651ARTS: Developing Black Arts in Brooklyn Through Collaborations

By Fern Gillespie
We Outside! A Brooklyn Juneteenth was a celebration that hit the Plaza at 300 Ashland. Sponsored by 651ARTS, in partnership with Harlem’s The Soapbox Presents, We Outside! was a family day celebration of Black brilliance with acclaimed Brooklyn-based spoken word artist Mahogany L Browne, Grammy-winning singer J. Hoard, DJ Jive Poetic, ventriloquist Dr. Gel, Cindy Hot Chocolate, The Ladies of Hip Hop, Double Dutch Official Jazzy Jumpers, Brooklyn United Marching Band and The Empire Marching Elite Iotas Phi Theta.
“It was spectacular!” exclaimed Toya Lillard, Executive Director of 651 ARTS. “We presented it outside with The Soapbox Presents, a Harlem organization,” she told Our Time Press. “They have a tried-and-true program. We wanted to amplify how the idea of the stoop as a cultural center. A stoop is a place where folks gather and where artists create. Sort of like our Congo Square.”

Now celebrating its 35th anniversary, 651 ARTS’ mission is to deepen awareness of and appreciation for contemporary performing arts and culture of the African Diaspora and to provide professional and creative opportunities for artists.
A Brooklyn resident, Lillard is a theater producer, actor, director, arts educator, and facilitator who holds a bachelor’s from Vassar College and a master’s from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. Before joining 651 ARTS, she was Executive Director of viBe Theater Experience and Director of School Programs for The New York Philharmonic’s Education Department. She teaches Collaborative Theatre Practice at The New School and serves on the Board of the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable and on the Board of viBe.
This Spring, 651 ARTS featured The Woodshed Network with jazz legend Dee Dee Bridgewater, The Virtual Griot, and a partnership with the Billie Holiday Theater for Song Salon series. Time Press spoke with Lillard about the impact of 651 ARTS in Brooklyn.

Why is it important for nonprofit organizations to look at partnerships for their campaigns and their projects?
Partnerships are really the cornerstone of everything we do. It’s relationship-building with the individual artist that we work with and with other cultural organizations that are like-minded. We share funders, audiences, and artists. I think we are incentivized to be hyper-competitive with each other and compete for grant dollars and support. Sometimes folks forget that the real benefit of collaborating is that you can combine resources. That you can strengthen your place by working together. I think that a lot of smaller cultural organizations have learned that over the years. They really stand by that as part of their core values. It’s really a part of 651 ARTS core values to be in collaboration and community and relationships. Not just with artists but with other cultural organizations.

Has gentrification in Brooklyn had an impact on 651 ARTS audience building?
Our core audience has always been Black Brooklyn. So, gentrification has impacted, l think, the resources that we had to bring culture to the people. But our core audience, our base has always been Black folks in Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and Bed Stuy. They made it safe for folks to come and gentrify. The folks that lived through the 80s and the 90s came to 651ARTS for performances and for culture. Our core audience hasn’t shifted.

What are your vision and goals for 651 ARTS?
My vision for the organization over the next three years, particularly with this move to our new space, is to deepen our relationships with artists and performing arts companies. We want to serve as a living archive with our archives. To activate and amplify and educate a whole new generation of Brooklynites about their own cultural and artistic legacies. Our new 12,500 square foot space will have The Black Box Theatre seating 125 people; three rehearsal studios with sprung dance floors; spaces for showings and lectures; conference rooms and offices. Lastly to literally provide a platform for folks that have been in need of a place and a home to create art.