Bronx Council

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Initiated by the Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) in 1981, Longwood Arts Project was founded in the former Public School 39 at 986 Longwood Avenue in the Bronx. The school was closed due to attrition of school-age children in the district at that time when the area was devastated physically and economically. Community leaders turned the unfortunate closure into an opportunity to help stabilize the neighborhood by developing it into a multi-service building for city agencies and non-profit organizations as its tenants. BCA was an integral part of the transition in the neighborhood from literally being the poster child for late '70s urban decay (Link to Longwood Cyber pix if available) to what is actually an inspiring story of the rebirth of a community. The many blocks of new and rehabilitated homes are on sites where old tenements were tore down or left to fall apart. This building located in a section of the South Bronx that has seen an incredible rise of new low-income housing to go with wonderful new parks and baseball fields. Longwood Arts Project occupied 10 rooms on the second floor of the Longwood building from 1981 to 2002. From the onset, most of the rooms were turned into artist studios that were available as part of the Scholarship Studio Programs or at a subsidized rental fee. Past Resident Artists include Ernesto Pujol, MacArthur Award Winner Pepon Osorio, along with Tim Rollins & Kids of Survival (K.O.S.). In 1985 and under the direction of artist Fred Wilson,...

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