Have Your Say In Downtown Brooklyn's Art Scene At Upcoming Forum

BOERUM HILL, BROOKLYN — What can Downtown Brooklyn residents do to keep arts and culture vibrant in the community? Share your thoughts at an open discussion with over 30 Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance members at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at BRIC Arts Media House at 647 Fulton St.

The City's Department of Cultural Affairs is working to develop the first ever New York City Cultural Plan, which will analyze the city's cultural priorities, determine how New Yorkers experience culture in their daily lives and plan how the city can continue to stay artist-friendly.

The Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance (DBAA) wants to hear about Downtown Brooklyn culture from real Brooklynites.

"Our goal as a community arts organization is to prioritize the needs of our community in our programming efforts," Nana Shakhnazaryan with the DBAA told Patch. "We want people to feel more and more a part of our development process because their needs, interests and issues are at the crux of our work."

The forum will discuss how arts organizations can stay connected to different communities, and how to prioritize the artistic needs of these communities.

The moderator of the event is Brian Vines, a New York Emmy-award winning broadcast journalist and Senior Correspondent at BRIC TV. Other members of the panel include Visual Artist Miguel Luciano and President of the Brooklyn Historical Society Deborah Schwartz.

"We hope that people will come prepared to speak about how arts organizations can remain relevant in their communities, program meaningful content and really define what culture means to them," Nana Shakhnazaryan with the DBAA told Patch.

This event is free, but make sure to RSVP here.

Please also consider taking the Downtown Brooklyn Cultural Needs Survey, which is another opportunity to share your voice and help create a Cultural Plan for all New Yorkers.

Photo: edwardhblake/Flickr