The Laundromat Project

The Create Change Open Call is live and we’re accepting applications. Our annual crowdsourcing People-Powered Challenge starts next week. Recognizing the importance of these moments and the impending election, we’re thinking about our democracy, and how individuals have enacted change through social justice movements. Activating Democracy: The “I Wish to Say” Project, is a collection of scholarly reflections about public interests rooted in historic justice movements, edited by Sheryl Oring. We love this quote by critical architect and scholar, Teddy Cruz, and its reflection on citizenship and national borders. At The LP we are resolute in our values: We Value Place and we are POC-centered. We open our doors to a variety of needs, experiences, and perspectives shared by artists, residents, community leaders, and peers just like you! Learn more about Create Change, our annual People-Powered Challenge, and how The LP works to support artists and neighbors as change agents in their communities! Click the link in our bio and learn more about The LP today! Reflect & Share: What helps you feel like you belong? Let us know in the comments below! #ReadRestandReflect #TheLPLibrary #Democracy

Collective Consciousness goes hand-in-hand with advocating for our community. Consciousness is power! Throughout the 1960s, Japanese-American political activist Yuri Kochiyama worked tirelessly to raise consciousness on racial justice and human rights issues within Asian American, Black, and global movements. Her friendship and political alignments with Black leaders like Malcolm X paint a full legacy of building community power and solidarity across social justice movements. Taking lessons from Yuri Kochiyama’s work, The LP amplifies the knowledge of Black, Indigenous, and POC artists and neighbors to ignite transformation in our neighborhoods. Creative community engagement anchors our advocacy, sense of place, and love for the people around us. We believe creativity builds resilience. A better “tomorrow” is in our hands, so long as we open ourselves up to it. Learn about how People-Powered 2024 can support The LP in co-creating a better “tomorrow”, today! Sign up to be an Amplifier to become eligible for a 1-year @citibike membership! Link below! #PeoplePowered #PPW2024 #TheLP #WeGonBeAlright https://bit.ly/3WlkEN8 Song: "The World Is Yours" - Nas⁠ The LP does not own the rights to this music.

✨ Join us next week on Friday, October 4 from 6:00-9:00 pm for our second Liberation Series social of the year, right here at The LP Storefront!⁠ ⁠ Wema Ragophala, an alum of The LP’s Create Change Fellowship, will facilitate this special public gathering!⁠ ⁠ Liberation Series invites our community to engage in social and deep conversations between artists and Pan-African cultural experts to discuss contemporary social issues experienced by our immediate community. ⁠ ⁠ For our October Liberation Series event, we are cultivating community connections, Pan-African cultural exchange, and intersectional artmaking.⁠ ⁠ Wéma has worked at the intersection of art and community in New York City and South Africa as a director, writer, dancer, and community organizer. Wéma is deeply invested in youth and disability justice, arts & activism, and dismantling systemic racism.⁠ ⁠ Free food and refreshments are provided. ⁠ ⁠ Register today through the link below! https://bit.ly/3WVGtDh

Are you ready to build community and deepen your artistic practice? Do you want to join a dynamic cohort of over 250 artists and cultural producers across NYC who’ve participated in The LP’s Create Change program? Apply to the 2025 Create Change Open Call today and check out a few of our tips for submitting a standout application below: Show Your Collaborative Spirit: We’re looking for candidates who have experience with or a strong interest in developing community-based projects. If you thrive in a collaborative learning environment and align with The LP’s values, we want to hear from you! Be Your Authentic Self: We value a rich mix of backgrounds, abilities, and expertise. Whether you have a non-traditional arts education or bring a unique perspective to your work, your experiences will shine through. Check out Past Projects: Visit our website to learn more about past Residency and Fellowship projects, and how they enacted lasting change through art, activism, and social practices within their local communities. Still have questions? We can’t wait to answer them for you. Learn more about the application process and join one of our info sessions from Sep 12 - 25 Hour-long info sessions will take place throughout NYC! Info Sessions: ⁠ Staten Island: Location TBA | September 20 - 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm⁠ Queens: Apicha Community Health Center | September 23 - 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm⁠ Manhattan: Offices of the Studio Museum in Harlem | September 25 - 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm⁠ Click the link to sign up for an info session today! https://bit.ly/3XdeDmc

Join us next Wednesday, Sept 18 at 6:30 pm at Herbert Von King Park's Cultural Arts Center (back terrace) for an Open Studio with 2024 Bed-Stuy AiR Alicia Foxworth! ABOUT THE ARTIST Alicia is a BK-based actor, playwright, and producer. Alicia began her love of storytelling on the brownstone steps of BK as a child, where she sat with her father after work to read the newspaper (he the news and she the comics). It became a tradition, enjoyed with neighbors, teaching her to appreciate the wonder of one’s imagination, growing up in an urban neighborhood. Hearing tales from her father and now sharing her own, she inspires, amuses, and comforts others, just as if she were still sitting on the brownstone steps of her childhood. Wanna join us for Alicia’s Open Studio? Register today through the link below! NOTE: Seating is limited. Bring a lawn chair! #TheLP #OpenStudios #CreateChange https://bit.ly/4fpDEms

The 2025 Create Change Open Call is now live and accepting submissions! Artists, cultural workers, and practitioners from all FIVE boroughs of NYC are encouraged to apply!⁠ Remember - the Open Call includes our one-year Residency program and our 6-month Fellowship program. Visit our website or join one of our info sessions across NYC to learn more about which opportunity may be right for you. Hour-long info sessions will be held throughout New York City. Our Brooklyn info session in now at capacity! Please join us at any of the locations below. Info Sessions: ⁠ Staten Island: Location TBA | September 20 - 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm⁠ Queens: Apicha Community Health Center | September 23 - 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm⁠ Manhattan: Offices of the Studio Museum in Harlem | September 25 - 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm⁠ Click the link and apply for the Create Change applications now and if you'd like your questions answered in person for additional support, join one of our info sessions today! https://lnkd.in/enpYWqZq

Are you ready to Create Change with The LP? Our Create Change Residency or Fellowship program may be right for you! The LP’s Create Change Applications tomorrow and this year we're hosting in-person info session across NYC that will give you the vital information you need to apply. See the info session dates below. Info Sessions: ⁠ Staten Island: Location TBA | September 20 - 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm⁠ Queens: Apicha Community Health Center | September 23 - 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm⁠ Manhattan: Offices of the Studio Museum in Harlem | September 25 - 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm⁠ Tap the link to join us for an info session! We look forward to engaging with you in your community through Create Change! https://bit.ly/3XdeDmc

We are committed to creating change in our society. Are you? ✨ Chinese-American philosopher and civil rights activist Grace Lee Boggs reminds us of our role in changing our society. With creative practices that address labor rights and Black maternal healthcare, to climate sustainability and housing stability, The LP’s Create Change artists are taking responsibility for changing the NOW. If community transformation is our vision, practicing love and resilience through art is how we get there. 🫱🏾🫲🏽But The LP NEEDS YOU. People-Powered 2024 runs from September 16-25. Will you volunteer to help us spread the word on Instagram? Sign up to be an Amplifier, and you’ll be eligible for special raffle prizes! Learn how you can support artists and neighbors who organize to change lives. Click the link in our bio to learn more, and stay tuned for our official launch! #PeoplePowered #PPW2024 #TheLP #WeGonBeAlright https://bit.ly/3TfJSvM

🌱 Today, we recall ‘When We Fight We Win!,’ a written collection of activists who have devoted their lives to fighting injustice. Using history and personal stories as the foundation of discovery, authors Greg Jobin-Leeds and AgitArte (@agitarte_cultural_works) challenge us to think critically about our place in the world and how we relate to systems of power. Today’s #RRR quote unveils the historical impact of mass incarceration in the U.S. The LP’s residencies, fellowships, and public programs consider art as a catalyst for challenging the historical systems of oppression our communities face. Through knowledge exchange and creative engagement, we advocate for the health and well-being of POC communities. ✨ Reflect & Share: How do you use creativity to combat systems of oppression? [Image Description: Slide 1 - Hand holding book displaying book cover in front of LP bookshelves; Slide 2: Text-based graphic with quote written; Slide 3, Portrait of Greg Joblin-Leeds]

🗓️ SAVE THE DATE! We’re back with another Liberation Series event for you coming next month! Come through The LP Storefront on Friday, October 4 from 6:00 - 9:00 pm! We’re excited to invite our friends, fam, and neighbors to our home at 1476 Fulton Street to explore how we can tend to our community through creativity, connection, and movement building, informed by Pan-African knowledge and creative practices. We love working with The LP’s artist alumni and this special evening - like all Liberation Series events this fall - will be hosted by Wéma Ragophala, an alum of The LP’s Create Change Fellowship! ✨ ABOUT WÉMA ✨ Wéma has worked at the intersection of art and community in New York City and South Africa as a director, writer, dancer, and community organizer. As founder of Bridges: A Pan-African ARTS Movement, Wéma devises theater, poetry, music, and visual collaborations with artists and communities from Brooklyn and across Africa. Wéma is deeply invested in youth and disability justice, arts & activism, and dismantling systemic racism. Interested in artistic community-building grounded in Pan-African cultural knowledge? Learn more and register via the link in our bio! Free food and refreshments will be provided. We’ll see you there! https://bit.ly/3WVGtDh #LiberationSeries #October #TheLP #BuildCommunity #FirstFridays ⁠