Funk, God, Jazz, and Medicine: Black Radical Brooklyn

Creative Time

Funding Received: 2013
Brooklyn, NY
$275,000
Funding Period: 1 year and 5 months
http://creativetime.org/projects/black-radical-brooklyn/
Design & Architecture, Film & Media, Folk & Traditional Arts, Literature, Music, Visual Arts | Economic Development, Environment & Energy, Immigration, Youth Development | Urban
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August 18, 2013

Update

Since our last update, the curatorial team has made tremendous headway in developing not only the scope of our multifaceted project, but also many of its individual components. One of the major goals of My City Is a Dream Machine is to highlight the history of Weeksville Heritage Center, with a focus on its core mission of building and growing spaces that promote self-determination. With this in mind, we are developing a series of public programs, including a variety of events and talks, which will be presented weekly throughout the public run of the project. These might take the form of workshops related to a work by one of the participating artists, or they may be discussions that provide context for audiences, addressing such topics as how the project came to fruition and how it functions as art, or how it applies to our lives and why it is relevant and important.

Together, these programs will help frame My City Is a Dream Machine, and provide audiences with an understanding of how the work of the participating artists relates to Weekville’s history and themes. Defining this aspect of the project is a major win, and we’re very excited to continue to build upon these efforts in the coming months.

Recent Wins

We have hired a project manager, Marcus Mitchell, who has experience both supporting and executing artists’ vision, as well as the ability to develop productive ties across the spectrum of individuals and organizations that constitute a neighborhood. As our new team-member, Marcus will be integral to the development and continued success of this project and we are so pleased to welcome him aboard!

The Creative Time and Weeksville teams have collaboratively determined that the project will include a variety of weekly public programs that relate to work by individual participating artists as well as the project as a whole. In the coming months we will solidify exactly what these events are and where they will fall in the project calendar.

Insight/Provocation

How does an art project stay relevant to a community, and, perhaps more importantly, how can that relevancy be communicated so that audiences will 1) understand it and 2) feel invested in it.