Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership continues 5th Annual Black Artstory Month
Creating Sanctuary & Healing Through Annual Artwalk
The Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership is presenting the Fifth Annual Black “Artstory” Month, “The Altar: Rituals of Healing in the African Diaspora,” throughout February. The monthlong series includes an artwalk and events co-presented with Museum Hue, Present Futures, BLDG 92, Willow Arts Alliance and FOKUS.
Black Artstory Month 2017 seeks to explore the vital role and traditions around healing, restoration and realignment in the African Diasporic community. Performances include everything from dance performances, visual art and live exhibitions to film screenings and spoken word performances. Featuring the work of more than 20 Brooklyn-based artists, Black Artstory Artwalk takes place at 15 businesses along Myrtle Avenue while events are presented at a variety of venues including Ingersoll Community Center, Leisure Life NYC, Pratt Institute and Brooklyn Navy Yard’s BLDG 92.
According to its release, “The Altar: Rituals of Healing in the African Diaspora” recognizes arts’ ability to act as a medium and conduit to expose, question and inspire when other forms of communication or action fall short. Themes include altar, inheritance, transference, ritual, ancestors, tradition, lineage, sacred spaces, liberation and power.
“This long legacy of healing practices are by their very existence acts of resistance, aimed at regaining equilibrium and maintaining wellness for community, family and self in the face of social structures and societal trauma. This year, artists’ interpretations of the theme speak truths about our intentions in the world,” said Black Artstory Month 2017 curator Suhaly Bautista-Carolina.