Black Artstory Month kicks off this Sunday with an Avenue-wide art walk featuring the work of over 25 local artists from 4-6pm and opening party at Brooklyn Eats on Myrtle from 6-8pm.

This year’s theme, Where I’m From: The Black Artstory of Myrtle and Beyond, is inspired by the centuries-long black arts tradition that has thrived in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill through the communities’ many evolutions. Curators Remi Onabajo, MoCADA, Pratt Institute’s BAKO Tribe, Naimonu James, Daonne Huff, SONYA, PS 20 and Freecandy have selected work guided by the concepts of time, travel and transition. Over 13 businesses along the Avenue will exhibit paintings, murals, and photographs that explore how the past informs our understandings of the here and now.

SIGNIFIED SPACE(S), curated by Remi Onabanjo, features the photography of Sonia Louise Davis, Alexa Telano and Naima Green, each of whom incorporates New York City’s landscape to examine how our personal identities are shaped by the places we call home.
Gnarly Vines, 350 Myrtle Avenue between Carlton & Adelphi

For THESE HANDS BUILT, curator Daonne’s Huff calls upon the rich but under told narratives of African-American men and women who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard for generations. Artists Cheyenne Epps and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez have created a series of linoleum prints that takes inspiration from found images of Navy Yard workers from the early 20th century.
Tipsy, 584 Myrtle Avenue at the corner of Classon
BLDG 92, Flushing Avenue between Carlton & Adelphi

“Myrtle Avenue Portraits,” a photography exhibition by Kwesi Abbensetts will feature portraits of artists, activists, business owners and community leaders who have called Fort Greene and Clinton Hill home for generations. Works will hang on the garden gates of the Trilok Fusion Center.
Trilok Fusion Center for Arts, 143 Waverly at Myrtle Avenue

Black Artstory Month features a lineup of FREE programming through the entire month of February. The first event following the artwalk is on Saturday, February 7th.  Join us to see contemporary dance company Hammerstep, presented at Ingersoll Community Center in partnership with the Irish Arts Center. 

Click HERE for the Artwalk Map
For a full list of events and exhibition locations, please visit: www.myrtleavenue.org/blackartstory/

Co-presenters: BLDG 92, FOKUS, South of the Navy Yard Artists, the Irish Arts Center & New Negress Film Society.

This program is made possible with public funds from the Decentralization Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered in Kings County by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC).