In studying urbanism, I’ve come across the idea of the city as a living, breathing organism connected with interdependent parts in a few classes. My fellowship experience taught me that this is not only true of cities, but also in researching them.
This summer, I learned that the best way to tackle the topic of cities is not by isolating their parts, but by understanding them in connection with one another.
I started off with a concrete task: to compile a list of Bengali musicians and local venues. But once I began to approach this research, it took a bit of untangling.
With any topic, but especially with topics that are sociological in nature or urban-related, it’s fundamental to do some basic history.
If my project was a body, the Bronx was the head—the top of my research. Before I could really dive into my task, I first had to understand the history of the borough I was working in. So I set out to understand the history of the Bronx and in particular, Crotona Park East, where my organization, The Bronx Music Heritage Center, was located. But once I delved in, I found there were so many angles in approaching this history—politics, government funding, social issues, housing, and transportation. I found myself making connections to everything I’d learned about in my urban studies courses from revitalization efforts, to affordable housing iniattives, to the current state of the South Bronx and gentrification. It helped me to understand these topics when looking at them all in interaction with one another in a city.
Immigration was the upper body—holding up the foundation of my research. In order to understand the Bengali music scene, I had to look into when and why this population came to the city and where they are situated today. This was important for logistical purposes, too, because at the end of the day I had to go to find musicians in certain communities, and I had no idea where to begin.
Public cultural programming and community engagement was the heart that pumped blood into the living organism of the city and my project. Without civic engagement, I would have never understood the role that the arts play in a society. I began to see how street fairs, public concerts, and free music events can invigorate a city and effectively ease tensions between minority groups. But I also realized that many of these programs would not be possible without grants or funding from city governments. I suppose this could be a disillusioning idea, but it aligns with the idea of interdependence of a city’s separate parts.
In the Bengali community, music is not just an art, but a form of education. Most of the musicians I encountered were traditional or folk artists who explained how their songs and dance helped new generations understand their roots, especially for those who grew in America and may feel alienated.
One dancer I spoke to said that being a dancer has opened her eyes to what the Bengali population can achieve, and how far they have come. The promotion of Bengali art and dance in Brooklyn, Queens, and the South Bronx has helped people of other culture recognize Bangladesh as an independent country with its own language and its own distinct art forms.
Elena, my mentor of The Bronx Music Heritage Center made this clear by showing, not telling me. I saw how she interacted with virtually anyone, knew everything there was to know about local musicians, and a kind of genuine devotion to promoting the arts and making sure her events were as accessible and enjoyable as possible.
Without art, cities cannot flourish. In my interviews, the theme that came up time after time was that these free music and dance events brought people together and also served to ease tensions among different cultures and minorities. I began to understand that music and dance help to activate public space. While not everyone can agree on politics, religion, or social issues, most people can gather around a public plaza and appreciate a good performance, regardless of their background.
