“Sociologists who study organizations sometimes use the term ‘field’ to describe a set of organizations linked together as competitors and collaborators within a social space devoted to a particular type of action — such as a market for certain products, the pursuit of urban development, or the realm of electoral politics. Agreements struck among the organizations that compose a field set the bounds on what kinds of organizational and individual action are possible.”
-Nicole Marwell, Bargaining for Brooklyn: Community Organizations in the Entrepreneurial City
My research this summer spans a few different fields. Primarily, The BMHC’s work aligns with providing free cultural programming, preserving music history, and bolstering local engagement with arts and music in the community. My specific research project, however, also branches on oral histories and ethnomusicology.
Providing access to music, dance, spoken word poetry, and art to the public is a mission similar to those of organizations such as Free Arts NYC, Cool Culture, and BRIC, who work to share art with the public and initiate conversation and learning. However, The BMHC is focused on one borough and tailors their work to the specific needs of the neighborhood, with careful attention to the history of the role of music in the South Bronx. Organizations like Humanities New York, who, according to their website, provide “leadership and support across the state’s intellectual and cultural sectors through grants, programs, networking and advocacy in order to encourage critical thinking and cultural understanding in the public arena,” have similar objectives.
There are also state-funded, government departments who work with related fields. The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs is a collaborator in this field by providing grants and funding to make these programs accessible. According to their website, their mission is to “ensure adequate public funding for non-profit cultural organizations, both large and small, throughout the five boroughs”. I am beginning to untangle and understand the dynamic network of beaurocracies, non-profit organizations, and local community figures who work towards realizing the same goal. I am discovering the ways in which the private and public sectors interact, and how these different types of organizations are interdependent. They all rely on one another, and use different means to extend access to art and vital cultural communities.
New York City has a wide array of free cultural programs and ways of making art accessible to the public. However, in my time living here, I’ve noticed that most of these events are concentrated in the summer. Programs like Summerstage, are an example of limiting free programs to one season, which disportionately favors those who have free time during this time or tourists who come for these months. That being said, I have also discovered in doing my research that there are also several organizations who work year-round to meet this goal, as aforementioned.
In researching the Bangladeshi arts community, I’ve discovered a network within different levels of the community. I came to learn that music and dance schools served several functions as centers of community and places to learn about the history of Bengali culture and art. I first found The Bangladeshi Institute of Performing Arts (BIPA) by speaking to Annie Ferdous, the founder. The organizations aims to promote harmonious relationships through cultural activites between the Bangladeshi and American communities.
But I also came across the Brooklyn Arts Council, who give out grants, present free and affordable arts events, and promotes artists and cultural groups across the borough.
Local governments also play an important role. Bharati Kemraj, who founded the BHARATI Dance Academy, worked on Community Board 11 in the Bronx and now works for the Bronx Borough President’s office where she integrates Bollywood dance into their cultural programming.
My research is an example of how free arts programming dedicated to communities spans further than just free concerts and classes. But, the objective of my research is to use these histories to create more inclusive and representative programming in the South Bronx, specifically.
I’m curious to find out more about the interconnection between preserving histories, promoting new forms of community art, and using music ethnography as a lens to learn more about these relationships.
Sara, I do think you may have one of the most cross-disciplinary fields of all! I think this often happens when an organization responds to the needs and desires of the place-based community in which it exists, rather than just the “cause” for which it exists. See Rachel Stern’s musings on this topic for the week, too, as she is wondering if her coalition might work better if it partnered against the grain with arts and culture and housing groups rather than other environmental justice ones. You might look around to see whether there are other music heritage or music preservation programs in the world and consider how BMHC compares (if it does.) Perhaps there are similarities in that field that go beyond what one might find in NYC?