We Outside! returns to Downtown Brooklyn for an all-day Juneteenth celebration rooted in Black joy, expression, and togetherness.
Presented by 651 ARTS and The Soapbox Presents, We Outside! transforms The Plaza at 300 Ashland into Downtown Brooklyn’s biggest stoop – a vibrant public gathering where music, movement, storytelling, food, artistry, and community collide.
From live performances and a community cypher to Black-owned vendors and freedom songs, We Outside! honors Juneteenth not only as remembrance, but as living expression: loud, joyful, visible, and unapologetically Black.
FREE and open to all ages.
Featuring
Made Black: A Juneteenth Marketplace – Curated by Brooklyn Pop-Up, Made Black brings together Black artisans, designers, and entrepreneurs in a marketplace rooted in creativity, craftsmanship, and community exchange.
The Cypher: Rep Your Style – Dance becomes dialogue as participants represent their styles, cities, and cultures through movement, rhythm, and collective expression.
Young, Gifted and Black – A high-energy celebration of HBCU culture featuring marching bands, majorettes, stepping, and the brilliance of Black excellence.
Word on the Street – Poets and musicians come together for an immersive exploration of freedom, memory, resistance, and Black imagination.
Stoop Session: Freedom Songs – From protest songs to party starters, this Stoop Session traces the soundtrack of liberation through live music, rhythm, and radical joy.
About the Project
We Outside was created to claim space for the collective practice of Black expression through joy, Black arts and culture, and community.
Born from two boroughs and two organizations -Brooklyn’s 651 ARTS and Harlem’s The Soapbox Presents – the project transforms the plaza at 300 Ashland into Downtown Brooklyn’s biggest stoop: an all-day, family-friendly Juneteenth celebration rooted in Black joy, freedom, expression, and togetherness.
This year’s visual identity for We Outside was imagined by visual artist Jocelyn Goode (@richpainterchick).
About the Organizers – 651 ARTS
Since its founding in 1988, 651 ARTS has become a trusted convener of contemporary African Diasporic artistic expression, a champion and nurturer for emerging artists and their work, and a vital cultural resource for its surrounding community.
The Soapbox Presents
Founded in 2020 in response to the murder of George Floyd, The Soapbox Presents is a platform for cultural preservation and community empowerment, creating spaces for celebration, resistance, restoration, and collective joy through Black and Brown art and culture.
We Outside! A Brooklyn Juneteenth is presented in partnership with Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. Programming at The Plaza at 300 Ashland is made possible by support from Two Trees Management Co.
About Downtown Brooklyn Partnership
Downtown Brooklyn Partnership is a not-for-profit local development corporation that serves as the primary champion for Downtown Brooklyn as a world-class business, cultural, educational, residential, and retail destination. Working together with the three business improvement districts (BID) that it manages – the MetroTech BID, Fulton Mall Improvement Association, and Court-Livingston-Schermerhorn BID – the Partnership’s diverse activities include attracting new businesses and improving the environment for existing companies; facilitating the construction of public spaces and streetscapes that promote an active and cohesive community; supporting and promoting Downtown Brooklyn’s cultural assets; and encouraging a unified sense of place and an engaged civic community. For more information, visit www.downtownbrooklyn.com.
About the Plaza at 300 Ashland
The Plaza at 300 Ashland sits at the heart of the Brooklyn Cultural District, adjacent to the brownstone Brooklyn neighborhoods of Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, and Park Slope. DBP has partnered with premier Brooklyn arts organizations such as BAM, BRIC, Brooklyn Public Library, Mark Morris Dance Group, MoCADA, 651 Arts, and Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) to offer free, high-quality programming for everyone. Programming at The Plaza at 300 Ashland is made possible by support from Two Trees Management Co.