The Brooklyn Children’s Museum (BCM) will honor Black History Month with a week-long celebration, the Black Future Festival.
The festival, which will take place during the Department of Education (DOE) Midwinter Recess from Feb. 16 to Feb. 22, is presented in partnership with guest curator Kendra J. Bostock and STooPS.
“Black Future Festival is a week of reflection and future-forward fun, inspired by the national celebration of the African Diaspora and Black History Month,” BCM said. “Families are invited to visit the Museum for a one-of-a-kind experience to envision a future that learns from the values and lessons of Black past, present, and future.
“Each day of the festival features a wide-ranging array of exciting programming, including live performances, dance programs, storytelling workshops, cultural experiences, art exploration, and more,” it added.
Atiba T. Edwards, BCM’s Vincentian-born president and chief executive officer, said the Museum, together with STooPS, “is honored to host Black Future Festival as part of our Black History Month celebration, highlighting the richness of the African Diaspora and its profound influence on the world.
“This collaboration underscores BCM’s commitment to fostering creativity, connection, and learning for all families in our vibrant and diverse community,” he said.
“Through art, storytelling, and cultural exploration, BCM invites children and families to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and envision a brighter future during Black Future Festival,” Edwards added.
Kendra J. Bostock, founder and director of StooPS, said: “In her song, ‘If You Can Dream,’ Lena Horne reminds us that ‘If you can dream, the world’s a better place by far.’
“As we navigate this tumultuous climate, STooPS Art & Community wants to use this year’s Black Future’s Festival at Brooklyn Children’s Museum as a reminder for us all — especially Black and BIPOC folks who are under attack — that we must continue to dream as an act of manifestation and resistance,“ she said.
“This year’s theme, I Dream of Black Brooklyn, is designed to have us access our dreams through performance, dance, music, and crafts as a way to harvest and put them into the universe, shifting the energy of our world,“ Bostock added.
“As Brooklyn Children’s Museum celebrates its 125th anniversary, we want people to continue to utilize this iconic space in Brooklyn as a repository of dreams, hopes, and desires of brilliant youth who will make Brooklyn and the world a better place in the future,“ she continued.
“The Brooklyn Children’s Museum is a longstanding and ever-improving Brooklyn institution,“ said Council Member Chi Ossé. “Generations have enjoyed and relied on its services and programming. We are thrilled about the coming Black Future Festival and thrilled to support the program.”
Guyanese-born New York State Sen. Roxanne J. Persaud said she was “proud to partner with the Brooklyn Children’s Museum to celebrate Black History Month through the Black Future Festival.
“This inspiring week of reflection and creative exploration provides a unique opportunity for families to come together, celebrate the achievements of the past, and envision a brighter future for all,“ added the representative for the 19th Senate District in Brooklyn. “By highlighting the vibrant cultural expressions of the African Diaspora, we can empower the next generation to dream, create, and lead with purpose.
“I look forward to seeing how this collaboration will spark the imaginations of Brooklyn’s youth and their families,“ Persaud continued.
BCM said the Black Future Festival will pay homage to “the role of art-making in the Black-led social movements that have shaped Brooklyn as we know it today.”
The program’s “vibrant and varied workshops will feature dance, storytelling, music, poetry, and visual arts based in Afrocentric values and principles.”
BCM said all workshops and performances are 45 minutes long.
For more information, visit: www.brooklynkids.org.
