Awesome Arts Events Going On All Month At New Avenue C Plaza

It all started with Kensington neighbors speaking up and demanding more open space in the neighborhood, said the office of local City Councilmember Brad Lander.

And now, this weekend, neighbors and city officials are unveiling a vibrant public plaza on the formerly barren concrete triangle at Avenue C and McDonald Avenue — thanks to the hard work from neighborhood volunteer group Kensington Stewards, the Neighborhood Plaza Partnership, local City Councilmember Brad Lander, and the Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless (ACE NY).

“For far too long, Kensington has had a real scarcity of public open space, but thanks to the work of so many of your neighbors that’s really starting to change,” writes Brad Lander. “Together we’re doing more to improve open-space in Kensington and making it an even greater place to call home.”

The plaza, built by the City’s Department of Transportation as part of their ongoing DOT Plaza Program, will feature moveable chairs and umbrellas, granite blocks, planters, and a lily pond floor mural by local artist Anney “Fresh” Ozar.

Jole Carliner, a Kensington Stewards member and pioneer of the Church Ave and Beverley plaza, has nurtured this project for two years. “We hope it brings lots of pleasure to this island in the middle of the road,” she said. “But its true success will come from neighbors fertilzing and shaping its activities, and packing it with people, like a rosebush in full June bloom.”

In April, the neighborhood held a lively preview during a one day plaza event, complete with dance performances from Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts, a vigorous Bangla dance fitness class, and Afro-Cuban Latin music.

Now that the plaza is here to stay, folks can celebrate with arts programs all month long. ArtBuilt, a non-profit that builds moveable art studios, will erect a “mobile studio” on the plaza this Saturday. The studio will be a hub for community arts programing throughout June.

Here is a preliminary list of events planned at the mobile studio for June, located on the plaza at Avenue C and McDonald:

Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5:

• Creative Impact Portrait Studio – free photo portraits for Kensington community members, in the ArtBuilt Mobile Studio!   1pm to 5pm
• ‘I want ____ in Kensington’ – Participatory community discussion, in partnership with City Council Participatory Budgeting personnel, 1pm to 5pm
• Music and Visual Art Performance (Saturday Only)- Musicians Chandan Chowdhury and Pinakpani Goswamy will perform classic Bengali folk songs, while visual artist Syed Azizur Rehman creates a real-time visual interpretation of the music on canvas, 5pm to 7pm
• Sunday June 5 at 1pm: Join local City Councilmember Brad Lander at the official plaza ribbon-cutting at  Avenue C and McDonald Ave.

Thursday, June 9:

• BIPA (Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts) offers free classes, including
• Bangla singing class taught by Nilofar Jahan, 4:15pm to 5:15pm
• Bangla Language class taught by Annie Ferdous and Nilofar Jahan, 5:15pm to 6:30pm

Saturday, June 11:

• Install Photo Banners of Kensington Community Portraits, 11:30am to 1pm
• Introductory Art Workshops from local Kensington teaching artists Cynthia Fortozo (oil pastels) and Jill Reinier (kites, wind chimes, and windsocks).

Sunday, June 12:

• Poetry Performance and Workshop, in partnership with Urban Word NYC and local writer Shahana Hanif, 1pm to 5pm

Thursday, June 16:

• BIPA (Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts) offers free classes, including
• Bangla singing class taught by Nilofar Jahan, 4:15pm to 5:15pm and
• Bangla language class taught by Annie Ferdous and Nilofar Jahan, 5:15pm to 6:30pm

Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19:

• Hands-on Art Workshop with Kensington teaching artist Cynthia Fortozo. Kids and grown-ups will create small oil-pastel on canvas panels to be assembled into a large-scale art piece. 1pm to 5pm

Thursday, June 23:

• BIPA (Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts) offers free classes including
• Bangla singing class taught by Nilofar Jahan, 4:15pm to 5:15pm and
• Bangla language class taught by Annie Ferdous and Nilofar Jahan, 5:15pm to 6:30pm

Saturday, June 25 and Sunday, June 26:

• Hands-on Art Making for Kids and Adults with Singing Winds (Kensington artist Jill Reinier), creating kites, wind-chimes and decorative windsocks. 1pm to 5pm
• Crochet Quilt Making Using Recycled Plastic (Saturday only) with Brooklyn artists Mildred Beltre and Jason Dasilva.

Tuesday, June 28:

• BIPA (Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts) offers free classes including
• Bangla singing class taught by Nilofar Jahan, 4:15pm to 5:15pm and
• Bangla Language class taught by Annie Ferdous and Nilofar Jahan, 5:15pm to 6:30pm