Kimberlean Donis

In 1969, as Bedford-Stuyvesant emerged as a center of Black political and cultural life, an unlikely partnership was taking shape in the Brooklyn neighborhood. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, one of the most recognizable women in America, was helping launch a Black-run textile studio whose fabrics drew from African art and craft and whose mission extended beyond design: create jobs, cultivate local talent and make Black pride tangible in the homes of American consumers.

What happens when young people who are often defined by the systems around them are given the opportunity to define themselves? At the Center for Art and Advocacy in Brooklyn, the answer is taking shape through "Keeping Community," a summer exhibition bringing together artists, organizers, formerly and currently incarcerated creatives and young people navigating New York City’s juvenile justice system.

In an evolving Brooklyn arts landscape, Chorus has emerged as a small but ambitious curatorial project space. Founded by Archie Caride in January 2026, Chorus is still in flux — and that is, in many ways, the point. For Caride, his contribution to the arts does not require a large institution, a large budget or a large physical footprint. Chorus occupies only a single room, but Caride does not view the limited footprint as a restriction, even as other Brooklyn arts organizations grow.