Dear fabulous being,
Can you believe Spring is almost here? Even though this year is moving swiftly for us, I pray you have been able to savor each moment.
Reflecting on the Black Future Festival:
STooPS has been living the “time flies when you are having fun” mantra as we recently curated the Black Future Festival (BFF) at the Brooklyn Children's Museum and are planning our Summer Festival. The BFF was monumental for us in several ways: it was our first major curation opportunity, the first time we had winter programming and the first time we employed our team all winter. Whoop! Whoop! Our community's generosity and support make this possible.
Let me share a little STooPS folklore:
In the summer of 2012, I attended the Urban Bush Women Summer Leadership Institute (SLI) as a company member and met the program's intern, Atiba Edwards. Through art, this event brought together people from the north and south sides of Fort Greene, two very different populations that rarely interact due to gentrification. As a new Bed Stuy resident at the time, I kept thinking about how wonderful that concept was, and I thought how cool it would be to have that same concept take place on a stoop, connecting new Bed Stuy residents with established Bed Stuy residents. Taking inspiration from The Stoop and sharing my idea with Atiba, STooPS was born!
10 STooPS Art Crawls later:
We get the Black Future Festival opportunity through another STooPS Alumni Artist, Adia Whitaker of Ase Dance Collective, where we curate eight performances and 24 workshops related to African Diaspora culture and themes. And guess who the President and CEO of Brooklyn Children’s Museum is??? Atiba Edwards!!!! Talk about a full-circle moment.
This opportunity was a way to flex our value of Creative Growth & Exploration and Making Art Accessible.
And we want to keep it going! We were able to unlock the Teaching Artist superpowers of our STooPS Alumni Performing Artists and welcome new Teaching Artists to the STooPS Family during the Black Future Festival. You can help them share their skills and talents through the STooPS Educational Program.
Do you work at a school, community center, library, senior center, or just have a group of people who want to connect creatively?
Fill out our form to schedule a workshop or residency. And keep an eye out for more STooPS Educational Programming info coming soon!!!
Artfully Yours,
Kendra J. Bostock
Founder/Director, STooPS Art & Community
Al photos by Winston Williams