Prospect Park Reimagines How To Use Historic Museum In Event Next Week

PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN — An event next week will help Prospect Park figure out how to revamp its historic museum, which it is reimagining to recognize property's role as a site of slavery.

The event, slated for next Thursday at the Lefferts Historic House, will include an exhibit of Brooklyn-based artists curated by Jamel Shabazz, who has documented Prospect Park for more than four decades.

The exhibit and artist talk is part of the Prospect Park Alliance's initiative ReImagine Lefferts, which will re-envision the museum's mission to tell stories of enslaved Africans and Indigenous people who lived and worked the land. The initiative comes as the Lefferts Historic undergoes a $2.5 million upgrade that started last year.

"As the Alliance reimagines the mission of the museum, we seek to engage the public in a thoughtful dialogue about the legacy of slavery and the treatment of marginalized communities who have contributed to the rich tapestry of Brooklyn," the alliance said.

The "Brooklyn Connection" exhibit features six artists, is hosted by Photoville and sponsored by the photo and video kit company MPB.

The $2.5-million restoration of Lefferts will include replacing its roof, restoring the exterior and repairing paths and drainage around the house. It is slated to be done by fall 2022.

The project's kick off last summer came with a designation of the path across from the Lefferts House as "Juneteenth Way," complete with a stretch of benches painted with the colors of the pan-African flag.

Here's a look at the details for next week's event:

WHAT: Join us for an exploration of work from the incredible set of emerging and established photographers selected to be part of The Brooklyn Connection exhibition at Prospect Park. The photographers will be discussing their work, vision, Brooklyn roots, and more.

WHO:

Artists include:

• Antonio M. Rosario (@amrosario),, Brooklyn based professional photographer and filmmaker who shoots predominantly on the street, teaches street photography, and is one of the hosts of a popular photography podcast called Street Shots.
• Amy Touchette (@amy_touchette), Brooklyn based photographer whose work explores themes of social connectedness through street portraiture. In addition to lectures and public talks, she teaches street portraiture in ICP’s Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism program and Continuing Education program.
• Christopher Cook (@visually_conscious), New York-based artist, born and raised in Brooklyn. Cook has exhibited in galleries throughout New York State, from the Lower East Side to upstate Auburn. He was a 2020 AIM Fellow at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. In 2021, Valentine Museum of Art acquired 160 of his Black Lives Matters photographs.
• Melanie Hill, is a Brooklyn-based photographer and photo artist. Eight years ago, she began her journey with a Fujifilm point-and shoot purchased from the Home Shopping Network. Engaging with the public through a viewfinder opens her eyes and mind to refreshing points of view about human behaviors, which makes street photography her first choice in terms of genre.
• Phillip Moi-Thuk-Shung (@Moithuk), born and raised in Bed-Stuy. He founded his passion for photography working as an art director with world renowned photographers for the past 20+ years.
• Shino Kitano (@shinocou), artist and photojournalist. Her project We The People with Rico Washington has been added to the Smithsonian collection. Influenced by mentors Jamel Shabazz and Ruiko Yoshida, her work showcases an intimate approach to capturing subjects. Kitano uses photography to connect the beauty of the natural world with the equality of humanity.

WHEN: Thursday, July 28 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

WHERE: Prospect Park Lefferts Historic House