651 ARTS Shares Details Of Its Winter/Spring Season

ART's Executive Director David J. Roberts and Creative Director Raelle Myrick-Hodges today announced the line-up for the renowned Brooklyn-based organization's Winter-Spring schedule part of its 2019-2020 Season. Known as a hub for artistic innovation and the home for artists across the African Diaspora, 651's new season will highlight the spirit of collaboration and celebrate the eclecticism of Black performance.

Currently in the midst of a major phase of transition, the recent appointment of Roberts as Executive Director and Myrick-Hodges as the institution's inaugural Creative Director signals a new era for 651 as well as a major step in its continued growth and expansion. 2019-2020 marks the first season with the complete leadership team in place.

"This is a landmark year for us in so many ways. I am excited that our audiences will now get to experience our vision for the future of this institution. This season reflects the growth and evolution of 651 and is focused on honoring the core tenets of the mission to inspire and enrich communities through art and continuing to invest in artists across the Diaspora," said Roberts. "We will continue to be a steadfast resource for the cultivation, exploration and celebration of these artists."

Programming throughout the 2019-2020 Season will feature unique collaborations with world class artists and institutions and includes the recent launch of 651's new pilot program, The Woodshed Network, which specifically focuses on women in Jazz, and is in partnership with legendary Jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater. 651 will also launch another new initiative in Spring 2020 with its new Artist As Resident Series with musician Martha Redbone and co-curated by local Brooklyn artist Najee Omar. Additionally, 651's season will spotlight innovative new works to include: Gagging on the Ornament I Made for My Mom in Mr. Raymond's 5th Grade Class by korde arrington tuttle and Edisa Weeks' Liberty and the New York premiere of Junebug Productions' Gomela in collaboration with Hi Arts and Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

"For over 30 years, 651 has been a champion and nurturer for emerging artists and their work as well as a vital cultural resource for the community," said Myrick-Hodges. "We are committed to continuing that work. As we look forward to the next 30 years, part of our mission is to preserve the legacy of Black culture in Brooklyn and to provide a platform for African Diaspora artists. I am excited about the work that we are doing this season because I believe we are presenting groundbreaking artistic experiences."

2019-2020 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

GAGGING ON THE ORNAMENT I MADE FOR MY MOM IN MR. RAYMOND'S 5TH GRADE CLASS BY KORDE ARRINGTON TUTTLE

Date: December 16, 2019 at 7:30pm

Location: BAM Fisher

651 ARTS presents a different kind of holiday show with a deeper theatrical contemplation of the season in the witty one-man introspective Gagging on the Ornament I Made for My Mom in Mr. Raymond's 5th Grade Class by korde arrington tuttle. This work in progress deconstructs the "Christmas spirit" and explores what it means to be Queer, Black and going home for the holidays.

Gagging... centers around the character Lavelle who receives a photo from his mother, "Petty" Shirley, of a uniquely shaped Christmas ornament he made for her in the 5th grade. He is then forced to confront his feelings of discomfort and uprootedness that always come to surface particularly during the Holidays. While all around him are messages and images pointing to happy families and the Christmas spirit, Lavelle reminisces about the isolation he felt during past challenging visits home. Incorporating aspects of James Baldwin's essay, The American Dream and The American Negro, and informed by John Howard Griffin's black like me, Gagging... is a sharp and intimate musing on one man's journey towards understanding, forgiveness and ultimately, Holiday joy.

Edisa Weeks' LIBERTY

Dates: January 7-12

Location: The Kumble Theater at LIU Brooklyn

651 will present Liberty during the APAP annual conference. Liberty is a solo work that engages the audience in a silent dialogue. In an era of Black Lives Matter, the Patriot Act, and the longest war in American history, this work asks, "what does liberty mean?" This work will include post show discussions and curatorial conversation.

JUNEBUG PRODUCTIONS' GOMELA

Date: June 18-20, 2020

Location: The Water Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

Presented in collaboration with Hi-Arts and Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Gomela is an experience of collective memories passed down from generation to generation, a tapestry woven by a group of multidisciplinary artists who represent the diversity of African Americans who call New Orleans home and who migrated north. It illuminates that "place matters" and the inalienable rights that come with movement/navigation and survival.

NEW INITIATIVES

THE WOODSHED NETWORK

651 ARTS recently presented a pilot program with the forward thinking The Woodshed Project. Led by iconic Jazz musician and three-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dee Dee Bridgewater, The Woodshed Network aims to address the underrepresentation of female musicians in the field through a comprehensive program of mentorship, professional development and community building.

For its inaugural year, The Woodshed Network featured clinics, roundtables, panel discussions, workshops and performances covering the full spectrum of professional concerns both onstage and behind-the-scenes, touching on topics ranging from media training to management.

ARTIST AS RESIDENT SERIES

651's inaugural Artist as Resident program celebrates the diversity of the neighborhoods of Brooklyn through unique live performances, placing performers in non-traditional settings - from the crevices of a merchant block or down an old street to a great hotel bar. The artists in this series will perform in the neighborhood in which they live or frequent (shop, eat, etc.). This series positions artist as 'local celebrities' creating a more interconnected environment for artist and audience to live amongst each other in a more informed, engaged, and connected way. The series is co-curated by Najee Omar, and the first selected artist for this Season is musician Martha Redbone. Additional artists to be announced.

Martha Redbone

Date: April 18, 2020

Martha Redbone will perform selections from her ROOTS music project which highlights indigenous women and their intersectionality to their African heritage. She challenges the notion of monolithic "Black Music" and claims "Root, Folk, Country music is Black music."

For more information and for tickets, please visit: www.651arts

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