CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ART IN COMMUNITY - NEW YORK
Contact
Meral Agish, Outreach Coordinator
Phone: 718 757 6469
meral@freedimensional.org
www.artincommunity.org
Description
The Center for International Art in Community (CIAC) is a pilot artist
residency and community center in Central Brooklyn. Located at the
Magnolia Tree Earth Center, it partners with its gallery to introduce
the local community to international artists in residence. CIAC
provides artists, activists, and citizen journalists with residential
and/or studio space for two to four-month periods; creates interaction
with community youth through our Syndicate 19 program; and organizes
programs with city-wide outlets that enable both artists and youth to
promote their work and discuss their experiences, fostering awareness
of human rights issues in the community.
Policy
Resident selection is based on the urgency of individuals’ situations
(need of temporary safe haven); achieving a diverse professional range
(discipline/media); potential to contribute to a collaborative
project; and achieving a diverse age, gender and regional make-up.
The Center for International Art in Community (CIAC) is located in the
neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Community Board 3, Central
Brooklyn in New York City. Bedford-Stuyvesant is an international
community with the combined assets of its diverse make-up. As with
other urban communities around the world, the national and ethnic
plurality of Bed-Stuy (and much of Central Brooklyn) can be attributed
to the global economy. Whereas social exclusion, economic
marginalization, and environmental injustice are reasons for migration
(or immigration) these conditions often persist in the redefined areas
that accommodate new citizens. This is compounded by a lack of local
programs that engage with diaspora networks and social capital,
transnational political affiliations, and hybrid aesthetics that
characterize membership in one community as well as movement to
another. CIAC seeks to fill this void and draws inspiration from its
partner centers throughout the freeDimensional network.