During the project's launch on Saturday, Gbenga Akinnagbe will bring a film crew to capture the stories of local residents and photo artist Barron Claiborne will be taking free portraits
Gbenga Akinnagbe, actor from "The Wire" is launching "Africans in Brooklyn," an oral history art project, on Saturday, September 30 at Kingsborough Houses in Crown Heights. The project is an interactive contemporary art installation curated by Akinnagbe and presented in collaboration with the Weeksville Heritage Center, Enitan Vintage and Liberated People.
The art installation "Africans in Brooklyn" aims to document the life of residents in the historic area of Weeksville, and the neighborhoods of Crown Heights and Bedford Stuyvesant. For the launch on Saturday, Akinnagbe will bring a film crew to capture the stories of local residents in and around Kingsborough Houses.
Brooklyn-based Barron Claiborne, the acclaimed photo artist behind the iconic photo of rapper Biggie Smalls, is joining the celebration and will take free portraits. The photographs will be framed and available for pick up at Weeksville Heritage Center in October. Attendees are encouraged to have their portraits taken and to share their stories to make the art project a truly interactive experience.
"Africans in Brooklyn" is presented in collaboration with the Weeksville Heritage Center, an institution dedicated to documenting, preserving and interpreting the history of free African American communities in Weeksville and beyond. The organization's mission is to create and inspire innovative, contemporary uses of African American history through education, the arts and civic engagement.
The event will also include free giveaways of book bags, school supplies, sweatshirts and more. Donations in support of the back-to-school initiative are appreciated and can be made here.
Africans in Brooklyn
When: Saturday, September 30, 1:00pm - 6:00pm
Where: Kingsborough Housing, 154 Kingsborough 4th Walk, (behind the Hugh Gilroy Senior Center), Brooklyn, NY 11233
