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By Brian Seibert
Toya Lillard is not a real real estate agent. But he got used to it a few weeks ago, when he was traveling through the new headquarters of 651 Arts, a Brooklyn organization committed to the spectacle of the African diaspora. For an arts administrator, she’s been traveling a lot lately.
That’s because Lillard, the CEO of 651, has something to show. The organization’s bright new area is across from the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Mark Morris Dance Center. It occupies the fourth parcel of 10 Lafayette, a city-owned arts complex attached to the 45-story 300 Ashland tower, which houses luxury apartments, a Whole Foods and an Apple Store. The new facility, which features a black movie theater and three studios for practice sessions, is as stylish as its neighbors.
More important than the greatness, however, is that for the first time in its 37-year history, the 651 has its own home. “This area allows 651 Arts to follow its own destiny,” said Mikki Shepard, one of its founders.
Instead of always having to find places for its artists to rehearse and perform, 651 is now “at the helm,” Lillard said. “We can determine how best to use the space and how best to serve our community.”
One of the first performances will take place on January 16, with the premiere of “Against Gravity: Flying Afrikans Other Legends,” a multimedia solo work by Brooklyn choreographer André Zachery. Another program is a program that offers artists the rental of subsidized spaces, still rare in a real estate market as expensive as New York’s. “When you think about Brooklyn artists, especially black artists, there’s a shortage of spaces for them to work,” Lillard said. “We’re looking to meet that need. “
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