Artists Lead! BUGS Community Market

We are looking for funding to launch a Community Market that will be open to the public in the Spring of 2020 -- entirely designed and operated by our students!

The goals of the Community Market are:

• Encourage greater engagement between our students and the community. 

• Share what we are learning about social, economic, and environmental sustainability.  

• Motivate the community to consider the economic, environmental and social impact of the choices they make about what they eat, wear, and purchase.

Students will be guided and inspired by our in-house team of teaching artists under the leadership of our Lead Artist and Director of Sustainability Jess Norris Khawaja, as well as guest artists.

BUGS is asking for donations to support this artist-led initiative and help us reach the community in and beyond our school. Thanks to a generous match from ArtPlace through IOBY, your donation is matched dollar-for-dollar up to $15,000.

The BUGS Community Market will be located outside of Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School, 500 19th Street, during Spring 2020. 

• January-May 2020: Students engage in community sustainability-arts action projects led by BUGS in-house team of artists and guest artists. BUGS students:

  • Visit the Textile Arts Center, Materials for the Arts, and other art/culture community centers

  • Design solar systems for BUGS gardens through community artist facilitation

  • Visit local artist studios with focus on sustainability

  • Present sustainability-arts projects at Youth Empowerment and Sustainability Summit (YESS) conference in Ashokan, NY

  • Research, choreograph, and develop sustainability inspired dance and performance art

  • Plan and design the Community Market

• March: BUGS Sustainability Studio Teachers participate in arts-sustainability professional development and present at National Arts Educators Association (NAEA) conference in Minneapolis on community action through socially engaged art.

• May-June 2020: Students launch the Community Market with outreach to community leaders, elected officials, local schools, families, and organizations, NYC media, and community action project presentations to panels of outside experts.

• Summer 2020: In-house team of teaching artists review lessons learned, review curriculum, and share insights with sustainability learning community to prepare for Fall 2020.

"Right now we are the ones who are making a difference. If no one else will take action then we will." -- Greta Thunberg, Global Climate Strike, New York

We are especially excited about the Community Market because working with artists will encourage our students to approach challenges of sustainability in new and creative ways. It will also give students the opportunity to build their artistic skills and personal expressions, and engage directly with local residents to build stronger relationships and a stronger community. 

Founded in 2013, BUGS offers middle school students from across Brooklyn a hands-on interdisciplinary education with a focus on real-world problem-solving and exploration of environmental, social, and economic sustainability that prepares them to achieve excellence in high school and lead the way to a more sustainable future. 

Thank you for your support! We look forward to seeing you at our Community Market this Spring.