PRESS RELEASE
Michael James Freedman’s installation opens October 17–18 at Littlefield, followed by an artist’s talk and memorial walk on November 15 for the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Point to a place you know in New York City. The Distance From Here brings nearby lives lost to traffic violence into view.
Opening October 17–18, 2026, at Littlefield (635 Sackett St, Brooklyn NY, 11217) as part of Gowanus Open Studios, organized by Arts Gowanus, Michael James Freedman’s interactive installation connects original oil paintings, a map of New York City, and changing projected imagery grounded in real crash records. Visitors choose the location. The installation reveals how close the city’s losses are to the places they call their own.
Produced by Why Not Art, the exhibition joins a neighborhood-wide celebration in which more than 400 artists, businesses, and venues open their doors to the public. Freedman will be present throughout opening weekend to discuss the work, with demonstrations of his augmented reality project, Crashscape, also available.
A home, a familiar intersection, a place passed on the way to work: each selection on the installation’s map becomes another “here.” Four projected images connected to nearby fatal crashes emerge, changing as visitors explore. The city’s record of traffic violence becomes a geography visitors can navigate through their own connections to New York.
Four original oil paintings establish the visual language for this citywide memorial. Each is connected to a person killed in a traffic crash near Littlefield, and each title measures the straight-line distance from the gallery to the crash site: 258 Feet from Here, for Victor Hidalgo; 1,104 Feet from Here, for Arcellie Marina “Cellie” Muschamp; 1,924 Feet from Here, for Carolyn Cox; and 3,504 Feet from Here, for Arturo Alberto Baez Cordero. All four works are oil on linen, 18 × 18 inches.
The paintings remain fixed while the projected installation carries their visual language across the city. Combining public crash records with AI-generated imagery developed from Freedman’s paintings, the work extends the attention given to four nearby losses into a larger act of remembrance. It transforms raw data into narrative, exposing the emotionally brutal truth concealed within traffic statistics.
WORLD DAY OF REMEMBRANCE: NOVEMBER 15
On Sunday, November 15, at 12 noon, an artist’s talk and memorial walk will mark the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, an international observance honoring people killed and injured in road crashes and calling for safer streets.
Beginning at Littlefield with The Distance From Here, the gathering will continue into the surrounding streets using Crashscape. The event connects the exhibition’s encounter with loss to the neighborhood itself, inviting participants to remember lives lost and consider how to prevent further deaths.
VISIT
Littlefield, 635 Sackett Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Gowanus Open Studios: Saturday, October 17, 2026, noon–5 p.m.; Sunday, October 18, 2026, noon–4 p.m. Admission is free with RSVP.
Artist’s talk and memorial walk: Sunday, November 15, 2026, 12 noon–1 p.m. Meet at Littlefield.
Outside scheduled events, viewing is by invitation. Please email grace@whynotart.com
Exhibition details, artwork images, and opening-weekend RSVP: https://michaeljamesfreedman.com/pages/the-distance-from-here
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Michael James Freedman is a Brooklyn-based artist whose practice spans drawing, painting, public data, and civic storytelling. The Distance From Here connects his studio work with his ongoing art and advocacy project, CrashCount NYC.
Produced by Why Not Art. Presented at Littlefield as part of Gowanus Open Studios, organized by Arts Gowanus.
Media kit — high-resolution images, films, and captions: https://michaeljamesfreedman.com/pages/the-distance-from-here-media-kit
PRESS CONTACT
Grace Freedman · Why Not Art
grace@whynotart.com
For press images, interviews, and visit arrangements.