Barclays Center releases August 2022 calendar: 6 ticketed events, plus Basquiat Project student art show next Monday & Tuesday

The Barclays Center yesterday released its August 2022 event calendar. 

There are six ticketed events, including three WNBA New York Liberty games, and three concerts, including two by Kendrick Lamar. There were supposed to be two Shawn Mendes concerts, but he postponed and then canceled his tour, taking a mental health break.

The calendar also includes two free showings of student art next Monday and Tuesday, part of The Basquiat Project, and a private event Sunday associated with the project, as described further below.

The Basquiat project

The arena, as it did in a year ago, will host an art show featuring approximately 100 pieces created by New York City middle and high school students, inspired by Brooklyn-born artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. 

It's part of an educational arts program the Brooklyn Nets developed in partnership with the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) and the Fund for Public Schools, and funded by the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation, the team owners. "Due to the course’s extraordinary reception," according to the press release, "the program’s curriculum was expanded to all NYC public schools for the 2021-22 school year.

The free-admission gallery will be set up in the arena’s main atrium and will be open to the public from 2-6 pm on Monday, Aug. 8 and Tuesday Aug. 9. There will be a private opening for the students on Sunday, Aug. 7 from 4 to 6 pm.

As I wrote last year,  even a worthy program like this must inevitably seen as part of an image-bolstering effort for the Tsais and the team/arena, generating forgetfulness about the once-promised $15 tickets or low-use use of the arena by community groups. (This time, at least, the press release didn't say Geico atrium, promoting a sponsor.)

August 2021

Last year, the August calendar was even more sparse, with no concerts (as tours slowly ramped up from the pandemic) but five Liberty games, plus some auditions for Nets troupes and the Basquiat showing.

August 2019

So, how was it the last pre-pandemic August, in 2019? Well, there were eight ticketed events, including one boxing card, one WNBA game, and six concerts. There were also two private events. 

It should be noted that the Liberty played their home games in Westchester that season, as part of a transitional year after Tsai's purchase, before moving to Brooklyn.