Senator Parker Presents $1MM To Brooklyn Museum

Brooklyn, N.Y., February 4, 2023 – In a noteworthy kick-off to Black History Month and Brooklyn Museum First Saturday for 2023, State Senator Kevin Parker presented a check of $1MM to the Museum at the community event on Saturday, February 4th. The funding is specifically designated for the renovation of the Museum’s Arts of Africa Gallery which began in the 1920s and was one of the first collections to recognize and exhibit African material culture as art. The presentation of the check to Anne Pasternak, the Shelby White and Leon Levy Director of the Brooklyn Museum, took place during this month’s first First Saturday celebration of the year.

“I am extremely happy to present this check to the Brooklyn Museum which is inarguably one of the finest cultural institutions in our Borough serving more than 700,00 visitors a year,” said Senator Parker. “I am particularly pleased that the funding designated to the renovation of the Arts of Africa gallery means that the installation will now have a permanent exhibit space and will undoubtedly enhance regional tourism, create jobs and stimulate economic activity in Brooklyn.”

Anne Pasternak has been the Shelby White and Leon Levy Director at the Museum since 2015. She openly expressed the institution’s gratitude for the contribution from the Brooklyn lawmaker. “We are incredibly grateful to Senator Parker and his years of service to Brooklyn,” she said. “Senator Parker has been a longtime supporter of the Brooklyn Museum and his generous contribution of $1MM will help us build our first permanent exhibition space for our Arts of Africa collection. The new galleries will allow us to tell even richer stories, and highlight our excellent collection of African art.”

This was the first First Saturday celebration of the year and was befittingly themed: Legacy in honor of Black artistic production in Brooklyn. First Saturdays at the Brooklyn Museum is a free community event full of programming, art, and entertainment and is now in its 25th year. The evening 2 event featured the creative excellence of Black artists who are shaping the borough’s culture today and throwback performers who put First Saturdays on the map.

For any further information please contact the offices of State Senator Parker @ (718) 629- 6401 or 518-455-2580.

                                                     About State Senator Kevin Parker

Senator Kevin S. Parker is intimately familiar with the needs of his ethnically diverse Brooklyn district comprising sections of Flatbush, East Flatbush, Kensington, Ditmas Park Midwood, Flatlands, Canarsie, Georgetown, Old Mill Basin, Mill Basin, Marine Park, and Bergen Beach. A lifelong Brooklyn resident, he is the Chairman of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee and sits on the Senate Finance; Rules; Banks; Internet and Technology; Rules; and Budget and Revenue.

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