On the morning of 28 January, an enthusiastic group of local politicians, arts leaders and community members gathered in Downtown Brooklyn for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate the L10 Arts and Cultural Center. The new space, created using $84m in funding from the City of New York, is located above the Whole Foods supermarket at 10 Lafayette Avenue in the so-called Bam Cultural District. Centring the local community, particularly Black Brooklynites, L10 provides 65,000 sq. ft over several floors to four non-profits: the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (Mocada), 651 Arts, Brooklyn Academy of Music (Bam) and the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL).
L10 is the first-ever permanent home of 651 Arts, with new performance and rehearsal spaces for the 37-year-old organisation dedicated to African diaspora performing arts and culture. A gallery and performance space for Mocada is now open on site as well, expanding the museum’s exhibition space five-fold. For Bam, a neighbouring cinema, visual- and performing-arts institution, L10 adds three cinemas and ample room for its archives. A new BPL branch focused specifically on the arts was also inaugurated on the premises.
As the wind whistled through the gaps between the veranda doors on an upper level of the building, a dozen speakers took turns at the microphone to celebrate the completion of a yearslong project. In attendance were friends and supporters—among them, the museum directors Thelma Golden (of the Studio Museum in Harlem) and Anne Pasternak (of the Brooklyn Museum).
L10 Arts and Cultural Center ribbon-cutting ceremony, 28 January, BrooklynPhoto: Gregg Richards, courtesy the Brooklyn Public Library
Laurie Cumbo, New York City’s commissioner of cultural affairs and the original founder of Mocada, presided over the ceremony. She introduced each speaker in turn, bringing an air of optimism to what many in the room acknowledged as a difficult time for the US.
“We continue to make Black history, whether you like it or not,” Cumbo said, nodding to recent political maneuvers from Donald Trump administration’s to shut down diversity efforts. “We continue to make women’s history, whether you like it or not.” (She later noted that even the architects of the building were women.)
Cumbo’s introductory remarks were followed by the young local writer Grace Tapia reading two of her poems—providing “cultural and creative greetings”, as Cumbo described it. A long list of speakers followed: Maria Torres-Springer (New York City’s first deputy mayor), Josh Kraus (of the city’s economic development corporation), Jumaane Williams (the city’s public advocate), Crystal Hudson and Carlina Rivera (city councilmembers), Kimberly Council (deputy Brooklyn borough president), Amy Andrieux (director of Mocada), Toya Lillard (director of 651 Arts), Linda Johnson (president of BPL) and Gina Duncan (president of Bam). Notably absent was the mayor, Eric Adams, who has been avoiding public events this week.
Laurie Cumbo, New York City’s commissioner of cultural affairs and the original founder of Mocada, with Jumaane Williams, the city’s public advocate Photo: Gregg Richards, courtesy the Brooklyn Public Library
Williams, an actor as well as a politician, noted that “Brooklyn is a space known for artistic expression”, adding that hip-hop may have started in the Bronx, but it was honed in Brooklyn—the notorious Bed-Stuy rapper Biggie Smalls came up at least twice in the speeches. Williams said he celebrated the arts as a means of “getting out of dark moments”.
“The only time Jumaane doesn’t tick from Tourette’s is when he’s on stage,” Hudson said in her speech, referencing the public advocate’s prolonged history with the syndrome—he was diagnosed as a teenager. “This is the power of the arts.” Hudson also pointed to the fact that “all the institutions in this building are run by women and Black folks”.
“L10 is more than just a building,” Andrieux said in her speech. “It’s an anchor for artists.”
Lillard said the building would serve as a home to “artists whose voices have been long overlooked”.
The new Brooklyn Public Library branch at L10 Arts and Cultural Center Photo: Gregg Richards, courtesy the Brooklyn Public Library
As people took turns talking about how much the baton has passed from person to person over the years in making this project a reality, Cumbo’s name kept coming up as integral to the whole endeavour. Council called L10 “a beautiful arc of Laurie’s accomplishments”, one that would serve as inspiration—for young women especially.
“Thank you all for joining me on the greatest day of my life,” Cumbo said. “Your dreams can happen. They can come true.”
