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Fort Greene is a neighborhood with many faces, yet all of them are welcoming to people from different walks of life, from corporate high flyers to artists and culture vultures. Whether you call the area home or are simply passing through, Fort Greene is a cultural oasis in Brooklyn.
Fort Greene Nurtures Artists
Only the most successful artists can afford to live in New York hotspots like SoHo and TriBeCa. Fresh new artists are being priced out of many New York suburbs, so they're flocking to Fort Greene. This neighborhood has some of the most affordable rental prices in the city, so young artists don't need to join corporate American to pay their bills. That means they can spend more time focusing on their craft and honing their talents. No wonder the area's known as one of Brooklyn's best neighborhoods.
Great Artists Base Themselves Here
Image via Flickr by thomas.rome
Fort Greene isn't just home to up-and-coming creatives. Many established artists love the neighborhood so much that even when they crack the big time, they don't want to leave.
Literature buffs will know that while Walt Whitman was born on Long Island, he spent most of his life living in Fort Greene. Way back in 1846, he called for building a public park on Fort Putnam. Two years later, one of Fort Greene's most celebrated sites, now called Fort Greene Park, opened to the public.
Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee grew up in Fort Greene, and he chose the neighborhood over Hollywood when he established 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks during the eighties. While he now resides in Manhattan, his refusal to relocate his company means he'll never be too far from Fort Greene.
John Steinbeck, Truman Capote, Erykah Badu, Branford Marsalis, Patti Smith, Mos Def, Rosie Perez, and Chris Rock are some more of the cultural luminaries that have called Fort Greene home.
It's Home to the Brooklyn Academy of Music Cultural District
Image via Flickr by Feast of Music
The new Brooklyn Academy of Music Cultural District has helped cement Fort Greene's status as one of New York's cultural hotspots. The world-renowned Brooklyn Academy of Music, America's oldest continuously operating performing arts facility, is its heart and soul. This celebrated institution, complemented by $100 million worth of new arts facilities, includes performance and rehearsal spaces and office blocks for artistic organizations.
Art and Culture are Accessible in Fort Greene
In the Fort Greene neighborhood, art and culture isn't just for the very rich or very educated. The community is alive with its spirit, so people from all walks of life can experience it. BAMcafé Live, part of the esteemed Brooklyn Academy of Music, hosts more than 75 free concerts every year, bringing diverse music from Brazilian forró singers, gypsy jazz artists, and Cuban soul to the masses. Local teens get to discover their voices through free creative writing workshops offered during the Fort Greene Park Summer Literary Festival. Many Fort Greene galleries including UrbanGlass also open their doors for free.
It might not host the Broadway shows of Manhattan or boast the world-famous galleries of Chelsea, but the Fort Greene neighborhood is a real cultural oasis in Brooklyn.
