A community organizing and public art project celebrating everyday heroes in New York City, neighborhood by neighborhood.
It is a way for communities to….
Local community groups and local artists work together through community meetings, a nomination process, and storytelling sessions to produce a public art exhibition.
Community Heroes works by...
Step 1
Being invited by an individual or a group to envision the project in their neighborhood
Step 2
Working together to engage with and listen to neighbors through active outreach and civic participation
Step 3
Inviting local artists to document neighborhood stories
Step 4
Showcasing their artwork in a public art exhibition & gathering to celebrate it
Community Heroes projects have been created in many neighborhoods.
Community Heroes projects have been created in many neighborhoods.
The Community Heroes Team
Jasmin Chang (she/her)
Co-founder and Director of Community Heroes
Jasmin Chang is a Taiwanese American artist and organizer who was raised in southern California and moved to New York City over 10 years ago. She is the co-founder of of Community Heroes and the co-lead artist of the Winston-Salem Portrait Project. She was Deputy Director of Community and Education for Photoville, creating youth and educator programs for the first 10 years of the organization. She is a member of Friends of Commodore Barry Park and serves on the board of the Fort Greene Park Conservancy.
Zac Martin (he/him)
Co-founder of Community Heroes
Activist, youth and community organizer, Zac Martin‘s focus is working with, learning from and advocating for Black and Brown youth, public housing residents and the homeless in his community. Zac is also the paster of justice and mercy at Recovery House of Worship in downtown Brooklyn.
Photoville amplifies visual storytellers and connects them to a worldwide diverse audience through its free photo festival and year-round activation of public spaces and educational community programming.
Trellis is a community development nonprofit that helps neighborhoods address injustice through building and maintaining collaboration around advocacy and action.
The Community Heroes team is the co-founders of the project alongside Photoville and Trellis, who together organize and produce the project.
Neighborhood Teams
Fort Greene
Community Heroes Fort Greene is organized and produced by Fort Greene Park Conservancy and Friends of Commodore Barry Park.
René Scotland
Friends of Commodore Barry Park
René Scotland is the volunteer leader and administrator of Friends of Commodore Barry Park.
Mia Rubin (she/her)
Public Programs and Engagement Manager
Fort Greene Park Conservancy
Mia Rubin is a queer Chinese Jewish adoptee. Mia uses her skills as an arts administrator, cultural worker, and educator to explore Asian American and adoptee identity through print and textile design. Prior to joining the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, Mia worked with Museum Hue as a Project Manager researching People of Color founded and led arts organizations throughout New York State. Mia is taking all that she has learned from working with queer AAPI community into this role as she is dedicated to connecting people and making programs more accessible to marginalized people. Mia received her BFA from Parsons School of Design. Outside of work, Mia enjoys putting her degree to use by creating flower arrangements with flower farmers in Fort Greene Park. You can find her with a bouquet in hand most of the time.
Chaya Howell (she/her)
Story Producer
Friends of Commodore Barry Park
S. Kesha Morse
Friends of Commodore Barry Park
Ms. Sheryl Kesha Morse is a great influencer and amazing mentor to young Black women about their beautiful Blackness, assisting them to have a different attitude towards their jobs. Kesha has contributed to her community in many ways.
Kai Lawrence (he/him)
Fort Greene Park Conservancy
Born in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, Kai quickly noticed the lack of green spaces, support, and opportunities in his community. He spent most of his childhood traveling to other neighborhoods, like Fort Greene, to enjoy recreational activities. With a vision to support youth and low-income people, Kai transitioned into the fields of Social Justice and Urban Agriculture. Now a full-time member of the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, Kai hopes to create beautiful and captivating spaces within the park, with an abundance of opportunities for all.
Thanks
Neighborhood Partners
Fort Greene
Ingersoll Tenants Association
Farragut Tenants Association
Atlantic Terminal Tenants Association
the Bronx
Bed Stuy / Crown Heights
Gowanus
Red Hook
Friends
Our collaborators, connectors and brainstormers, without you this project would not be where it is:
Darrell Cheng, Ivan Valladares, Alexis Lambrou, Tracey Pinkard, Korly DeVries, Shawana Ryals, Shaquana Boykin, Karen Thompson, Zoe L. Meeks, Julie Raskin, Jessica Sucher, Laura Roumanos, Sam Barzilay, Dave Shelley, Janna Starr, Kristin Brenneman Eno, Ted Enoch, David Barker, Julian Macrone, Thais Reis-Henrie
Supporters
Catalyst, a program of Partnerships for Parks (PfP), harnesses the resources of City Parks Foundation, NYC Parks, and local partners to strengthen and center community building around improving high needs parks in historically underserved neighborhoods.
PhotoWings highlights & helps facilitate the power of photography to be better understood, created, utilized, seen, and saved.
Community Heroes is supported in part by The Berk Foundation, Humanities New York Action Grant, the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC), as well as many organizations, neighbors and friends.
Apostles Brooklyn, Liberty City, Trinity Grace Church Park Slope, Bindery, The Bridge Church, Lauren Pond, Habiba Simjee, Kush Patel, Andria Seo & Ray Su, Sarah Yoon, Chris and Annmarie Koshak, Anastasia Soetanto, Stephen and Jenie Hanano, Krystal Grow, Alexandra Roche, Manisha Munshi, Marian Wang, Morgan Cruz, Caroline Park, Dana Krieger, Jessica Olah, Stephanie Kim and Jason Yow, Kisha Bari and Peter Fedak, Rebecca Stevens, Jennifer Giuliano, Kiira Benzing, Julia Chu, Alexis Percival, Korly DeVries and Joshua Levi, Brian Oei, Carol Fung, Shelly, Karen Thompson, and many more!