The Black Utopia Project Collective is a network of projects, initiatives and individuals remembering, reclaiming and reimagining Brooklyn as a Black Utopia.
Our Open Studio will be our book, “Brooklyn, Black Utopia: Bed Stuy” brought to life. The book will be an homage to those preserving culture and community in Bed Stuy. Our aim is to source a score/toolkit for conjuring Black Utopias – personal and collective. To that end, we’re gathering Black women and femmes (as well as those who love us) for an evening of conversation, contemplation, and play. We’ll start in front of the Laundromat Project with a ceremony to honor our ancestors, sample food by Kit an ‘Kin and a sumptuous cake by Pelah Kitchen, and close the evening in community.
The portals for the evening:
Mapping Black Utopias – Collective Mapping with Shanna Sabio of GrowHouse
Dreaming Black Utopias – Collage with Aisha Shillingford of Intelligent Mischief
Archiving Black Utopias – Interviews and Documentation with Faith Robinson of Bed Stuy Forever and Genel Ambrose of Good Mirrors
We invite participants to bring an artifact that symbolizes utopia for them. It could be a photo, object, or something worn.