The Prospect Park Alliance will host a family-friendly art and fashion event at Lefferts Historic House on Sunday, Sept. 29 inspired by Brooklyn trailblazer Shirley Chisholm.
In collaboration with the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute, attendees will create and showcase superhero capes while Artist-in-Residence Adama Delphine Fawundu serenades them through her performance piece, In the Face of History Freedom Cape, according to a press release.
Participants are encouraged to bring fabric scraps or use materials provided to decorate and sew their capes. Once complete, they will have their portrait taken wearing the cape and participate in a fashion show.
“Art is a powerful tool for social justice, and for a dialogue about legacy, agency and creativity,” said Prospect Park Alliance President Morgan Monaco, who emphasized that the event will celebrate the heroism of Black women and leverage the power of art to heal deep-seated wounds from our nation’s past.
Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, was a champion for equality. Fawundu’s In the Face of History Freedom Cape, which was filmed at Lefferts, symbolizes the ongoing struggle of Black women for fairness in society.
This event is part of ReImagine Lefferts, a program that explores the lives of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking and the Africans enslaved by the Lefferts family, whose histories are tied to the 18th-century Flatbush farmhouse where the event takes place.
The event is free and will take place between 2:00pm and 5:00pm. You can RSVP for free here.
