NOIR Labs is thrilled to be in partnership with Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC) in support of their efforts to build a digital platform for Artist advancement, currently known as the Dynamic Engagement Portal (DEP).
Building on BAC’s work of supporting Brooklyn artists in three spheres of catalytic impact–Creative Experiences, Creative Ecologies, and Creative Equations–the DEP will connect Brooklyn artist communities to larger markets, while increasing investment in both artist content and Brooklyn communities. NOIR Labs is providing Technical Advisement and Research Design to maximize the creativity, sustainability and impact of the platform.
With seed funding from the New York Community Trust, this Brooklyn-wide effort will energize artists, arts organizations, political offices and community leaders in service of an even better Brooklyn, which means a greater New York.
Desiree Gordon–multidisciplinary artist, curator, and social innovation strategist–leads the charge from Brooklyn Arts Council. For over 15 years, Gordon has been a critical broker in NY’s Cultural sector, stimulating economic development with impact investments into cultural assets, while nurturing resource ecologies.
Who is Brooklyn Arts Council?
Brooklyn Arts Council has been integral in the shaping of Brooklyn’s culture. For over 50 years, BAC has centered and empowered artists through programs building and investing in a thriving Brooklyn artist community; sustaining wonder, inspiration, healing, and a sense of communion across the borough.
As BAC strives for racial, gender and ethnic justice in their grant making, services and events, the DEP will supercharge these efforts by increasing opportunities for diverse creative engagement with civic solution design. BAC continues to build networks of artists and arts organizations committed to Brooklyn’s creative vitality, thus catalyzing human expression and creativity, exactly what NOIR Labs seeks to do with Afro-descended communities across the globe.
Partnering in the Effort
In our efforts to help organizations build Liberated futures for themselves, NOIR Labs provides thought leadership, technical expertise and strategic partnership for the development of highly profitable, high-impact, humanist organizations and platforms. The love of Brooklyn’s creative class has been integral to our growth and we are overjoyed to give back in such a tangible and impactful way.
We call on all creative communities of Brooklyn who are committed to social justice and economic equilibrium to join us in collaboratively envisioning the development of the DEP and galvanizing communities and resources in service of this mission.
The first phase of User Experience Research launched on Wed, Jan 11, 2023 with the initial survey distributed to the BAC community. Future stages will include focus groups, interviews and a borough-wide competition.
If you live or work in Brooklyn–or did so in the last five years–here are three things you can do now to push this work forward and join the movement, right from where you are:
- Complete the Initial survey! Add your contact info if you’d like to stay close to the process
- Complete the Artist Survey.
- Share the surveys with your mailing list, social media community, and friend groups
- Subscribe to BAC’s mailing list to be kept up-to-date on DEP developments
Organizations seeking to partner with us at a higher level may contact team@noirlabs.org.
Check back often as this post will be updated with research updates and future surveys.
To enquire about NOIR Labs services for your community, organization or for yourself, please use this form.
UPDATE! The first Creative Focus Group took place on 2/28 and the second survey (focused on Artists, linked in the list above) was released 3/2. Please take it here.