The Forum @ St. Ann’s
Launched in 2012, The Forum @ St. Ann’s is a parish initiative that seeks to engage the wider community in conversations about art, ideas, and civic life.
Our mission is to welcome diverse audiences from New York City and beyond with thoughtful and timely programming. Organized by the staff and volunteers at St. Ann’s, the Forum has mounted a series of successful art exhibitions, film screenings, poetry and book readings, panel discussions, and recitals that have drawn significant interest and attendance. Forum programs have attracted a number of individuals and non-profit groups, from Brooklyn and beyond, with which St. Ann’s has partnered on presentations.
Our near neighbors and members of the wider Brooklyn and Greater NY community have embraced the Forum’s use of our historic sanctuary for staging programs of interest to them. The Forum hosted a presentation on school segregation that featured young members of Epic NEXT sharing their story through drama; book readings featuring authors of newly published books in collaboration with the Brooklyn Book Festival, an exhibition of photographs of newly arrived refugees in the US in conjunction with a local refugee resettlement office, and evenings featuring musical performances and poetry readings by Brooklyn artists.
Sign up for news of what’s up next at the Forum @ St. Ann’s by contacting us below or call 718-875-6960.
Featured Event
The Second Annual Summer Concert Series
The Forum @ St. Ann’s is presenting the second annual Summer Concert Series, which began on Thursday, June 10 and occurs every Thursday at 6:00 pm through September 2, 2021. The concerts take place in the sanctuary of the church and this year benefit St. Ann’s Pop-up Pantry on its first anniversary. Photos of the concert are available here and here. The performers include::
Nora Brown
KOE Duo and Austin Philemon
Papa Ernie Vega
Sandcatchers Duo
See photos of these concerts here.
The Coolest Ranch
Baethoven
Molly Fletcher
Althea SullyCole Trio
See photos of these concerts here.
Nick Balaban & Co.
Eli Smith
Nick Hallett and Daisy Press
Demeter
Stephen Guerra Duo
See photos of these concerts here.
Concert goers are invited to donate non-perishable food items or make a financial donation to the pantry. St. Ann’s Pop-up Pantry was launched in June 2020, in response to the increased food insecurity in Brooklyn resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The program quickly evolved, giving away ever increasing amounts of non-perishable and fresh groceries as the lines of guests grew longer. Today, St. Ann’s Pop-up Pantry provides nutritious foods to as many as 300 people a week, and the need shows no sign of stopping. All are urged to combine their love of music and the desire to help our neighbors by attending the Summer Concert Series benefiting St. Ann’s Pop-up Pantry.
The Forum @ St. Ann’s is grateful to Suriya Khan, pantry volunteer, whose initial financial gift made the concert series possible.
Past Events
Footprints on Montague. Works by artists Jess Frederick, Madi Dangerously, Ann Rosen, Nina Meledandri, Tatiana Arocha, Hidemi Takagi. Hosted in collaboration with FiveMyles and KODA. An outdoor art exhibition of paintings, drawings, photographs and cut-outs by six Brooklyn-based artists, printed on vinyl and mounted on the fence by the church. November 11, 2020-January 7, 2021. Photos here.
Journey of Small Shifts. Installation by artist Ben Cowan. Custom-cut, hand-painted paper panels set within the decorative woodwork of the sanctuary. March 6-April 19, 2019. Photos here.
The Harm of Segregation: Why Where We Live and Learn Matters. Panel of school integration and fair housing experts. Hosted in Collaboration with the Fair Housing and Justice Coalition, New York Appleseed and the Century Foundation. October 23, 2018. Photos here.
Women and Citizen Activism. Panel of notable women writers. Eliza Griswold. Mona Eltahawy and Anastasia Higgenbotham. Moderated by Jennifer Baumgardner. Bookend event of 2018 Brooklyn Book Festival. September 15, 2018. Photos here.
Manuals for Living. Panel of women authors. Ana Levy-Lyons, Michael Robbins, Justin Jamail and Jacqueline de Weever. Moderated by Fr. John E. Denaro. Bookend event of 2018 Brooklyn Book Festival. September 13, 2018. Photos here.
“Landscape of Paradise: Golden Floating Path.” Exhibition by Scherezade Garcia. November 1-December 1, 2017. Photos here.
From the Inside Out: America’s Broken Criminal Justice System. Discussion by activists and experts Yusef Salaam, Marlon Peterson, Heather Ann Thompson, and James Forman Jr. Presented in collaboration with Dear America.A Bookend Event of the 2017 Brooklyn Book Festival. September 16, 2017.
The Scribe of Siena. Book discussion. Author Melodie Winawer and scholar Neslihan Şenocak. A Bookend Event of the 2017 Brooklyn Book Festival. September 12, 2017.
Perfect Wave, an evening of music featuring singer songwriter Josephine Foster, percussionist Michael Zerang, musician Ka Baird and vocalist Nick Hallett. June 3, 2017.
Keeping It 100 — Challenging School Segregation, a presentation of Epic NEXT’s Laundry City, written and performed by NYC public high school students, hosted in partnership with New York Appleseed and The Century Foundation. April 30 2017. Photos here.
“Queer Conflicts,” hosted in collaboration with the Bureau of General Services, Queer Division booksellers, and “When the Bell Tolls,” hosted in collaboration with Green-Wood Cemetery. Panels bringing together activists, writers, and historians in two Bookend events presented as part of the 2016 Brooklyn Book Festival. September 17, 2016. Photos here.
600 Highwaymen,Summer Artists-in-Residence, including four open rehearsal showings of “The Fever,” a work in progress. June 30, July 8 and July 14, 2016.
Hymn to Life: Timothy Donnelly’s Epic Poem Hymn to Life Read and Sung, a work-in-progress concert version of stanzas 1-23, David Skeist, Composer, James Rutherford, Director, Laura Butler Rivera, Choreographer with Mixed Chorus. In collaboration with M-34 Productions. March 24 and 25, 2016.
“Facing America: Portraits of Refugees Resettling in the U.S.”, an exhibition of photographs by Hidemi Takagi, commissioned by the Forum. January 10-March 25, 2016. Photos here.
Memorials to Shattered Myths: Vietnam to 9/11, book launch and lecture by author Harriet F. Senie, art historian. January 26, 2016.
“Bee Space.” Exhibition of glassworks by artist Emma Stein. September 15-November 18, 2015. Photos here.
Music of the Masters: Wagner, Strauss, Berlioz, Menotti, Recital by dramatic soprano Korin Kormick. April 15, 2015.
Back to Life: Resurrection Reimagined, Exhibition with NYFA featuring artists Desirée Alvarez, Felix R. Cid, Jamie Diamond, Sinéad Cullen, David Sandlin, Michael Greathouse, Ellen Grossman, Katya Grokhovsky, Jen P. Harris and Hidemi Takagi. April 2-May 31, 2015. Photos here.
“I Am the Vine, You Are the Branches,” Exhibition by artist Nancy Azara. February 18-April 3, 2015. Photos here.