggle and out of something broken,” says the artist.

The story spans generations so it’s appropriate that Quinn McLeer, Kaves’ son, plays a young version of his dad while hosting the experience. He embraces the role, especially after accepting it in a pinch. McLeer remembers how, “the actor playing my dad in the play dropped out.” He says Kaves “asked me to do it. It was three weeks before the first show, so I figured, ‘why not?'”

Kaves is a former graffiti artist and rapper who came of age in Brooklyn during the 1980s. Brooklyn Pop and A Brooklyn Dream are full of local connections and quintessential culture. The story touches on a list of subjects from World War II to “Do the Right Thing.” Kaves says that while making the exhibit he, “kind of imagined a Coney Island haunted ride. At every turn, something pops out at you.”

Book a time, buy tickets and learn more about the experience here.