Black-Owned Brownsville: A Storefront Art Gallery is a community art exhibition that highlights the Pitkin Avenue BID’s merchants, celebrates Brownsville’s diverse history and culture, and brings residents and visitors to the Pitkin Avenue and Rockaway Avenue commercial corridors during Black Business Month in August 2022. For this project, contemporary Brownsville artists will be commissioned to create artwork that reflects Black culture and heritage in NYC and Brownsville. Local merchants will serve as host venues and the artwork will be displayed in their storefronts. The exhibition will provide a platform for the selected artists to obtain public exposure and reach a larger audience. Black entrepreneurship and Black-owned businesses are a significant part of New York’s business landscape. The Pitkin Avenue BID would like to use Black Business Month as an opportunity to acknowledge the many Black-owned businesses in the district. Moreover, the project aims to inspire the local youth to explore and cultivate their artistic and entrepreneurial skills.

Image: Brownsville Merchant, Toluwalolami Lola Mike, Excel Space African Boutique . Photo by Oliver Vega.