Shenaia Ramsey
Project: Outdoor Street Performance
I am proposing an outdoor street performance and gathering on the block of Tompkins Avenue between Jefferson Ave and Putnam Ave in Bed-Stuy, in the same area as Make Manifest. This free, intergenerational event celebrates the brilliance of emerging Black artists—MCs, singers, producers, painters, drummers, visionaries, and more—through live performance, visual art, and cultural exchange. The street will transform into an open-air stage and creative sanctuary. Local performers will share live music, poetry, and art that speaks to the past, present, and future of Black expression. A painter will offer a live glimpse into their creative process. A few vendors will line the block, offering food, healing goods, vinyl records, books, and artifacts rooted in Black culture, liberation, and legacy. A DJ will guide the energy throughout the day, inviting movement, reflection, and love. Rooted in the framework of Black Quantum Futurism, the event explores how time, space, and memory shape our collective liberation. It is a living altar to Bed-Stuy’s artistic spirit—one that collapses timelines, honoring ancestral presence while manifesting futures that center healing, imagination, and freedom. Children, elders, and everyone in between are welcome. This is more than a performance—it’s a block party, a showcase, a pop-up gallery, and a portal. The goal is to create a space for love, reflection, and connection—right in the heart of the neighborhood that shapes us—where community and creativity meet to reimagine what’s possible.
Bio:
Shenaia Ramsey is a multidisciplinary artist who practices event curation, photography, and archiving, among many other forms of creative expression, based in Brooklyn, NY. She is deeply rooted in uplifting her community through Black music, art, and culture. Her work centers on the brilliance of Black life—past, present, and future focusing on preserving the narratives of the Black community, Black connections, and Black futurism. She has curated numerous artists’ showcases that create space for local Black and Brown artists to share their work and be celebrated by the community. These events serve as extensions of her visual archive and photography project, Hip Hop is Forever, which documents the culture and artists throughout moments shaping Brooklyn’s underground hip hop scene. These events help function as a form of art therapy and communal healing. She’s a recent graduate of Morgan State University and a recipient of the 2017 Women of Congress Award. Her work spans exhibitions—including her feature in Weeksville Heritage Center’s 2024 Spring Benefit Exhibition Imagining Our Future, and more! Shenaia’s creative approach is rooted in spirituality, legacy, and love. Through her multidisciplinary practice, she seeks to preserve culture, uplift unheard voices, and spark moments of collective celebration in Bed-Stuy and beyond.