NOV 2021
This Giving Tuesday, Help Hook Arts Media Forge the Way Ahead Dear Friends, I hope this finds you all well-as we face the challenges of a new school year, of going back to work in-person, of storms and fires, floods and fears of what the future might hold. As I look back on the past year, it was definitely a time we made a way out of no way and perhaps into discovering more just and equitable ways to be with and without each other. From the day we closed our doors on Friday the 13th of March 2020, our staff and teachers worked tirelessly to adapt our programs to the ever-changing conditions caused by COVID-19. We worked alongside our school partners to pivot to online instruction. Our onsite after-school media programs found creative ways students could use their phones to make films that helped them process the terrifying and lonely days of isolation and remote learning. We delivered podcasting equipment to students’ homes from one far end of the city to another. As time passed we saw new needs to support our teaching artists with the professional development that helped them restructure their classes for online learning and understand what trauma-informed pedagogy is as they navigated the emotional needs of their students. As the protests ignited by George Floyd’s tragic murder, surged, our media students processed their complicated emotional reactions through their films. Lastly, our 2021 Red Hook Fest brought the unexpected joy of Laura Anderson Barbata and the Brooklyn Jumbies to the Red Hook Houses and used the Open Culture permit to present dance, live music, and DJ-ed dance party to the streets of Red Hook. We could not have forged this path through the pandemic without your support. We serve some of the most resilient but also vulnerable students in NYC, so please continue to generously support our work providing critical, creative outlets to this next generations of changemakers. And come meet them! We are always thrilled to have you visit our programs. Read on to hear our news. With Appreciation, Laura Anderson Barbata and The Brooklyn Jumbies at 2021 Red Hook Fest by Frank Veronsky.
Martha Bowers, Executive Director