BAM to Name New Space After Departing President Karen Brooks Hopkins

Tonight, April 28, the Brooklyn Academy of Music hosted a gala celebration honoring BAM President Karen Brooks Hopkins as she prepares to retire in June after more than 36 years of extraordinary service.

And, according to The New York Times, BAM announced this evening that it will be naming its new space, located in an apartment building "on the South Site of the Brooklyn Cultural District bordered by Lafayette Avenue, Flatbush Avenue and Ashland Place" after her. The venue will house movie theaters and BAM's archives.

Hopkins first came to BAM in 1979 as a development officer under the leadership of then President & Executive Producer Harvey Lichtenstein. BAM, like Brooklyn, was a very different place at that time as the institution worked to establish the adventurous programs that would become its cornerstone. For the next two decades, Hopkins helped turn Lichtenstein's vision into a reality. Upon his retirement, Hopkins and Joseph Melillo (who had begun producing BAM's now world-renowned Next Wave Festival in 1983) split the roles of president and executive producer, respectively. Under their joint leadership since 1999, BAM has grown into a global arts presenter -- attracting an annual audience of 750,000 -- at the center of the thriving Brooklyn cultural district.

Katy Clark will take over as president when Hopkins steps down this summer.