651 ARTS Announces 2022 Season with FOREWORD, FORWARD: A Bridge Season

651 ARTS, Brooklyn's premier institution for the African Diasporic performing arts, today unveiled plans for its 2022 season with FOREWORD, FORWARD: A Bridge Season. Consisting of a slate of exciting, new programs featuring a mix of original virtual works, in-person presentations and unique collaborations with world class artists, FOREWORD, FORWARD will act as an artistic conduit for the venerable institution in preparation for the opening of its first-ever permanent home located in the heart of downtown Brooklyn scheduled for Fall, 2022. With the country continuing to rebound from and navigate through the global pandemic, 651's upcoming season was also curated to represent and reflect "a time of great transformation," centering around themes of progress, legacy and what it means to embrace change.

Set to launch during Black History Month, 651's FOREWORD, FORWARD: A Bridge Season will kick-off with the first presentation from its Digital Suite with The BOLD, The BRAVE, The RISK-TAKER: The THEATER-MAKER (February 19), a compelling panel discussion series about risk, self-determination, progress in theatre-making and generative theater to include a conversation with legendary award-winning theater artist Rhodessa Jones and actor and playwright NSangou Njikam. In March, the institution will present the world premiere of Virtual Griot: Brooklyn (March 17), an original eight-episode digital series showcasing performing artists as the Griots of their respective neighborhoods with the first episode featuring NSangou Njikam.

For this season's in-person offerings, 651 will debut the Curator's Corner Live (March 31) featuring a diverse array of Black curators in dance and performance. FOREWORD, FORWARD will culminate with the return of 651's annual Juneteenth Celebration to be held over the course of the weekend commemorating Juneteenth (June 17-19). Also as part of its Juneteenth Celebration and under its Digital Suite arm, the institution will present The Soulfolk Experience: From Brooklyn Moon with Love (June 17-19), a film chronicling a reunion held at the Fort Greene mainstay in an ode to Black Brooklyn and heralding a time when Black-owned businesses populated Fulton Street.

Additionally, 651 will host two major convenings during the Season for professionals in the arts including the Black Dance Convening: Part 1, Curators which will virtually gather several stakeholders from the dance community to discuss contemporary and emergent dance practices. Jazz icon Dee Dee Bridgewater will once again partner with 651 to present The Woodshed Network - now in its third year and conceived by Bridgewater as a mentorship and career accelerator program for emerging women artists in Jazz.

"Our FOREWORD, FORWARD Season represents an extension of our 30-plus year legacy and is 'sneak-peak' view for 651 programming in our future home in Downtown Brooklyn. While crafting FOREWORD - a mix of intimately curated convenings that we see as an introduction to our way FORWARD - we make progress and we progress. We harvest from seeds planted and nurtured over thirty years ago when this institution was founded and we are gathering our 651 ARTS community to spark ideas, align intentions and to refine our movement," said Monica L. Williams, Chief Curator and Director of Programs for 651 ARTS. "As we cross-over from the pandemics into this new season, we lean on our community knowledge for inspiration. Inspired by historical Black Gatherings of salons during the Harlem Renaissance; Black migration pattern depicted in Jacob Lawrence's paintings; all-Black, only-Black artist groups from the Black Arts Movement and the iconic 'Breakbeat' of Hip Hop, we are intentionally curating Black space as home filled with the nuances of Black life, emergent Black performance, and the each one, teach one philosophy of Black culture. I am excited that our audiences will be able to go along with us on this journey and have the opportunity to experience our vision for the future of this institution.

651 ARTS' new home is located at 10 Lafayette Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn and will be comprised of 12,500 square feet of office, rehearsal and production space. The institution is scheduled to move into the building in Fall, 2022.

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