DBP and DBAA release cultural policy blueprint for Downtown Brooklyn

July 6, 2016 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Photo courtesy of Downtown Brooklyn Partnership

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On July 6, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership (DBP) and Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance (DBAA) released a first-of-its-kind cultural plan, Culture Forward, to build on Downtown Brooklyn’s thriving cultural scene and support the neighborhood’s future artistic growth.

Based on feedback from more than 100 stakeholders over the last year, the plan charts an ambitious agenda for how Downtown Brooklyn can maintain its status as a beacon for arts and culture. Specifically, it lays out 13 initiatives for the City and community groups to undertake that would create new opportunities and resources for artists, and would enhance cultural spaces on public lands and in new developments.

“Downtown Brooklyn is already a destination for so many because of the incredible cultural activity here,” said DPB President Tucker Reed. “But it takes diligence and creative thinking to maintain and improve that legacy, which is why we’ve set a path to ensure that artists and cultural institutions will not only survive, but thrive in our shared neighborhood. Downtown Brooklyn has always been and should always remain a place where the arts flourish.”

“Culture Forward is the embodiment of a successful community driven planning process and demonstrates that the grass roots planning can have an outsized impact,” said Andrew Kalish, Director of Cultural Development for the DBP. “This plan will ensure that arts & cultural remain central to the future of Downtown Brooklyn and can serve as a blueprint as other cities seek to solidify their own cultural achievements.”

“We were delighted to have the opportunity to partner with the DBP on Culture Forward, which benefited from the expertise of Adrian Ellis Associates,” said Dorothy Ryan, Managing Director of Theatre for a New Audience and a member of the DBAA’s steering committee. “The inclusion of a diverse group of artists and cultural organizations was a singular achievement, and it is especially meaningful that arts and culture is considered integral to the future development of Downtown Brooklyn as a place to live, work, and create.”

“As Downtown Brooklyn has become a global center for the arts, we have an opportunity and an obligation to create a comprehensive plan to maximize the value of our creative community,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams.” “By encouraging the development of live/work space and housing for artists while activating our public spaces to better showcase our artistic Brooklynites, Culture Forward will help this borough become a more affordable, attractive destination for talented men and women from around the world who want to achieve their vision.”