Note: Carmen Carriker is now Host of the Block Party and Shanna Sabio is now the Art Crawl Guide. We send our condolences to Carmin Wong and her family.
Artists are listed in alphabetical order
The Diaspora is a Kaleidoscope: The Diaspora is a Kaleidoscope showcases the visual beauty of the Diaspora when we are all woven together into one vibrant vision and the pride we should have in our history and impact on the globe.
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Aliyyaa Maya is a Haitian and African-American artist from Bed Stuy, Brooklyn who uses colorful textile (fabric) art to express the vibrancy of her culture and the African Diaspora overall. The artist is inspired by the long history of African American quilt makers who used their skills as tools for economic growth and freedom. She incorporates the idea of quilt patch work to create a kaleidoscope of images with Caribbean and African prints to represent togetherness. Her art has been featured in publications such as Suboart International Arts magazine; shows and festivals like Blue Lilith Productions, Bedstuy Art House, The Better Than Yesterday organization and The Trade Desk: Noir Soiree.
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A Legendary Legacy: Words and Songs from Amma Whatt exploring her family legacy as the daughter of her pioneering parents that explored and expanded the genres of African percussion, Afro-Cuban Orisha chanting, and RnB.
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Vocalist, performer, and activist Amma Whatt is a dynamic force, renowned for her “silk-infused vocals” (NYT) that effortlessly captivate audiences. Whether collaborating with bands like Grammy-nominated Nate Smith and Kinfolk, empowering children through self-expression, or gracing stages across Europe and the US, she continuously extends her influence as a multifaceted creator and educator. Her recent six-show feature with Arkestra Africa at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Dance Africa festival underscored her commitment to bridging the musical traditions of the African continent with those of the African Diaspora.
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Legacy Arts & Crafts, Legends Games & Storytelling, and Movement Makers (music and dance) at the Kiddie Korner
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A Stuyvesant Story: Join BSTFRND as he produces a quick sound excursion made of electronic tones, and reimagined rhythms for Bed-Stuy. Collaborate with him and others, adding layers to the song made on the street.
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Virginia native & multidisciplinary artist Jefferson Harris, makes music as BSTFRND. His sound is heady and danceable, blending hip hop and electronic music. BSTFRND started producing after high school in 2011 during college in Richmond, VA. He found community with local artists inspiring him to build a music collective of his own. Running this collective gave him the confidence for a greater challenge, so he relocated to Brooklyn in the summer of 2019. BSTFRND has worked with many inventive and unique artists. Engineering on KeiyaA’s Forever ya, Girl in 2020, producing Like Hajime with AKAI SOLO in 2021, as well as production history with Mutant Academy back in Richmond.
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Participants will join Wong on a walking tour that centers on local Black history of Bed-Stuy and access digital technology to visualize and map cultural landmarks. You can see Carmin Wong's storymap in our Program.
Queen Jaguar: Queen Jaguar is a warrior poetess and songstress from the jungle who performs improvised stories and a cappella song.
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Christine Stoddard is a filmmaker, performer, and artist named one of Brooklyn Magazine's Top 50 Most Fascinating People and Ms. Magazine's "Ms. Muse." She creates under her creative studio Quail Bell Press & Productions. Watch her films, videos, photo slideshows, and live performances on YouTube @stoddardsays. She hosts the talk show "Badass Lady-Folk" and co-hosts the comedy TV show "Don't Mind If I Don't" with Aaron Gold. Previous credits: Theater for the New City, The Players Theatre, Broadway Comedy Club, FiveMyles Gallery, Queens Botanical Garden, New York Transit Museum, Gotham Comedy Club, etc.
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Polaroids & Poetry: Taking inspiration from prompts and Polaroids of Bed-Stuy, participants will co-create Bed-Stuy legacies. They will create a collective poem and take home a portion on the back of their Polaroid.
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Kai Diata Giovanni is a 18 year old Brooklyn-based poet and performer. They have organized and performed as an artivist (artist-activist) independently and for various organizations for upwards of 5 years. They have been an independent and collaborative STooPS performer for 8 years.
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Legends and Love: This work is a dedication, invocation, and honoring of some of Bed-Stuy's women legends and the echos of their legacies.
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Kendra J. Bostock is a dancer, choreographer, and community organizer from Detroit, MI. As a performer, Kendra has danced with Urban Bush Women, MBDance, Monstah Black, Oyu Oro, Ase Dance Theater Collective and Movement of the People Dance Company. Her work has been presented by 651Arts, Ailey Citigroup Theater, Dixon Place, Actors Fund Theater, Florida A&M University and Museu de Arte in Bahia, Brazil. Kendra was the 2022 Inaugural Bed-Stuy Create Change Artist in Residence with the Laundromat Project and a current Jerome Hill Artist Fellow. Kendra is the Founder/Director of STooPS and an adamant lover of Bed-Stuy.
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Keys Will is a Spoken Wordsmith, Lyricist and published author from Queens, NY. She has been writing poetry for over 20 years and performed on many stages including “The Bowery”, “Nuyorican Poets Cafe”, “Lehman College” and “Poetry Me Please” to name a few. Keys is also the published author of, “Chrysalis: Not Quite The Butterfly”, a poetic memoir available on Amazon.
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Artists Are The Gatekeepers Of Truth: Painting Live About the Bed-Stuy Legend Herself Ms.Lena Horne. Will be creating a giant painting replica of a Lena Horne poster. This poster would be reminiscent of 1940s.
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I'm Ladie Ovila of Mut'Sun. Mut'Sun pronounced (moot-son) In the Ancient Kemetic Medu Neter language, "Mut" is the word for mother. The "sun" in Mut'Sun, is how I always refer to my son, whom I first began my journey as a painter with. Replacing the O with a U so he understands he is as brilliant as the sun in my eyes. Mut'Sun stands for mother and son. The thing that sets Mut'Sun apart from other artists , besides the obvious that I am partners with my son, I would say use of color. I am not afraid to use color and the way I see color is different from most. I see color as I see people. All beautiful and should all be able to go along with each other. I teach my son that.
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Art Crawl Guide
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A proud mother of 3, Shanna Sabio was born in Brownsville, and raised in Bushwick and Bedford Stuyvesant. She’s an anti-disciplinary artist, curator, cultural strategist and educator whose practice uses the intersections of art and technology, travel and urban planning to create healing, anti-racist, equitable, and inclusive spaces. GrowHouse NYC, the organization she co-founded with her son Warner, uses collective ownership of real estate to combat gentrification in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Her most recent work, the Sankofa Walking Tour for the Flatbush African Burial Ground, has been experienced by over 1000 people thus far.
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Considered by many music insiders to possess one of our generations’ greatest voices, with a 5 octave range she has simultaneously been compared to Minnie Riperton, Grace Jones & Tina Turner.
YahZarahʼs performances are effortlessly electric. She encompasses the tenderness of Adele, and the fierceness of Janis Joplin. YahZarah is the diva with the healing power and the archetype of an urban pop Joan of Arc. With the audacity of Prince.
She has shared the stage with the Roots, Anderson Paak, and Bilal Oliver, was a featured opener on Anthony Hamiltonʼs 9 city “Playing it Cool Tour” at the House of Blues. And at the request of the Italian government, performed for the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
She started her career lending her unique soprano to Erykah Baduʼs she would stay for seven years singing backing vocals and providing vocal arrangements for some of the most beloved songs her “Mamaʼs Gun” release.
YahZarah then went on to become a member of Rock Legend Lenny Kravitzʼs band for four years on his incredible“Strut Tour” and putting down some considerable vocals in his rockumentary “Just Let Go”.
Her release, “The Ballad of Purple Saint James” was considered for a Grammy in 6 major categories. And her most recent single “Running was featured in episode 8 of Spike Leeʼs “Sheʼs Gotta Have It”.
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Experiencing the Brooklyn Legends with Zardon: For my performance, I will weave through different cover songs from Brooklyn artists and original songs that I have created. My performance will be educating and entertaining and inspiring and noteworthy. It will be a soulful vibe that will involve the crowd with live instruments and instrumentals.
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Zardon Za', is American writer, rapper, singer and filmmaker from Chicago, IL. He was born on the city’s side in the K-town (West Garfield Park) neighborhood and later moved to the L-Town neighborhood of Chicago (Austin neighborhood). When you think Zardon Za', think a soulful Chance the Rapper, with the lyrical acuity of Killer Mike. He focuses on telling the story by cleverly addressing the elephant in the room. In his words, he claims that he learned this from “living in a household where communication and addiction battled for attention.” Therefore he always seeks understanding the textures of life through these lenses.
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STooPS Art & Community values creators. We are an artist-centered organization. We recognize that without artists there would be no art, and we honor both the product and the creator. We believe in fair compensation rooted in a communally-determined value system, and we are committed to paying all creators in a way that meets their needs and expectations. Exposure is not sufficient compensation.
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Your donations and support aid us in honoring these values.
