Weeksville Heritage Center

Weeksville Heritage Center and Black Reconstruction Collective invite you to Unmonument Brooklyn: City Refuge imagined by Olalekan Jeyifous on August 8-10. This three-day program celebrates the BRC’s traveling installation dedicated to the Liberators of Black America and the Self-Liberated communities found throughout the Americas. This is the second iteration of the Unmonument traveling installation, an architectural project centering a nomadic sculpture conceived as an ‘exquisite corpse’ exercise, meant to refuse traditional ideas of monuments and inspire collective action. Unmonument Brooklyn: City Refuge’s events include an augmented reality sculptural experience by BRC founder and Brooklyn-based artist Olalekan Jeyifous, film screenings, open source library activities, a sunset celebration, and more. Unmonument Brooklyn: City Refuge Thursday, August 8: Sacred Haven Film Screening an intimate conversation on Oasis and Self Liberated Communities. Friday, August 9: Aural Meadow Open source library and sound odyssey “Read on the Grass While Meditating on Black Self Determinism” with Black Discourse Sunset Sound bath meditation with Kia Isam Saturday, August 10: Exodus Oasis Party Sunset Celebration with DJ sets Visit https://bit.ly/3YDJ5rY for more information and to RSVP for this exciting weekend-long celebration. #WeAtWeeeksville #Unmonument_BK #BlackReconstructionCollective #brooklyn #explore #art #community

Join us on Saturday, August 10th, for an extended Green Market from 12 PM to 7 PM! From 12 PM to 5 PM, explore our fresh, affordable produce and support our community vendors. Starting at 4 PM, enjoy an energetic lineup of DJs on our lawn as we conclude the “Unmonument Brooklyn: City Refuge” installation with the Black Reconstruction Collective. Don't forget your dancing shoes! As always, this market will feature an energetic lineup of vendors, family-friendly activities, entertainment, including: Produce: Fresh Produce from GrowNYC (Accepting SNAP, Health Bucks, FMNP, FreshConnect coupons, and Greenmarket Bucks) Free MacShack w/ any Green Market purchase (while supplies last) Vendors: Curated selections from our community vendors: Henna Get a What What!, House of SpeakEasy, Jam and Rico, Regal Roots LLC, Lotus In Violet LLC, Sscarlet’s Web Bookstore, Concrete Legacy Group, Scented By Missi, Bizzee Body, Essence Smoothies, Sisters 3 Tea, Slam Duncan Wellness, Stapledon Arts, and Ebaata Skincare ( Entertainment & Programming: 12 PM Chase Financial Workshop with Shakima Figuera-Collins 1:30 PM Herbal Bundle Making Workshop with Malcolm Jackson from Regal Roots 2 PM Free Yoga with Sensate Wellness 4PM Exodus Oasis Party Sunset Celebration w/ sets by DJ Kendollaz, DJ DadaCozmic, and ELISE Ongoing: Free Artmaking Activities Free Stretch Therapy sessions with Slam Duncan Wellness Lawn games provided by Rokh We hope to see you there, no RSVP necessary!

Mark your calendars for the second Weeksville Green on Saturday, July 27th, from 12 to 5 PM! We loved seeing you at our first market, and now we have a chance to do it all over again while directing our focus on making fresh, affordable produce accessible. https://lnkd.in/enPX6VpC This market will feature an energetic lineup of vendors, family-friendly activities, and entertainment, including: Produce: Fresh Produce from GrowNYC (Accepting SNAP, Health Bucks, FMNP, FreshConnect coupons, and Greenmarket Bucks) Free MacShack w/ any Green Market purchase (while supplies last) Vendors: Curated selections from our community vendors: Henna Get a What What!, Regal Roots, Lotus In Violet, Sscarlet’s Web Bookstore, Scented by Missi, Ingram’s Establishments, Stapledon Arts, Ebaata Skincare Entertainment & Programming: 12 PM - 3PM Inheritance/ SHACK Public Art and Labyrinth event Bring your family and friends to an Inheritance/SHACK-making workshop where you can create and decorate your own vision of home and inheritance. We'll supply the materials and you supply the imagination. What is your dwelling place of dreams and inheritance? 2 PM Free Yoga with Sensate Wellness Ongoing: Free Stretch Therapy sessions with Slam Duncan Wellness Lawn games provided by Rokh We hope to see you there, no RSVP necessary!

Join us this Saturday, July 13th, at Weeksville Green as we proudly host Weeksville’s Artist in Residence, Eto Otitigbe. Eto will lead an interactive augmented reality workshop, showcasing innovative ways to engage with our archives through cutting-edge technology. The workshop runs from 12 PM to 5 PM and is open to all, no RSVP required. About Eto Otitigbe: Eto Otitigbe is our current Artist-in-Residence. He is interested in recovering buried narratives and giving form to the unseen. Eto is a polymedia artist whose interdisciplinary practice includes sculpture, performance, installation, and public art. He is an Assistant Professor of Sculpture in the Art Department at Brooklyn College. His residency project, Iterative Fictions [IF], is a transformative journey that actively engages with the historical treasures housed in Weeksville's archive. It seeks to digitize a selection of objects from the archive, transforming them into virtual replicas that will be made accessible online. These scanned objects will be the basis for sculpture and XR that inspire engagement in physical and virtual realms by installing a temporary sculpture and XR experience visible beyond the gates of Weeksville. The project aspires to intertwine history, storytelling, community engagement, and cultural incubation, inspiring a new way of experiencing and interacting with our shared history. https://lnkd.in/e8ti2YEa

Exciting news! Join us for the anticipated return of the Weeksville Green Market this Saturday, July 13th, from 12-5pm! We're passionate about making fresh, affordable produce accessible to everyone in our community. Join us on Saturdays through October as we bridge the gap together. We’ve got an energetic line-up of vendors, vibes and family-friendly activities for the kick-off event, including: Produce: Fresh Produce from GrowNYC (Accepting SNAP, Health Bucks, FMNP, FreshConnect coupons, and Greenmarket Bucks) Free MacShack w/ any Green Market purchase (while supplies last) Vendors: Curated selections from our community vendors: Henna Get a What What!, Essence Smoothies, Ebaata Skincare, Sscarlet’s Web Bookstore, 18 August Ave, Scented By Missi, Bizzee Body, Legacy DUMBO, House of SpeakEasy, Regal Roots, & Lotus in Violet. Entertainment & Programming: Ongoing Drop-in Augmented Reality Demo with Weeksville’s Artist in Residence, Eto Otitigbe DJ Session with DJ Sean Malcolm Free Stretch Therapy sessions with Slam Duncan Wellness Lawn games provided by Rokh Free food w/Market purchase 2pm Free Pilates with Bridgette from Slam Duncan Wellness 3pm Jewelry making workshop with Jam + Rico We hope to see you there, no RSVP necessary! https://lnkd.in/enPX6VpC

Happy Pride, NYC! As this important month comes to a close, enjoy a peek into one of the ways that Weeksville celebrates pride all year long— through our archive! While our archives mostly pertain to Weeksville’s history, we are fortunate to also have a variety of publications that speak to the cultural achievements of Black life from across the country and around the world. Published from 1988 to 1994, BLK Magazine was a trailblazing newsmagazine created by and for the Black queer community in Los Angeles before expanding to national readership. Its mission was to educate, inform, and inspire action on issues related to the Black queer community. In publication at the height of the AIDS crisis, BLK Magazine was a powerful voice against injustices facing the community, as well as a critical platform to uplift Black queer joy, unity, and resistance. Weeksville Heritage Center was lucky enough to acquire a run of BLK Magazine as a gift from its founder, Alan Bell, in 2018. We love how the issues pay tribute to so many important queer Black artists, activists, and thinkers, and are moved by the unique insight they provide into the struggles, ingenuity, and leadership of the queer Black community, still holding resonance today.

What an incredible night! Thanks to your generosity, we raised over $160,000 for Weeksville Heritage Center at our annual benefit on May 9, 2024. Special shoutout to Dr. Jocelynne Rainey and National Grid for their amazing support. From captivating performances to an inspiring art exhibit, every moment was magical. Together, we’re building a legacy! ✨ #ImaginingOurFuture #WeeksvilleHeritageCenter

Join us on Sunday, June 2 for a journey back in time to honor a significant piece of New York's history! Step into the vibrant tapestry of early 17th-century New York and experience the rich cultural heritage of Pinkster, a festival deeply rooted in the resilience and resistance of enslaved Africans. Come experience Pinkster's sights, sounds, and flavors through musical performances, traditional dances, games, art-making, and delicious food reflecting Black foodways and folkways. Engage with our esteemed partners, Chief Baba Neil Clarke, the Pinkster Players, and friends as they share insights into the history and significance of Pinkster and its enduring legacy. RSVP at https://bit.ly/3Ko73zc And if you can’t join us on Sunday, we will celebrate dual Pinkster programs with our friends at Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park this year! FREE shuttle buses will run between Lefferts House and Weeksville on Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2 from 12:30pm - 5:30pm.

Exciting news! NPR and WNYC's Community Gems series spotlights Weeksville Heritage Center in its latest episode “How a Brooklyn center is speaking to the past, present, and future of Crown Heights.” Dr. Codrington narrates our history as a pre-Civil War free Black community to our modern-day role as a cultural oasis. Our mission at Weeksville is to continue to be a beacon of heritage and community strength in Brooklyn, and it is always an honor to be recognized for what makes this organization truly extraordinary. Listen here: https://bit.ly/4bLzQJL Photo Credit: Simbarashe Cha

Mark your calendars: Weeksville Heritage Center and Jummy’s Picks by Black-Owned Brooklyn are once again joining forces for our third annual Juneteenth Food Festival on Saturday, June 15th, from 11 am - 8 pm! This vibrant event is steeped in tradition. Food has been a central part of Juneteenth since its first observance in 1866, commemorating June 19, 1865 — when enslaved Texans received news of their freedom. The Juneteenth Food Festival brings together 30+ food businesses for a delicious celebration of Black cuisine, as well as a marketplace of apparel, accessories, books, self-care products and more, all from local Black brands. Attendees will also enjoy music from the legendary Soul Summit Music DJ collective, double dutch with the Jazzy Jumpers, dance performances and workshops by Haus of Glitter, restorative yoga led by Sensate Wellness, art-making activities, food demos, book signings and more. We hope you’ll join us for an unforgettable day of Black food, culture, history and joy. RSVP now at https://bit.ly/4bn64ep