“651 ARTS gathers our community for a ‘silent’ DJ listening party and film screening’ as a system of resistance, an act of self-determination and in collective celebration of our Black brilliance during Juneteenth to culminate our Black Art Matters, I Matter season.”

– Monica L. Williams, Chief Curator and Director of Programs

Written & Directed by Joy Yamusangie and Ronan Mckenzie
Produced by Julie Vergez
Cinematography by Beatriz Sastre
Movement Direction by Abdourahman Nije

Gucci and Garage Magazine collaborated to produce this short film, winner of Best New Director for Joy Yamusangie and Ronan Mckenzie at this year’s Milan Fashion Film Festival.  A short film inspired by water deity Mami Wata. WATA illustrates the journey of music from Africa to London through the meeting of our two main characters; Mami Wata and The Musician, who share a love of jazz music. The film is supported by Gucci, in partnership with Garage Magazine.

Choreographed by Marjani Forté-Saunders
Composed by Everett Saunders
Directed by Meena Murugesan

Memoirs is an art film that illustrates a golden weave of identity, history, and storytelling. It’s seeded in the journeys of choreographer Marjani Forté-Saunders performance work, Memoirs of a… Unicorn with a resurrected and remixed score by 7NMS co-director and composer Everett Saunders, (pictured here with their son), co-conceived and directed by filmmaker Meena Murugesan. This film collages the intimate encounters and experiences in the 3-year journey of creating the performance work, Memoirs of a … Unicorn. Sitting at the intersections of documentary and experimental art, the film also offers an interpretation of the internal processes and dreams at the core of Unicorn (in short) and its team.

By Charles O. Anderson
Performed by dance theatre x

(Re)current Unrest by Charles O. Anderson/dance theatre X is “high-frequency call to action” (Sightlines Magazine). Pivoting from live performance, this digital iteration is an evening-length immersive performance installation ‘ritual’ built on the sonic foundation of Steve Reich’s three earliest works: It’s Gonna Rain (parts 1 and 2), Come Out and Pendulum. Utilizing movement, media and powerful imagery to meditate on the “American Dream” and Black nihilism, borne of the current racially charged moment. (Re)current Unrest explores the kinesthetic state of unrest – the condition of unease, discontent and social disturbance. This physical state of agitation represents “staying woke.” To stay woke refers to an intangible level of awareness about community issues and social justice. (Re)current Unrest: Inspired by James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, Ta-nehisi Coates’ Between The World And Me, and current and historical Black protest movements, Anderson’s signature Afro-contemporary choreographic voice explores the resultant condition of unease and discomfort produced by this inescapable level of social awareness—We stay woke. Contains mature content, themes, language and imagery that some might find disturbing.  Suitable for audiences 17+

Poetry by Brad Walrond (everywhere alien)
Creative Direction and Production by Kimberly Knox of Ubiquita Worldwide
Music Produced by $YNDRM
Dancer/Choreography by Pony Zion

Cyborg Heaven, the short film, zooms in on the Black body and how it navigates desire while embedded in the context of COVID-19. This provocative work explores our quest for meaningful social, political, and erotic exchange in an age where social media easily activates new and dynamic connections while just as readily confining us to private islands of anxiety and isolation. 

Cyborg Heaven draws upon the radical poetics and performance aesthete of the Black queer tradition and the Black urban movements rooted in House Ballroom culture, Underground Dance music, and Hip Hop. It creates an Afrofuturist, existential portrait of how the need for touch takes on added and unknowable weight in the midst of the pandemic where all have been thrust into novel forms of connectedness, isolation, and quarantine.

Directed by Kiyoko McCrae & Jason Foster
Written and performed by Sunni Patterson
Produced by Junebug Productions

Black Back, written and performed by Sunni Patterson is one of many poems featured in the Junebug’s theater production, Gomela/to Return: Movement of Our Mother Tongue. This film short is a testament to the audacious persistence of Black life. It celebrates the heartbeat of a people that will never die– the culture and traditions that will continue to evolve,grow and survive the test of time.

651 ARTS JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION (RE)VISION Safety Protocols

651 ARTS Juneteenth Celebration: (RE)VISION gathers our community at The Plaza on 300 Ashland for Juneteenth, Pride Month, and Father’s Day weekend.  Cleaned and sanitized Headphones are provided throughout the event.  You will find an overview of the COVID-19 measures we will implement here. These include social distancing for both guests and staff, regular cleaning of high touch surfaces, and contact-free check-in.  651 ARTS, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, and Rooftop Films are adhering to city and state guidelines regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Safety is of the utmost importance at all our events. If you are feeling sick, please do not attend. Please follow all protocols on site, maintain a minimum of 6 feet from others, and wear a mask at all times. Thank you! Your compliance will help keep our events safe for all to enjoy.

651 ARTS, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, and Rooftop Films are adhering to city and state guidelines regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Safety is of the utmost importance at all our events. If you are feeling sick, please do not attend.

We highly recommend you:

• Maintain 6’ of distance between your party and others.
• Wear a face mask covering your nose and mouth when in near proximity to others.

We will:

• Maintain where possible 6’ of distance between staff members and guests.
• Wear a face mask covering our nose and mouth at all times.
• Wear additional PPE as required by state and city guidelines.
• Have additional PPE available to our staff to use at their request.
• Provide hand sanitizer dispensers at the check-in tables.
• Sanitize high touch surfaces frequently.
• Sanitize tables and chairs at the beginning and end of each event.
• Sanitize headphones prior to each use.
• Provide a COVID-19 screening to our staff upon arrival to the work site.
• Provide contactless check-in where possible.

651 ARTS’ programs are made possible by gifts from generous individuals and grants from Bay and Paul Foundations, The Black Seed, Con Edison’s Arts Al Fresco Series, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Lambent Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, New York Community Trust, Emma Sheafer Charitable Trust, Wallace Foundation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, including Majority Leader Laurie A. Cumbo, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.