With all the talk about gentrification in Brooklyn seemingly culminating in a recent Kevin Hart skit on the subject on SNL, it’s particularly appropriate that this performance art piece is being performed Aisha Cousins and Greg Tate’s Burnt Sugar: The Arkestra.
According to the artist’s site, the performance
What happens when a black middle aged cool marketer at the tipping point in his battle to claim the American dream moves into a notoriously dangerous black neighborhood that just happens to be at the tipping point in its battle with gentrification? Find out in this adult exploration of tricksterism, techno-anismism, and urban survival techniques.Brer Rabbit the Opera: A Funk Meditation on Gentrification is a collaboration between artist Aisha Cousins, musician Greg Tate and his band Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber that is being created through BRIC’s Fireworks Residency Program. The collaboration will culminate in a stage performance on Jan 22 and Jan 23, 2015 at BRIC House which explores our modern dilemma of gentrification through the lens of black trickster hero Brer Rabbit and his birthplace the Briar Patch. Members of Brooklyn’s African diaspora who grew up with trickster folktales or are being affected by gentrification helped determine the plot of the opera by participating in one of the community art projects listed below throughout the summer and fall.
Sound like something you’d check out? If so, performances are tonight (1/22) and Friday (1/23).
Both performances take place at
BRIC House Ballroom
647 Fulton Street
(Enter on Rockwell Place)
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Google Map
Get your tickets in advance with code Rabbit10 and you’ll pay $10 versus the $15 advance/$20 door pricing.
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