Building Black Bed Stuy crowdsources community
AAPI
to these organizations, Industry
City will also be hosting
a weekly fundraiser with
each artist throughout June
to support Heart of Dinner,
an organization that focuses
on delivering meals to the elderly
Asian community. The
30 COURIER LIFE, JULY 2-8, 2021
fundraiser will be a donationbased
raffl e of a brown bag
with artwork painted by the
artist on it, hosted on the artist’s
Instagram account.
Industry City’s AAPI art
initiative was slated to launch
for spring and summer of 2020,
but it was postponed due to the
pandemic. Following a year in
which the AAPI community
“has experienced a lot of pain,
anger, sadness and disappointment,”
Chen said that the community
has grown stronger
through these hardships and
is “more united than ever.”
“In between terribly sad news
about the community — I think
it’s also important to remember
celebrating the joy and beauty
of the AAPI community as well
and that is one of the messages I
hope these art installations will
The Building Black Bed Stuy Market Place on a sunny Sunday in April.
Photo by Cate Corcoran
send out,” Chen said.
Tsaih told Brooklyn Paper
that she feels proud to be part
of the AAPI community and to
see other AAPI artists create
“these amazing works of art.”
“I hope that people can feel
that we are a resilient community
and that our artwork
speaks to that,” she said.
“I think it’s really important
to see the other side of
things — to celebrate our community,
be joyful and understand
that there is good with
the bad,” Tsaih said, adding
that she hopes her piece portrays
that “there are two sides
to everything” and that “lightness
comes after darkness.
“I hope that this brings joy
but also reinforces the lives of
our community in the eyes of
the people,” Marino said.
BY NADIA NEOPHYTOU
For a handful of weekends
in the fall of 2020, the corner of
Tompkins and Monroe in Bedford
Stuyvesant came alive in
a way it hadn’t since the start
of the global pandemic.
Vibrant block parties —
masked up, as socially distant
as possible — of the best kind,
with food and goods on sale,
took over the heart of Brooklyn,
bringing together a community
that had been deeply affected
by COVID-19. The events
were hosted as part of Building
Black Bed Stuy, an initiative
created by Sincerely Tommy’s
Kai Avent-deLeon, along with
friends Nana Yaa Asare-Boadu
and Rajni Jacques.
The aim was, and still is, to
bring Black-owned businesses
into a space where they’re appreciated
and supported. The
Market Place weekend gatherings
are a physical manifestation
of Building Black Bed
Stuy’s greater aim of self-suffi -
ciency and liberation, through
raising money for local organizations
that are uplifting
the community.
“Essentially, for us, Building
Black Bed Stuy is a longstay,”
Jacques told Brooklyn
Paper’s sister publication
Brownstoner. “Everything
that we do is to serve the community
— in whatever capacity
we can. We’re three Black
women who have full-time
jobs, raising families, and so
getting our hands in a lot of
different things can be a lot
but we love doing this because
we’re doing it for our people.”
Founded in an attempt to
curb the negative impacts of
gentrifi cation on the neighborhood,
the initiative took
on more resonance in the face
of the pandemic. Businesses
and organizations hardest hit
by COVID-19 needed a lifeline.
Building Black Bed Stuy
provided it in the form of a
GoFundMe, with the goal of
raising $75,000. Today, it’s far
exceeded that, with more than
$100,000 and counting.
For the fi rst round of support,
Building Black Bed Stuy
helped three benefi ciaries —
Black Power Blueprint, Life
Wellness Center, and the Watoto
Freeschool.
Jegna Mama Umineefa,
aka Mama Umi, who runs Watoto,
an independent school for
children of African descent
that was shut down due to
COVID-19, says she was struggling
and wouldn’t have made
it through without help.
“I was able to reopen the
school and move into a bigger
location. We went from
a 250-foot-square-foot location
with no bathroom to a
750-square-foot space with
two fl oors, a backyard and two
bathrooms,” she told Brownstoner.
“I am extremely grateful.
I would not be here, able to
help almost 18 families thrive
in our community if it had not
been for Building Black Bed
Stuy.”
Their next round of donations
will go to three other local
organizations, nominated
by the community itself — Little
Sun People, Dwana Smallwood
Performing Arts Center,
and The Bedford-Stuyvesant
Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
“What’s been a surprise
is how many outsiders, in the
sense of allyship we’ve seen,
from people not of color,”
added Jacques. “We hope more
people get on board because
we need support to fund these
businesses.”
Building Black Bed Stuy is
also applying for 501(c) status
so that it can help boost education,
health, and wellness
in Bed Stuy on a larger scale.
And those epic block parties
are back again, too.
BY REYNA IWAMOTO
Brooklynites can “celebrate
magic of the outdoors in winter”
this November, when the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden illuminates
their Lightscape exhibit
— a one-mile glowing trail
packed with world-renowned
art and other installations.
The project allows visitors
to encounter lighting effects
on the backdrop of the garden’s
trees, architecture, and sculptures
while taking in art commissioned
from local artists
along with the Sony Music and
Culture Creative.
Some of the special architectural
sights will include the
Cathedral of Light tunnel, a
Fire Garden on Lily Pool Terrace,
and an animated installation
across Cherry Esplanade
called The Field of Light.
There will also be new lightbased
artworks by local artists
that will be installed in the
Plant Family Collection.
Kathryn Glass, from the
Chief Public Affairs Offi ce at
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, told
Brooklyn Paper that they hope
this event will give the public
the opportunity to enjoy the
garden year-round.
“Winter is a special time
when you can really enjoy the
architecture of the Garden, especially
the trees, which will
be prominently lit,” Glass said.
“We’re hoping to incubate a joyful
family tradition that appeals
to everyone and that gets people
enjoying the outdoors even in
the dark and the cold of winter.”
Visitors will be able to visit
the light trail from November
19, 2021 to January 9, 2022.
First launched in London
in 2014, Lightscape has sold out
annually across its locations in
the United Kingdom and Chicago.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
is Lightscape’s only venue
on America’s East Coast.
Adult tickets are $34, while
tickets for children ages 3-12
are $18. Adult tickets for members
are $30 while tickets for
children ages 3-12 are $16. Babies
ages 0-2 are free.
Tickets go on sale to the
public July 20, while Garden
members will be able to purchase
tickets starting July 8.
Shopping to support
Garden announces winter light exhibit
BROOKLYN
Botanic getting lit
The Lightscape exhibit. Brooklyn Botanic Garden
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