#targetfirstsaturday

Tomorrow night, Saturday 3/5, Honeybird : Exploring Womanhood & Bisexuality at the Brooklyn Museum! goes 5-6 PM, but you can listen to some of the songs here first. 

This month’s Brooklyn Museum First Saturday celebrates Women’s History Month. It’s open and free until 11 with more kick-ass women playing music throughout. Come celebrate with us!

February 6th marks the First Saturday of the month, so you all know what that means! It’s time to gather at the Brooklyn Museum for a night of artistic exploration and celebration of the everyday acts that can transform our world. This night we gather under the theme of Radical Black History in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Black Panther Party. Drawing on themes of collective mobilizing and questioning the constraints imposed by oppressive power structures that are addressed in our special exhibition Agitprop!, this Black History Month we reflect on what legacies of Black radicalism can give us in our present moment. Through different art mediums we hope to complicate static notions of radicalism and think through how possessing an unapologetic sense of self and caring for self and community in a space that, as warrior poet Aurde Lorde wrote, one was never meant to survive in, can be understood as everyday acts of radicalism .

Poets Dasan Ahanu and Tai Allen present their live mixtape The Originals that honors the unapologetic legacies of legends Gil Scott-Heron and Oscar Brown, Jr.  Brooklyn-based MC Latasha Alcindor partners with DJ Afro Panther to create a multimedia experience that promotes collective action and an uncompromising love of self. The New Black Fest presents HANDS UP: 7 Testaments a compilation of monologues by Black playwrights that exposes the lived realities of racial profiling and policing. In the Beaux Arts Court, The Museum of Impact leads a variety of interactive activities ranging from the writings of ‘activist love letters’ to the creation of a Black excellence walk of fame; later the Very Black Project and #TeamMelanin partner up for a trans African-diasporic exploration of the Black Radical Tradition and activate a celebratory space that urges for proclaiming and uniting through an unapologetic sense of self. Freedom fighter Joshua Allen leads an intimate workshop that explores the importance of organizing at the intersection between Black Lives Matter and gender justice. Catch Stanley Nelson’s The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, followed by a conversation between the director and Elizabeth A. Sackler. Later, Andy Zee from Revolution Books leads an action-oriented discussion that asks participants to think about how the Black Panther’s legacy informs our present moment. That’s not all that’s happening; check out the full lineup of events here!

In a moment when the disposable treatment of Black life has been made painfully visible on a national stage we hope this evening will serve as a space for reflection, healing, celebrating and mobilizing. When talking about Black Radical History we are not talking about some distant, removed past but the “here and now” and the “soon to come.” We are talking about finding power in survival, finding power in struggle, finding power in self.  We are talking about fighting for our communities, fighting for life, for the ability to live deeply and complexly and without fear!  We hope you join us as we celebrate the legacy of those who fought for many of the freedoms we now possess and reflect on how we can honor our courageous ancestors through our actions. Bring the whole family!

Just like that folks, 2015 is tick-tocking to a close and 2016 is just around the corner. During this moment of ball drops and countdowns it is important for us to reflect upon the important work that was done in 2015 and what needs to happen to ensure that those ripples of change that were created in years past are built upon in this unknown future that we are about to embark on.

Tis the season of resolution setting! Usually this tradition is confined entirely to the individual (what is it about yourself that you want to change in the New Year?). What would it look like if we were to expand the borders around this idea of resolution setting and change making to be focused not just internally, but also externally? What would it mean to start the New Year thinking deeply about the new worlds you dream of and how you will fuse creative energies with others to mobilize around seeing the change that you want to see become reality.

The day after New Year’s, the Brooklyn Museum invites you to our first Target First Saturday of 2016 intentionally themed “New Years, New Futures”. Taking inspiration from our special exhibition Agitprop! and the courageous activism that occurred during 2015 (and the past more generally) during this First Saturday the museum space will be transformed into a site of recharge, a site of agitation, a site to dream up new worlds and connect with others who too are dreaming, mobilizing and working to see those potential futures become reality.

DJ collective Discwoman will spin some femme power fueled sets speaking truth to patriarchy. Singer Tamara Renée will croon soulful melodies infused with revolutionary narratives. Bring the whole family and engage in Agitprop! inspired art making in our education gallery, then stop by Vh1′s The Breaks Phhhoto booth and strike a pose. The Police Reform Organizing Project will facilitate a discussion exploring strategies for organizing social justice actions in our communities and Octavia’s Brood contributor, Vagabond will explore how unlocking one’s imagination is necessary and an important source of power for fighting for social transformation. Watch Mikaela Shwer’s recent documentary Don’t Tell Anyone that exposes the realities and activisms of undocumented youth in NYC and later join The U.S Department of Arts and Culture in interactive activities that harness your creativity to imagine social change. At the end of the night join Congolese performer, Young Paris for some body-moving, electro-infused afrobeats that are sure to get your blood pumping and spirits ready to mobilize for new worlds.

This is not a night that you are going to want to miss and…. IT’S FREE! On January 2, 2016 join us at the Brooklyn Museum and kick off the New Year readying your mind, body and spirit for the change you dream of and will work towards with others in the New Year!

Winter is upon us, but it’s not time to slink away to a hibernated state just yet! This Target First Saturday, fantasy and nostalgia take over the Brooklyn Museum as we celebrate our special exhibition Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861-2008. Escape the dreariness of shortened days and be transported to a night filled with laughter, mystery, cotton candy and memories of past roller-coaster filled summer nights. Snake charmers, strongmen, machete jugglers and other sideshow acts will have your heart racing as you witness the wonder that is the human body. 

Don’t be fooled, this Saturday is not simply about witnessing fantasy; you too can be a part of the festivities!  From 9—9:30 p.m. in the Beaux Art Court the Brooklyn Museum in collaboration with Coney Island USA will be hosting a pop-up Mermaid pinup contest. Inspired by the renowned art-filled Mermaid Parade that takes place every summer at Coney Island, this pop up event will give you a chance to explore mythologies of the deep sea creatures and connect to your scaly side. This event is based on crowd participation so we need you to get creative and channel your inner mermaid!  A winner will be crowned at the end so go all out, no sparkle left behind!