Soul of Brooklyn Week 2011 Recap.

Now that Soul of Brooklyn Week 2011 is pretty much complete, let's recap this phenomenal celebration of local African Diaspora arts and business in the great borough of Brooklyn. Thousands of Brooklynites and tourists joined in the festivities from June 18-25 and celebrated the work of over 31 arts organizations, local businesses, and talented Brooklyn artists.

Soul of Brooklyn Week was largely successful due to the presence and spirit of the people of Brooklyn. Everyone who participated seemed to be so full of joy about the events and the direction that Brooklyn's African Diaspora community is heading.

The kick-off event of the Soul of Brooklyn Week, the 11th Annual Fort Greene Brooklyn Juneteenth Arts Festival, really set the tone for the rest of the week. Performers from Urban Bush Women entertained the audience while local artisans, artists and vendors set-up shop in Fort Greene's Culyer Gore Park.

Soon after the day long festival, the party moved to Blink for the Soul of Brooklyn Summer Jam. The venue was packed and people danced all night to DJ Trauma's selection of hits by Brooklyn's finest hip hop, reggae, and R&B artists.

As the week carried on Les Nubians helped to illuminate the spirit of the people at the Walt Whitman Housing Projects. MoCADA really wanted to bring a unique and dynamic experience to the residences at the home as well as the rest of New York City and the people responded with open hearts and minds.

The children enjoyed facepainting and playing on the nearby playground while everyone else danced along with Les Nubians.

Later during the week, on Friday, Media MVMT and the Act Now Foundation teamed up to present some of the premier black films from Brooklyn film makers at Common Grounds in Bed Stuy. The owner of Common Grounds and local politician, Tramaine Wright, was a great venue host and made sure everyone had plenty of popcorn to accompany the ten short films.

Additionally, Media MVMT's own Terence Nance was  a fantastic host and brought a great energy to the screening. The entire event was enjoyed by everyone who attended. Finally, we finished off the week by going to the Fort Greene Festival where we all soaked up some Brooklyn sun while jamming to the music.

Thank you to all who attended and made the week a fantastic success. If you missed out, we still have one more event in store! The "RIP THE RUNWAY" fashion show had to be postponed to this Wednesday, June 29 due to the rain, so you'll have one last chance to take part in the celebration.