Brittany joined The LP team as our Community Arts Engagement Fellow in April 2021 and will be working to support creative community building in Bed-Stuy. Get to know her!
In what neighborhood do you live?
East New York, Brooklyn
How did you first become connected to The LP, or hear about The LP?
I heard about The LP through word of mouth, and actually came across their old residence in Harlem as I was putting up flyers for a community event there.
What attracted you to The LP? How does working here relate to your professional goals?
What attracted me to The LP was their service in bridging connections, helping to shape humanity through relationship building, between artist and neighbors. By working at The LP, I am able to deepen my practice of building resilient communities, through shared resources that could provide necessary changes for bettering the people who live amongst one another.
Do you have your own creative practice? If so, tell us more!
My creative practice involves music, at the start of my day, inviting a movement improvisation through dance and writing.
Can you tell us about an artist or project that has inspired you?
An artist who has inspired me is Kendra J. Ross.
What is your favorite… film? …album? …food?
My favorite film is Nappily Ever After. My favorite album is Robert Glasper’s Black Radio. My favorite food is mussels and calamari, with fries.
Where do you do your laundry?
My neighborhood laundromat across from me, on Linden Boulevard.
In your opinion, why does art matter?
Art absolutely matters, because it sheds light on the culture of a people and place. It reflects the times, enabling us to learn from creative modalities, have cross cultural conversations as well as show how people can find their self determined power in generating (radical) imagination.
What LP value do you most relate to and why?
The LP value I relate the most to is Write Our Own Histories, because ownership of our narratives drives the actions that we do or don’t take. Stories help shape the structure of conversations, people and place.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Brittany Grier began at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Dance Theater. While there, through West African dance, she learned about the griot: a storyteller carrying traditions. This would be the impetus for becoming part of community engaged work. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in dance from CUNY Lehman College. As an interdisciplinary artist and cultural worker, Brittany utilizes movement to build empowered communities. It comes through the intersection of dance, social justice, as well as storytelling and honoring legacies. The space she prepares is shaped through movement: a vehicle that helps drive connections between individual narrative and collective response.