Honor the power of creativity and community that has shaped our work over the past two decades.
Explore
20 Years in Review
Kicking off on July 18, 2025, The Laundromat Project (The LP) celebrates its 20th Anniversary over twelve months to honor the power of creativity and community that has shaped our work over the past two decades. Through art and culture, The LP has sparked transformation in Bed-Stuy and beyond, supporting artists and neighbors in re-imagining what’s possible.
The LP marks this milestone not just to celebrate our journey but to recommit to the vision that brought us here: fostering joy, connection, and meaningful change through the arts.
Join us for year-long public offerings designed to honor our legacy, uplift our beloved community, and share our learnings and practices that have fostered real change. From storytelling and live performances to archival projects and intimate conversations, these programs will capture the impact of The LP’s work while celebrating the vibrant voices that make it all possible. Together, we’ll reflect on our shared history, revel in our collective joy, and build momentum for what’s to come.
From legacy in full bloom to dreams taking root— share your story or wish for The LP at 20, and read others!
1999
The Vision
Risë Wilson first dreams up The Laundromat Project as a vehicle for bringing art to spaces where community members already gather.
2005
Official Incorporation
The LP is incorporated by Risë Wilson and the founding board, including Alea Woodlee and Dawn Strickland. The LP receives its first funding via the Echoing Green Fellowship and a grant from the Brooklyn Arts Council. Risë’s goal is to eventually purchase and operate a real laundromat that will host arts programming
The first public LP art program, a fabric mural workshop, takes place at the Stuyvesant Heights Senior Center in Bed-Stuy, facilitated by Risë.
2006
Beginning of Create Change Program
The board expands and is joined by Kemi Ilesanmi. Rudy Shepherd, Shinique Smith, and Miriam Neptune become The LP’s first Create Change Artists-in-Residence, staging projects in existing laundromats throughout NYC.
2008
Responding to Crisis
The Financial Crisis hits, making the purchase of a laundromat ever more difficult. The board suspends the Create Change program for one year to recalibrate.
2009
Expansion of Program
The Create Change program returns, with projects taking place in laundromats in Bed-Stuy and Harlem. The LP also launches its Community Arts Education program in Harlem, a series of artmaking workshops at laundromats. Petrushka Bazin Larsen is hired as The LP’s first staff member, becoming an early and integral part of The LP’s programming.
2010
501(c)3 Status
The LP officially becomes a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
2011
Kemi Ilesanmi Becomes Inaugural ED
After 5 years offering the Create Change residency, The LP adds a fellowship program for artists looking to develop or deepen their community engagement practice. Kemi Ilesanmi joins The LP as the first full-time and paid Executive Director. Risë Wilson becomes Board Chair.
2013
Field Day
The LP completes its first full strategic plan with Yancey Consulting, and identifies three “anchor neighborhoods” for sustained programmatic focus: Bed-Stuy, Harlem, and Hunts Point/Longwood. The inaugural Field Day—a daylong activation of Create Change artist projects—takes place across the three neighborhoods, happening annually through 2017.
2014
Kelly Street Collaborative
The LP collaborates with Kelly Street Garden, Banana Kelly, and Workforce Housing to transform a two-bedroom apartment in the Hunts Point/Longwood neighborhood of the Bronx into a community art space: the Kelly Street Collaborative, or KSC.
2018
Strategic Visioning
The LP begins a community-engaged strategic visioning process in partnership with Buscada.
2019
The Search For A Long-Term Home
The LP launches a new strategic vision to carry it forward through at least 2022. With great care and community engagement, The LP bids farewell to its Kelly Street space while setting intentions to bring its programmatic and administrative operations under the same roof. The organization holds multiple community listening sessions to determine where our new home should be.
2020
Bed-Stuy!
The LP finds a perfect space in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, signing a 10-year lease the same week that the COVID-19 pandemic shuts down New York City! While the move can’t happen exactly as planned, The LP is able to begin its community engagement process and share the news.
20th Anniversary Events
