The Art of the Carnival at PS 39

There's a one of a kind show going on at .

Celebrating the wild, whimsical, freakish and fun side in all of us, 's is bringing a marvelous mélange by some adventurous Brooklyn artists to the public. 

From fine artists to children's book illustrators, tattoos to elephants, acrylics to watercolor, the eclectic series celebrates the bizarre and wonderful, and the possibilities of youth, of curiosity, of individuality, of dreams.

It's also for a great cause: keeping the arts programs in the school.

The inspiration for the series, said organizer Diana English, came last year during the first annual PS 39 Spring Carnival. English, a parent of two boys at PS 39, and owner of women's boutique , said the idea came into fruition after some folks approached her at the carnival last year and asked her if the signs, which were hand-painted by several artistically inclined friends, were for sale.

"I'd been to a festival that had hand-painted signs, and I was really taken by them," said English. "So I asked friends who were artistic to help me and they did and at the end of it I had a lot of people who really wanted to buy the signs." 

She decided if they did it again, they would turn it into a silent auction, which is what's happening at this year's PS 39 Spring Carnival on June 4, when the pieces on view at Colson will be transferred over to the school carnival to be auctioned off to the public.

The series features the work of around 20 artists, including Marie Roberts, the resident artist at the Coney Island USA building who is known for the painted banners at Luna Park and for her colorful interpretation of carnival 'freakshow' attractions.

Most pieces are on 16x16" plywood, although some pieces deviate slightly. But according to English, all the pieces are similar in their ability to inspire "adventure, wanderlust... the idea that there are infinite possibilities and anything can happen."

"I think that's something that childhood should be about," she added.

The carnival and auction will be held on Saturday at the playground of , and all proceeds will go to the PS 39 Parent Association to be used to fund arts programs, including music, theater, and fine arts, as well as chess instruction and after-school programs.

It's the first of its kind, and English is excited to be offering something so extraordinary to the community; each piece is as individual as the artist that created it, and this is something, English believes, that should be more often cultivated in Brooklyn schools.

"Projects like this show people what kids are doing, and that you can grow up and be an artist," said English. "There is so much emphasis on testing and doing the same thing."

Art of the Carnival, she believes, is about embracing the child, the dreamer, the artist in all of us.

"I just think you can't underestimate the value of creativity," she said.

For more information, visit the PS 39 Spring Carnival Facebook page or PS39.org.