The Art of Making Space

The Art of Making Space is a panel conversation and toast to Women’s History Month, presented by 651 ARTS and featuring four women who are defining in real time the strategies they employ (knowingly or unknowingly) to hold and create space for Black arts, culture, and archive.

How do Black women hold and create space for one another while navigating systems where, too often, individualism and hyper-competitiveness are rewarded?

• It means engineering places at tables that weren’t necessarily built for you.
• It means charting a path for those who may follow.
• It means resource sharing and storytelling.
• It means redefining what is possible from a place of abundance.

Our panelists include:

Emily Anadu
Founder and CEO (The Lay Out)

Cynthia Gordy Giwa
Founder and Co-Creator (Black-Owned Brooklyn)

Erica Harper
Vice President of Learning and Engagement (Weeksville Heritage Center)

Fatima Jones
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer (Dance Theatre of Harlem)

The conversation will be moderated by Robyne Walker-Murphy.

651 ARTS

651 ARTS is a 35-year-old legacy institution born in Brooklyn, NY in 1988 as an answer to a call to create programming that centers and values the performing arts and cultures of the African Diaspora.

651 ARTS has a legacy of fueling the arts ecosystems within Brooklyn, while also presenting and producing work by emerging, established, and world-renowned artists from all over the United States, and the globe.

It is a place to create and experience art that is led by, centers and celebrates Black voices.

The Center for Fiction

The Center for Fiction is the only literary nonprofit organization solely dedicated to celebrating the creation and enjoyment of fiction. Our home in Downtown Brooklyn features a Bookstore, Café & Bar, Library, and Writers Studio. Throughout the year, The Center provides a vast array of programming that brings diverse communities together to develop and share a passion for storytelling in all its forms.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, United States