MoCADA's Soul of Brooklyn Week Recap!

MAJOR ECONOMIC SUCCESS FOR BROOKLYN 

The 3rd Annual Soul of Brooklyn Week was a major success for the Borough of Brooklyn with events taking place throughout Bedford Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, East Flatbush and East New York. The 2012 Soul of Brooklyn Week took place from June 16-23, and featured film screenings, concerts, plays, exhibitions and festivals celebrating the rich culture of the African Diaspora in Brooklyn, New York with the goal of stimulating the local economy through partnerships with locally-owned businesses.

Celebrity highlights included a concert with jazz legend Randy Weston at the Walt Whitman Houses, the Spirit Award presented to Judith Jamison of Alvin Ailey Dance Company at the 11th Annual Juneteenth Festival, Fort Greene Associations Awards Ceremony to Brooklyn leaders Toure, Danny Simmons and others. Last but, never the least Otto Neals participated in the the 54th Annual Fulton Art Fair.

Since 2010, the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts has produced Soul of Brooklyn Week, a weeklong festival celebrating partnerships between Brooklyn’s established African Diaspora Arts organizations and local businesses. During this annual celebration, Brooklyn becomes the Mecca of African Diaspora music, arts, film, performance and culture. Highlights of business and cultural partnerships from the Week included: Tribal Truths and Urban Bush Women for the 11th Annual Juneteenth Celebration, West Indian American Day Carnival Association and the Steel Pan Drummers at Tropical Paradise Restaurant, Therapy Wine Bar and Act Now Foundation for a screening of independent Brooklyn film shorts, Arts East New York and an Art Hop in four local businesses, film maker Terence Nance of MoCADA and DeKalb Market for a concert and screening of the film “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty” and MoCADA in partnership with Free Candy Art Space for a Michael Jackson Dance Party with DJ Spinna.

The goal of Soul of Brooklyn Week is to give locals and tourists alike an opportunity to learn about some of Brooklyn’s best kept secrets and treasures and to brand Brooklyn as the place for a unique African Diaspora experience. According to Laurie Cumbo, Founder and Executive Director of MoCADA and Soul of Brooklyn, “This year’s Soul of Brooklyn Week took our audiences to more neighborhoods with strong collaborations from our cultural partners to create an increased awareness of our greatest resources, which are our local businesses and cultural organizations. We are confident that the momentum created from the Soul of Brooklyn Week will solidify the importance of African Diaspora businesses and cultural institutions to the Borough of Brooklyn”.

This year’s Soul of Brooklyn Week was made possible through a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation and TransCanada. While the Week has ended, funding for several other Soul of Brooklyn events include: The International African Arts Festival (June 30 – July 4), Mizik Ayiti Music Festival from Haiti Cultural Exchange, The West Indian American Day Carnival at SugarCane Restaurant and the F.O.K.U.S. organization's The Flock music and arts festival to name a few. For more information on upcoming Soul of Brooklyn events, visit our website at www.soulofbrooklyn.com.

Click HERE for the SOUL OF BROOKLYN WEEK recap video.
Click HERE for a complete overview of photography and additional videos.