About
Join The Laundromat Project for Artists as Neighbors: Living Liberation, a multi-day public convening featuring community conversations and panel discussions exploring issues of gentrification and displacement as well as how memory, history, and activism can be used in tandem to reclaim and defend neighborhoods.
Artists As Neighbors: Living Liberation, recognizes that artists are not an abstract entity, but are our everyday people, living in our neighborhoods as invested community members. Through public forums, participants and panelists will address the challenges facing both artists and neighbors who are working in different fields, such as public advocacy, local organizing, history and preservation, as well as philanthropy, to address these topics.
This multi-day convening will begin with a series of virtual community conversations, building to a culminating brunch on July 16 at Bed-Stuy stronghold, Restoration Plaza. This gathering over a shared meal will serve as an opportunity to address the wide and complex challenges facing both artists and neighbors in a time of immense change. Together, we will share our strategies for building community and nurturing our collective creativity in ways that ensure we are living out the liberation we hope to enact every day.
Past
Dates, Times, & Locations
Friday, June 9
6:00pm – 7:30pm
Virtual
Community Conversation: Evolutions in Public Art and Displacement
This community conversation will explore the dynamic relationship between public art and the challenges of displacement faced by communities of color. Through the perspectives of artists, activists, and community leaders, we will delve into how public art can uplift legacies, preserve cultural heritage, and address the impacts of gentrification. Join us to be inspired, share your experiences, and contribute to the dialogue on the transformative role of public art in celebrating and protecting our narratives.
Moderated by Betty Yu; featuring Jamel Burgess, Diya Vij, and Larry Weekes
Saturday, June 10
11:00am – 12:30pm
Virtual.
Community Conversation: Evolutions in Public Art and Displacement
This community conversation will explore the dynamic relationship between public art and the challenges of displacement faced by communities of color. Through the perspectives of artists, activists, and community leaders, we will delve into how public art can uplift legacies, preserve cultural heritage, and address the impacts of gentrification. Join us to be inspired, share your experiences, and contribute to the dialogue on the transformative role of public art in celebrating and protecting our narratives.
Moderated by Betty Yu; featuring Jamel Burgess, Diya Vij, and Larry Weekes
Sunday, July 16
12:00pm – 3:00pm
Virtual.
Kilombo Chronicles: Celebrating Resilience and Collective Liberation (Culminating Brunch & Keynote Conversation)
Join us for a captivating and empowering keynote conversation at our community brunch event, “Kilombo Chronicles: Celebrating Resilience and Collective Liberation.” This unique gathering shines a spotlight on artists of color and their profound contributions to resilience and collective liberation. Through captivating storytelling, powerful performances, and thought-provoking dialogue, we will explore the transformative power of art as a catalyst for social change and empowerment. Be inspired as we honor the resilience and creative spirit of artists of color, celebrating their unique narratives and the profound impact they have on our communities. Together, we will forge a path towards collective liberation, igniting a movement where art becomes a catalyst for change and a beacon of hope. Don’t miss this extraordinary event where creativity, resilience, and collective liberation converge.
Featuring Chief Baba Neil Clarke and Dr. Angela Fatou Gittens, moderated by Director of Programs, Catherine Mbali Green-Johnson
Our event partners include Bed-Stuy Restoration, Brooklyn Community Board 3, Somewhere Good, and Tranquility Farm US.
This program is made possible by Humanities New York, The Mellon Foundation, The Muriel Pollia Foundation, and Terra Foundation for American Art.