Black Lives, Black History, Black Joy, and Black Futures
The roots of Planet Brooklyn stretch far beyond borders, carrying with them stories that transcend time–whispers from the past, the weight of the present, and dreams yet to come.
Black Lives, Black History, Black Joy, and Black Futures is more than a photographic group exhibition, serving as a living testament to the Black community in and around Brooklyn. Here, we witness the making of belonging–cultures preserved in every gesture, every shared glance, as they carve out a future that glows with possibility. With these images, the everyday becomes sacred, the mundane transforms into a quilt of lived Black experiences, woven tightly into the fabric of this borough.
Five Black artists, rooted in Brooklyn by choice or fate, join together to capture the pulse of our home–the joy, the histories, the futures on the horizon. As a collective, they celebrate what is, allowing us to envision what can be, creating a space where Black futures blossom.
The Fort Greene Park Conservancy organized this exhibition in partnership with MoCADA, Photoville, The Lay Out, and Weeksville Heritage Center. This exhibition is presented as a part of NYC Parks' Art in the Parks program. Supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Open November 7, 2024 to June 30, 2025
Participating Artists:
About the emerging arts administrator:
Special thanks to the Emerging Arts Administrator Zola-Jourdan Savage.
Zola-Jourdan Savage, born in West Baltimore, now roots her art in Brooklyn. With a BFA in Integrated Design and Anthropology from Parsons School of Design, she crafts narratives through photography, collage, and film, delving into Blackness through queer and Black feminist lenses.
As a Producer at MoCADA, she helps shape community programs and curations. Her artistic collaborations span institutions and creatives such as MASA, Vibe Theatre Experience, Mike Carson for Big Sean, Thug Pop for Office Magazine, The Flea Theater, and Lincoln Center. Her work is featured in Black Collagist: The Book by Teri Henderson, which celebrates Black artists redefining collage. Her co-curatorial debut, Flaunt: Being the Dream, was held at MoCADA’s Abolition House in the summer of 2024.
About Curatorial Committee:
Special thanks to the Curatorial Committee: Emily Anadu, Amy Andrieux, Shaquana Boykin, Jasmin Chang, Erica Harper, and Manushka Magloire.
The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art (MoCADA) was founded by Laurie Cumbo to explore how an African art museum could revitalize Black communities. Today, MoCADA's mission operates through three programmatic arms—Exhibitions, Education, and Community—to use art as a tool for social change and the celebration of Africa and the diaspora. With 60+ exhibitions and 500+ public programs, MoCADA reaches beyond its walls to engage communities through art, education, and social justice. It has become a vital space for amplifying Black voices and fostering equity and access.
Connect with MoCADA
Facebook, Instagram & Twitter
www.mocada.org
Photoville is a New York-based non-profit founded in 2011 to promote wider access to and understanding of photography. Committed to cultural equity and inclusion, Photoville ensures that its exhibited artists are diverse in gender, class, and race. The organization produces an annual city-wide photography festival in New York City, free educational programs, and public art exhibitions nationwide. Through creative partnerships, Photoville supports visual storytellers, educators, and students with financial aid, mentorship, and exhibition resources.
Connect with Photoville
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www.photoville.com
The Layout
The events of 2020 reshaped our world, marked by the pandemic's isolation and the murder of George Floyd, which ignited grief and anger. Following intense protests in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, Emily Anadu felt a pressing need to restore community and culture in a neighborhood where Black residents and businesses have diminished. In response, she reached out to friends to create The Lay Out, launched on June 7, 2020, as a space for the Black community to come together and simply be.
Connect with The Layout
Instagram & Tiktok
www.the-lay-out.com
Weeksville Heritage Center is a historic site and cultural center in Central Brooklyn that uses education, arts, and a social justice lens to preserve, document, and inspire engagement with the history of Weeksville, one of the largest free Black communities in pre-Civil War America, and the Historic Hunterfly Road Houses.
Connect with Weeksville Heritage Center
Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter
www.weeksvillesociety.org
