TESTIMONY
Kofi Williams, Executive Director of the Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation, on the Importance of Cultural Arts for Community Development in Brownsville
1:03:05
·
125 sec
Kofi Williams testifies on the critical role of cultural arts in community and child development in Brownsville.
- Kofi Williams, as the Executive Director of the Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation, emphasizes the transformative power of arts in Central Brooklyn, especially in Brownsville.
- He shares his personal experience with the arts in childhood and their positive impact on him and tens of thousands of children and families serviced annually.
- Williams discusses the importance of providing arts education as a constructive alternative for youth, preventing them from engaging in negative street activities.
- He highlights the challenges faced by his organization in securing affordable venues for performances, indicating the need for more accessible cultural spaces in the community.
- While expressing limited knowledge on housing issues, Williams firmly positions the arts as essential for the community's well-being and child development.
Kofi Williams
1:03:05
Good morning.
1:03:06
I'm Kofi Williams.
1:03:07
I'm the executive director of the Sasiah Kaltura Arts Foundation.
1:03:11
And we work through most of the Central Brooklyn, including Brown Ville, but we work directly with brick, with pure elements, with Brooklyn Arts Council.
1:03:23
And I'm totally in favor of the cultural accent because I know what it does for community.
1:03:29
I know growing up in bedside and Brownsville area.
1:03:33
What is done for me as a child and for the tens of thousands of children and families that we service every year.
1:03:43
This being a part of the community and children being able to have outlet where they're not on the streets, having an outlet where they could go and and really express themselves through the arts.
1:03:55
Because as we know, the arts helps you express yourself, and we've got some great talents from Brooklyn.
1:04:02
So I don't know much about the housing part, which, you know, I hope that just hearing it from today, I I really hope that it could be worked out and people could could live and know and know and some things that's great, but I know that the art is a big part of what I do for the development of children all over Brooklyn, but mainly in central Brooklyn.
1:04:30
I live in your district council council of Miller.
1:04:33
So I see the things that go on.
1:04:35
I see what what happened.
1:04:37
In the district.
1:04:38
But Brownsville has been a stronghold for a very long time, but it's a beautiful place with very talented people.
1:04:45
And I know given the opportunity to be able to come and have free classes, video classes, to have dance classes, music classes, there to all of the different things to be able to come to have shows.
1:04:57
My company just now, because it's difficult to to to rent places like Bam and other very expensive places to have another theater in our community would be amazing for me.
1:05:09
Thank you.
