Featuring a Concert Series on the Plaza, Virtual Author Talks, Climate Reads Series, Brooklyn Resists Panels, and the Return of Cinema Ephemera, BPL’s Projection of Music and Images on the Façade of Central Library at Sunset
Brooklyn, NY— June 29, 2021— As Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), continues to reopen its branches safely to residents of the borough, it announced today its initial lineup of free in-person and virtual arts and cultural programming through September 2021.
The plaza at Central overlooking the majestic Grand Army Plaza will host free weekly concerts and performances all summer long featuring Inyang Bassey, DJ Max Glazer, and Innov Gnawa, and the return of Cinema Ephemera, BPL’s weekly evening projections of meditative music and images on the façade of Central Library. The Library will also continue virtual author talks and discussions with activists and historians in conjunction with the exhibition titled Brooklyn Resists on last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests, BPL’s summer 2021 programming expands on the Library’s mission to provide access to diverse voices and builds on the Library’s commitment to providing arts, culture, and enrichment during the pandemic to the 2.7 million people who call Brooklyn home.
On Wednesday evenings, the Library will present an outdoor concert series on Central Library’s Plaza. Beginning on June 30 with pop, soul, funk and classical artist Inyang Bassey and continuing every Wednesday throughout the summer, the series includes concerts and DJ sets from musicians and performers including guitarist Grey Gersten and cellist Rubin Kodheli, Federation Sounds’ DJ Max Glazer, Afro-Brazilian pop percussionist and vocalist Davi Vieira, internationally acclaimed vocalist and songwriter Emeline Michel, DJ Leecy T, and Grammy nominated Moroccan group Innov Gnawa.
Beginning on Monday, July 5, and continuing Monday evenings through August, the Library presents Cinema Ephemera, last summer’s popular series of projections, featuring art and music on the façade of Central Library after dusk. The program will include works by artists such as Neil Goldberg and Holger Thoss as well as recordings of past BPL Presents performances by Curtis Stewart and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and special archival footage of Prospect Park, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and the Grand Army Plaza. This summer, the series will follow BPL’s concert series on the Central Library’s Plaza on Wednesday evenings, for a night of music and film under the stars.
“As the Library continues to safely reopen, we are eager to welcome back our communities with an array of cultural programs that reflect and respond to critical issues facing our community, from climate change and systemic racism to the repercussions of last year’s Black Lives Matter protests and the ongoing pandemic,” said László Jakab Orsós, Vice President of Arts and Culture at Brooklyn Public Library. “The response we received from Brooklynites to Cinema Ephemera last summer was immense and I look forward to expanding the series this year, coupling it with some of the most exciting and inspiring musicians and DJs throughout Brooklyn, celebrating the many distinct voices and backgrounds that shape our community.”
BPL’s Center for Brooklyn History (CBH) continues the Brooklyn Resists initiative in conjunction with the physical exhibition on view at now at 128 Pierrepont Street, exploring racial protest in Brooklyn from abolition to the present, with virtual programs, including a panel on June 30 with historian and author Johanna Fernández, Brooklyn-based activist Zenat Begum, New York State Senator Jabari Brisport, and The Intercept’s Akela Lacy, exploring the many grassroots, community-based responses to 2020’s pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement.
On July 7, Robin Rue Simmons, commissioner of the National African American Reparations Commission, Georgetown University Professor Marcia Chatelain, David Ragland from the Truth Telling Project, and the Associated Press’ national race and ethnicity writer Aaron Morrison will discuss how institutions, local governments and individuals are adopting solutions to repair the inequalities wrought by slavery.
BPL welcomes photographers Bob Gore, Madison Swart, and Terrence Jennings on July 15 to discuss documenting the 2020 protest movement in Brooklyn with New York Times Metro columnist David Gonzalez, who served for many years as the co-editor of the newspaper’s Lens Blog. To learn more about Brooklyn Resists, including how Brooklynites can submit their own images and ephemera to the initiative’s online exhibition, please visit https://www.bklynlibrary.org/brooklyn-resists.
Following the overwhelming success of virtual author talks in spring 2021, which were attended by more than 9,000 people from across Brooklyn and around the world, the Library continues its author talk series over the summer with Mary Dixie Carter discussing her first-ever novel, The Photographer (July 21). BPL’s environmentally focused Climate Reads also continues this summer featuring a virtual conversation with indigenous scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer on her deeply insightful work Braiding Sweetgrass, which draws on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman (June 29).
Throughout the summer BPL’s outdoor audio experience Whispering Libraries continues at library branches across Brooklyn, featuring curated neighborhood playlists of music, poetry, oral histories, spoken literature and more. BPL offers additional opportunities outside including outdoor reading rooms at libraries across the borough; free outdoor Wi-Fi and laptop loans; the “Outdoor Living Room,” part seating area and part art installation created by Brooklyn-based artist Heinrich Spillmann at BPL’s Central Library; and a host of outdoor programs including StoryWalk—pages of a book or verses of a song placed every few feet around the perimeter of the library so as families stroll around outside they can read or sing together.
A complete calendar of upcoming programs can be found here with information about how to log-in and register for specific events.
BPL Presents’ programming builds upon the Library’s more than 60,000 free programs offered each year. While the Library’s physical services are adjusted to best serve public health needs, patrons can access the collection including e-books and audiobooks, podcasts, and resources and classes for job seekers, parents, adult learners, and curious people.
BPL Presents Programming Calendar
Please visit bklynlibrary.org/bpl-presents for the most up to date listings
Art and Music Projection Program on Central Library Façade
Screenings on Central Library façade every Monday evening at dusk, starting on July 5.
Climate Reads: Braiding Sweetgrass with Robin Wall Kimmerer, Leah Stokes, Dr. Jessica Hernandez, and Kathleen Dean Moore
Tuesday, June 29 at 7 p.m.
Virtual
Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings―asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass―offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth and learn to give our own gifts in return. Co-presented with Orion Magazine & Writers Rebel NYC.
Brooklyn Resists: Looking Back, Looking Forward: Black Lives Matter, the Pandemic, and the Future
Wednesday, June 30 at 6:30 p.m.
Virtual
2020 was defined by two transformative and intertwined events: a global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter uprising. In the face of tragedy, people looked out for their neighbors, fed their communities, and triumphantly protested against police violence in the name of liberation. Historian Johanna Fernández, author of The Young Lords: A Radical History; Brooklyn activist-entrepreneur Zenat Begum; and Jabari Brisport, activist and now New York State Senator, take a backwards and forward look at the many grassroots and community-based responses that cropped up over the past year and that are continuing to provide connection during an otherwise alienating time. Moderated by The Intercept’s Akela Lacy. This partner program is presented by BPL’s Center for Brooklyn History and Justice Initiatives, in connection with the CBH project “Brooklyn Resists” which looks at the past and present of Black protest and resistance in Brooklyn.
Plaza Concert: Inyang Bassey
Wednesday, June 30 at 7 p.m. (rain date: Thursday, July 1 at 7 p.m.)
In-person on Central Library’s Plaza
As contemporary music continues to dissolve the boundaries between categories, Inyang Bassey [pronounced E-yang] is a singer and composer who is taking her place in this thriving tradition through her own powerful, genre-bending performances. Described with words that include pop, soul, funk, electronic dance music (EDM), and classic, Ms. Bassey delivers an irresistible, high-energy experience that slices across musical styles with dexterity and elegance.
Plaza Concert: Never Can Tell
Monday, July 5 at 7 p.m.
In-person on Central Library’s Plaza
Stories, songs, and improvisations by Brooklyn-based experimentalist artists Grey Gersten and Rubin Kodheli.
Brooklyn Resists: A Look at Reparations
Wednesday, July 7 at 6:30 p.m.
Virtual
Across the nation, institutions, local governments, and individuals are adopting solutions to repair the inequalities wrought by slavery. From state programs to university stipends, and direct cash payments to homegrown person-to-person Venmos, restitution for this open wound in our history is taking shape in many ways. BPL brings together three individuals to discuss these solutions and more, including on the front lines: Robin Rue Simmons, former Alderwoman of Evanston, Illinois, and newly appointed commissioner of the National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC); Georgetown University Professor Marcia Chatelain who served on the University’s Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation; and David Ragland of the Truth Telling Project who brings a faith-based perspective to the conversation. The program is moderated by Aaron Morrison, award-winning multimedia journalist and national race and ethnicity writer for The Associated Press.
Plaza Performance: DJ Max Glazer
Wednesday, July 7 at 7 p.m. (rain date: Thursday, July 8 at 7 p.m.)
In-person on Central Library’s Plaza
Max Glazer has represented New York City touring the world DJing parties for superstars like Naomi Campbell, Puff Daddy, Missy Elliott, 50 Cent, Branford Marsalis, and Jay Z, to name just a few. Separate from the glamorous celebrity parties he was known for, Glazer was always cultivating his interest and love for reggae, dancehall and Caribbean music. Through Federation Sound, which he founded with his partner Kenny Meez, Glazer will bring their love of music and reggae to BPL for an evening of dance and celebration.
Plaza Performance: Brasil Summerfest with Davi Vieira
Wednesday, July 14 at 7 p.m. (rain date: July 15 at 7 p.m.)
In-person on Central Library’s Plaza
Born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, Vieira studied percussion, capoeira and dance. As a percussionist and vocalist Davi has contributed to recordings, shared the stage and/or toured with many great artists such as Angelique Kidjo, Carlos Santana, Richard Bona, Sergio Mendes, David Byrne and Sun Ra among others. He brings his music, a mixture of Afro-Brazilian Pop in the spirit of Bahia, to BPL for an evening of culture and celebration.
Brooklyn Resists: Capturing Protest: A Photographer’s Perspective on a Year in the Movement for Black Lives
Friday, July 16 at 6:30 p.m.
Virtual
Bob Gore, Madison Swart, and Terrence Jennings, whose works are now part of CBH’s exhibition Brooklyn Resists, joined Brooklyn rallies and marches, turning their gaze and cameras to the history being made. Hear what they saw, learn how they felt, and discover their hopes for the impact of their work in a conversation that explores where the personal and professional meet in documenting the movement for racial justice. Moderated by David Gonzalez, New York Times Lens Blog Co-Editor and Metro Columnist.
Mary Dixie Carter Discusses The Photographer
Wednesday, July 21 at 7 p.m.
Virtual
Mary Dixie Carter Discusses her novel The Photographer—a slyly observed, suspenseful story of envy and obsession, told in the mesmerizing, irresistible voice of a character who will make you doubt that seeing is ever believing. Carter’s writing has appeared in TIME, The Economist, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Sun, The New York Observer, and other print and online publications.
Plaza Concert: Emeline Michel
Wednesday, July 21 at 7 p.m. (rain date: Thursday, July 22 at 7 p.m.)
In-person on Central Library’s Plaza
Vocalist, songwriter, and performer Emeline Michel is internationally acclaimed for fusing pop, jazz, blues, and traditional Haitian rhythms to create deeply moving and joyful music, delivered with a charismatic live show. A master entertainer, Michel has been sharing her message with audiences across Europe and the Americas for more than 20 years, including appearances at New York’s Carnegie Hall, The United Nations, Ontario’s Luminato Festival, Montreal International Jazz Festival, New Orleans Jazz Fest, Tasmania’s Ten Days on the Island, Zimbabwe’s Harare International Festival of the Arts, and on MTV’s Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief fundraiser.
Brooklyn Resists: The Federal Writers’ Projects’ Slave Narratives
Monday, July 26 at 6:30 p.m.
Virtual
This panel discussion spotlights the WPA’s Federal Writers’ Project (FWP), most specifically the impact and import of its slave narratives which captured more the 2,300 first person accounts of slavery. Three panelists include: Clint Smith, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of the new book How the Word is Passed; historian John Edgar Tidwell who has written extensively on Sterling A. Brown; and the FWP national editor of Negro Affairs Catherine Stewart, author of the 2016 book Long Past Slavery: Representing Race in the Federal Writers’ Project. The panel will discuss the profound power of the FWP to fill the silences in our meager records documenting the experiences of enslaved people in America. More than 6,000 writers were employed as part of the Federal Writers’ Project, among them Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, and Zora Neale Hurston. Presented with partners LIU and Texas A&M University Commerce, who together are offering a NEH Summer Institute on the FWP.
Plaza Concert: DJ Leecy T
Wednesday, August 4 at 7 p.m. (rain date: Thursday, August 5 at 7 p.m.)
In-person on Central Library’s Plaza
Named by The Source magazine as one of “10 female hip hop DJs keeping culture alive,” DJ Leecy T has shared the stage with Rah Digga, Eternia, Nitty Scott MC, Large Professor and Neek The Exotic, Sadat X, eMC, Dana Dane, Homeboy Sandman, J-Live, Masta Ace and Marco Polo, Grand Wizard Theodore, and Grandmaster Caz. You can hear DJ Leecy T spin on SiriusXM FLY, as a guest deejay and guest co-host with her health segments on Equilibrium Radio-90.3 FM in NYC.
Plaza Concert: Innov Gnawa
Wednesday, August 11 at 7 p.m. (rain date: Thursday, August 12 at 7 p.m.)
In-person on Central Library’s Plaza
Hailing from Morocco, yet based in New York City, Innov Gnawa has held a mesmerizing space in the world of Gnawa spiritual music, which has been deeply rooted in the Cherifian Kingdom since the 14th century. Indeed, the freed slaves of West Africa developed a religious syncretism, mixing their beliefs with the Moroccan culture. The Grammy-nominated group is led by Maâlem Hassan Ben Jaafer. The title maâlem denotes his ancestral heritage of the musical tradition. Ben Jaafer is accompanied by Amino Belyamani and Ahmed Jeriouda.
Art World Conference: The Future of Care, with Chloё Bass and Hannah Zeavin
Tuesday, August 31 at 6 p.m.
Virtual
In this last year, heightened by the circumstances of the pandemic, there has emerged a greater recognition of the need for care in our social infrastructure, our relationships with each other, and our relationships with ourselves. At the same time, modes of care have become increasingly technological and at screen’s length from our embodied lives; when we are in-person, we too are distant. Care can describe itself or its absence: you can forget your cares, or be the person that care forgot. Care can be another name for carelessness or harm itself. Join artist Chloë Bass and scholar and critic Hannah Zeavin for a conversation about the many meanings of care, care’s potential violence, and the renewed importance of translating between digital and material form. The first 150 registered attendees who provide a mailing address by August 24 will receive a package created by artist Chloë Bass. The delivery will merge virtual and physical worlds to create a shared experience beyond the Zoom screen.
About Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library is one of the nation’s largest library systems and among New York City’s most democratic institutions. As a leader in developing modern 21st-century libraries, we provide resources to support personal advancement, foster civic literacy, and strengthen the fabric of community among the more than 2.7 million individuals who call Brooklyn home. We provide nearly 65,000 free programs a year with writers, thinkers, artists, and educators from around the corner and around the world. And we give patrons millions of opportunities to enjoy one of life’s greatest satisfactions: the joy of a good book.