Stephanie Dinkins

January 8th, 2008 by Laundromat Project | Posted in Announcement | No Comments »

literacy takes a seat in bedford-stuyvesant

by Kamilah Duggins

A vintage white rocking chair is balanced on a hill of soil. This soil is piled on stacks of books. The books teem with okra, black-eyed pea and lima bean seedlings. This represent one’s knowledge, or literacy of the land.

A hollowed book is fitted with a screen looping images and sounds of Native American singing. It represents one’s knowledge, or literacy of his or her culture.

These are past projects of Create Change artist Stephanie Dinkins, whose work contends that literacy extends far beyond mere reading and writing—it’s about “acknowledging and valuing all of the things you know regardless of how you came to know them.”

The rocking chair and soil on books, titled The End is the Beginning but Lies Far Ahead III, pays homage to African Americans’ relationship to the earth and ability to work the land, which started in the African nations of their origin, but was cultivated during slavery and passed down through generations.  Instead of seeing this skill as a source of power, some black people see shame in passing on the knowledge of, say, gardening or farming. But no matter the strings attached, Stephanie argues, knowing how to grow your own food is good information to have.

“It is a ‘don’t throw the baby out with the bath water’ approach to knowledge,” she explains. “Don’t give up your knowledge of the agrarian because it came to you via slavery. Or, in the case of the Native American singing, don’t dismiss the stories handed down to you through the songs you sing, because they are just as valuable as the books you read in school. We all have literacies; some are just more recognized than others,” she further explains. “I like the idea of those literacies and how you extend those and extrapolate them to other places.”  

But when it came to her Create Change project, Stephanie, who is also an art professor at the State University of New York-Stony Brook, gave a nod to a more traditional notion of literacy—reading. Because of its socio-economic challenges, she saw the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant as the perfect neighborhood “to tout, and hold up as accessible, more traditional roads to knowledge,” and built a bench sturdy enough to sit on, but composed almost entirely of books.

For two days, she parked her bench outside of two Bed-Stuy Laundromats, alongside which sat a pile of books designated for a ‘give-a-book, take-a-book’ pile (which was timely because the nearby library branch has been closed since June 2006). And parked on the bench was Stephanie herself, reading a book. “I figured, why not take it a step further,” she says, “that’s something you don’t see often–people sitting outside reading a book.” 

Perhaps you see it often in your neighborhood, but in Bed-Stuy, a community that has just two general bookstores, where 42% of the population age 25 and up do not have a high school diploma, and where more than 70% of the children read below the national norm, a public reader might accurately be considered a rare bird.

Comments about the bench from passersby are further telling: “Why are you just giving away books?!” one woman demanded, “these people don’t read; you should just take these books to the library!”  A man shouted from his car window, “You can’t read on the streets!”  And one Laundromat owner even suggested Stephanie take her project to Williamsburg or Park Slope, where he felt people would be more receptive.

The mixed reaction was a bit of a surprise for Stephanie because a gander at the locally owned and operated businesses here or a few minutes of conversation with neighbors reveals the vast literacy of the neighborhood—from food and architecture to fashion and hair.  “The idea of doing something new seemed to be very difficult for a lot of people to grasp,” Stephanie recalls. “On the other hand, my hope was to make people see [the bench] as something artistic, which they totally did.”

By the end of the two-day exhibit, Bed-Stuy residents (even those who found the bench neighborhood inappropriate) had not only taken all of the books, but had also begun sharing ideas about what they might create with the books collecting dust at their homes.  This, however, did not surprise Stephanie, because “when you put art in front of someone, you open up space for that person to create an idea or possibility within themselves.”

• The Brooklyn Public Library has an extensive Adult Literacy Program , which includes family literacy and a First Five Years program, which emphasizes literacy for toddlers. Those interested in volunteering as literacy tutors can download an application here; 718.230.2100.
• Brownstone Books offers both adult and teen book clubs as well as a twice weekly story hour for kids. These events are free and open to the public. If you’re interested in volunteering to be a storyteller, click here for more information or call 718-953-7328.
• Affordable Books and Things offer a range of titles at attractive prices. It is located at 530 Nostrand Ave; 718-230-0789.   
• Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment’s Community Literacy Program ; 718-788-8500.
• First Book  provides underprivileged children across the country with brand new books. Every $2.50 you donate provides one new book for a child in a community of your choice.
• Brooklyn Literacy Center, 718-636-5770. 

Kamilah Duggins is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer and editor. Her work has appeared in Black Enterprise, Black Issues Book Review and Publishers Weekly. She can be reached at kamilah.duggins@gmail.com

Sarah Kolker

January 8th, 2008 by Laundromat Project | Posted in Announcement | No Comments »

by Kamilah Duggins

When Sarah Kolker was generating ideas for her Create Change project, a few criteria topped the list. She wanted to use the opportunity to include youth; use her mentor, Isaiah Zagar’s method of mosaic tiling, and whatever she made, she wanted to build it in her Harlem neighborhood, a place where change of varying proportion is gaining momentum as quickly as the properties there are being spruced up and the local business are going down.

Since the early 1990s, Harlemites have been bracing themselves for the fight against gentrification and its nasty side effects, including displacement, increased property taxes, spiked rents and loss of small business. So as you walk down the streets of what some are beginning to call the New Harlem (or New Harlem Renaissance), a bare piece of land pierced with signs indicating the name and number of the owner is not an uncommon site; if you walk a few blocks in almost any direction, you’re bound to come across at least one. 

Overwhelmed with constant sightings last summer, Sarah decided to investigate. She wanted to know exactly what these developers had planned for the neighborhood. “I would call these numbers that were on the signs attached to the land, and no one would answer, or someone would answer and not be able to tell me what was being done with it,” she says. No one in the neighborhood, not residents or business owners could furnish even a guess. “All that vacant land,” she says, in frustration, “and no one knew what was happening.” 

Sarah, a 21-year-old senior at Sarah Lawrence College, saw this lack of interest as a possible sign of battle fatigue, and felt it symbolized a diminished sense of ownership among the long-time residents. Leading a team of children in a public art project that was for and about them seemed a possible antidote to the apathy—figuratively and literally. Says Sarah: “I wanted to give ownership back to them by allowing them to build in their own community.”  

So in May 2007, she and about 17 young people from the Association to Benefit Children and the Pelham Fritz Recreation Center began the months-long process creating two mosaic tile benches made from donated and found objects. The dangerous elements like cutting glass were left up to Sarah, but the youth, who ranged from age 8-13, wrote their own quotes, baked the tiles and broke them into pieces. The tiles were later emblazoned with images of local heroes, like Malcolm X, and affirmations that reflect a profound clarity:

“Stop hating, start loving from your heart.” “Breathe. Relax. Meditate. Now Elevate.” “Let your third eye open.”

“Create. Innovate. Spread Knowledge.”

“Breathing positivity.”

“Keep your head up.”  

When was the last time you felt this uplifted while doing a load of whites?

Within a few months, the bench came together, but it was not a simple kids + teacher + materials=bench formula. Despite significant campaigning with several local arts and education organizations, residents weren’t as participatory as Sarah had hoped, the kids who helped during the summer weren’t able to come back to finish the benches once school started, and months into the project, Sarah and her assistants still hadn’t found a Laundromat that would house the bench.

The latter problem is something Prince E. Hunt, co-owner of the Laundry Room, where one of the benches is currently housed, found perplexing. “I thought it was surprising that few people would agree to support it,” says Prince, who had read a Daily News article about the Laundromat Project a few weeks prior to meeting Sarah. When she approached Prince, he and co-owner, George Michaels, felt it was something they had to do. “It’s good for the community,” says Prince, who’s had the Laundromat there just over one year, “washing clothes can be kind of dull, now, people have something to look at and discuss while they wash clothes—it’s quite a conversation piece. Ironically, just before we met Sarah, [my partner and I] were talking about how we needed a bench out front because people kept stealing our chairs.”

And because it sits outside the Laundromat, the bench inspires questions and inspection from a spectrum of passers-by, including neighborhood kids and tourists, who stroll past after eating at the nearby Amy Ruth’s or visiting the historic Canaan Baptist Church.

“As I was finishing the bench in front of the Laundromat, [the neighborhood kids] were very interested to know what I was doing,” Sarah recalls. “It’s good for them to know that youth their own age made this because otherwise, [making art] will continue to be foreign to them–like creating something like this is outside their realm of possibility.”

Like many urban centers across the country undergoing the reconstructive surgery that is revitalization, Harlem is a neighborhood cloaked in a legacy that affirms African Americans’ achievements, enterprise, culture and self-determination. Now that it’s some of the city’s most fertile ground for financial gain, one wonders, when they’ve seen these plans through, what will be the legacy of the New Harlem? What will become of the

Harlem residents who don’t factor into ‘their’ plans? Where will they live? And what or who will the wave of this second renaissance cast aside?  

No one knows for sure. But one thing Sarah is firm on, something to which anyone who’s ever moved to a new place can attest, is that beautifying your space with images that reflect who you are makes it feel a little more like yours. “As people become more and more disenfranchised, art becomes more important because it helps them take ownership of what’s theirs,” says Sarah. Unlike the endless condominiums and other signs of Uptown revitalization, “with the mosaic, people can see it wasn’t just something dropped in on them–people from the community created it in the community. I think that’s hopeful.”  

 

If you want to see, touch or sit on the benches, and you live in NYC, you’re only a train ride away. One is located in front of The Laundry Room at 116^th and Lenox. The other is housed at Pelham Fritz Recreation Center, which is located at 122nd Street and Mount Morris Park West in Marcus Garvey Park. Call 212-860-1380 for hours of operation.

News Coverage

October 7th, 2007 by Laundromat Project | Posted in Permanent Press | No Comments »

NEWS sssst. What’s hot? Press coverage that helps spread the word. Here’s a small sample of what’s been written about The Laundromat Project, Inc. so far.

NYU Alumni Magazine
Spring 2006
by Nicole Pezold

A laundromat might seem a peculiar place to exhibit art. But Risë Wilson (GSAS ’04) realized this very ordinary location could open a world to an entirely new audience, one that might never think to enter a gallery. As a black woman, she herself had often felt like an interloper in the museums that inspired her. “The pictures in the gilded frames had nothing to do with my experience or my neighbors’ experiences,” she explains. To break down the real and perceived barriers that have locked generations of African-Americans out of the mainstream art world, Wilson proposed combining an art center in a low-income neighborhood with a laundromat that could help support it… FULL ARTICLE

Sparknotes
July 2005
by Justin Kestler

Art and laundry tend to be at opposite ends of the spectrum of human activity: laundry’s a chore we have to do; art tends to be a pleasure people seek out in their free time. The Laundromat Project was created to change both experiences by making a visit to an art exhibition a built-in part of the recurring chore of doing the wash. The profits from the coin-operated machines will help support the creation and showing of the artwork. But above all, the hope is to make art more accessible and relevant to communities who may never visit a gallery otherwise, creating programs and exhibitions that encourage people to engage more with the arts, education, and other civic activities… FULL ARTICLE

Columbia College Today
November 2004
by Shira Boss-Bicak

… For the money making side of the venture, Wilson considered pairing the arts center with a beauty or barber shop or a bodega, among other options. Her objective was to capture the broadest audience possible and to engage customers in visual arts in an informal atmosphere. Eventually she hit on the idea of a Laundromat.

“You have to do laundry whether you want to or not,” notes Wilson, “no matter what the economy is doing.” FULL ARTICLE

24/7 (a publication of Courier Life)
November 2004
by Christy Goodman

… Their angel investor, Echoing Green, was the first place Wilson and Robinson applied for a grant. Lucky for them, they were also the only arts based grant given this year by Echoing Green.

“This is a terrific example of how non-profits are incorporating social enterprise approaches with sustaining an association,” said Echoing Green President, Dr. Cheryl Dorsey. “We were all intrigued by the idea. It is such a smart idea that incorporates social justice principles and theories with a good arts education program that really embraces the changing neighborhood.”

“This is a wonderful grant because it gives us time to plan. The next two years really are planning years to get this up and running,” says Wilson.A third of Echoing Green’s grants go to educational programming. Another third goes towards health-related programming. The rest is historically for the arts, but in the past few years, they have not funded any arts programming—until now… FULL ARTICLE

Daily Challenge
July 16-18, 2004

Rooted in the belief that cultural participation can serve as a path to civic engagement, the Laundromat Project seeks to capitalize on the open, democratic space that a community laundromat offers to engage people who may not actively seek out an arts experience or civic involvement… FULL ARTICLE

CAA News (College Art Association)
September 2002
by Stephanie Davies

… Wilson perceives visual art as an underused tool in African American cultural autobiography and seeks to strengthen the interaction of black audiences with visual art. Her graduate work explores ways in which the art process and “product” has been and can be brought to new spaces and contexts specific to African American populations. Such work serves as preparation to create a laundromat-kunsthalle in a historically black neighborhood... FULL ARTICLE

What’s Happening at Brownstone Books

October 7th, 2007 by Laundromat Project | Posted in Permanent Press, Announcement | No Comments »

In addition to featuring new releases by Walter Mosley, James Patterson, Philip Roth, Nathan McCall and Margaret Thompson, Bed Stuy’s premier bookstore, Brownstone Books, offers a full calendar of in-store readings and much, much more. Click here to find out what’s good for October.

African Burial Ground National Monument Unveiled

October 7th, 2007 by Laundromat Project | Posted in Soap Box, Announcement | No Comments »

Sixteen years after the bones of free and enslaved Africans were discovered in Lower Manhattan, a memorial is erected and dedicated to those who built New York City. Though some remains were excavated in the early 90s when the burial site was discovered, the remains of thousands more lay beneath the sidewalks and structures we freely walk upon today. Read more about the ceremony here.

Jena Six Coverage

October 5th, 2007 by Laundromat Project | Posted in Soap Box | No Comments »

By now we know you all have at least heard of the Jena Six, seen the t-shirts and heard something about a protest. But if you’re fuzzy on how a schoolyard fight became a catalyst for a social justice movement,  got a tree cut down, landed six youths in jail on a range of charges including attempted murder, and brought people from across the country to a small Louisiana town, this blog entry  from the New York Times might put your ideas of what happened into focus. In it, there’s a link to a chronology of the entire saga–from the ‘whites only’ tree to attempted murder charges. Do you think the Jena Six has ignited a neo civil rights movement? Will it be sustained? Please, share with the group.