Directions to CAC@SJB

These are the forms of public transportation to get to the Center..

By Train:

J/M/Z to Myrtle Ave./Broadway station in Bklyn.. walk 1 block up to Lewis Ave. then make a left and walk 2 short blocks to St. John's Parish Center

By Bus:

B15, B46, B47 to Willoughby Ave. B38, B54 to Lewis Ave., then walk to

St. John the Baptist Parish Center located at 75 Lewis Ave.

(between Hart St. & Willoughby Ave.) in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

CAC@SJB is located on the 2nd floor of St. John the Baptist Parish Center.

For more info, or to confirm event dates & times before visiting,

please, call Glenn at (646) 763-4260

For additional info about the Center,

keep yourself informed by keeping posted to this blog!

The Paintings of Chantal Smith - Now Showing at CAC@SJB this Fall!

The amazing paintings of gifted Chantal Smith are on display Mondays and Thursdays from 3 pm - 8 pm at the Center this fall. Invite your family and friends to see her unique artwork. Also showing are the fabulous prints of Iandry Randriamandroso. Make sure you don't miss out!

CAC@SJB Invites You To A Special Art Exhibition - Now Showing at the Center!

We cordially invite you to a very special art exhibition that is now showing on Mondays & Thurdays from 3 pm - 8 pm at the Center for the Arts & Culture @ SJB this fall. The opening for this engagement officially begins November 3rd.

We are introducing the artwork of the very gifted, Chantal Smith. Only 24 yrs. old, Chantal is from Queens, and is an up and coming artist with amazing talent. This is her first exhibition at the Center, and we are happy to have her. Her paintings of young children are truly beautiful, vibrant, and provocative.

Also at the Center is the triumphant return of our good friend, recent St. John's University graduate, and extraordinary artist, Iandry Randriamandroso. He is showing a series of original prints of some of his latest artwork, and to put it plainly, the images will inspire you. Iandry is a native of Madagascar, Africa, who touched our hearts, and inspired us all with his exciting, and profound artwork at the Center's "Grand Opening" Exhibition, "Let the Children Come to Me", back in April 2002. This is Iandry's second exhibition at the Center, and after 3 years, it was sure worth the wait!

The exhibition featuring special guest artist, Chantal Smith, and the artwork of Iandry Randriamandroso, will run through the fall. This exhibition is free to the public! So, make sure to mark it down on your calendar, and on your 'things to do' list. All of the Center's past exhibitions and special events have been an absolute blessing. Come see for yourself, and have a good time. We look forward to seeing you there!

For more info regarding this exhibition, if you have any questions, comments, or would like to assist us at the Center in any way, please, feel free to contact, Mr. Glenn Angel Echevarria, Director of CAC@SJB at (718)455-6864 ext.152, or e-mail at CACSJB@yahoo.com. We are always open to new ideas, and make new friends with those really looking to make a difference in our underserved communities, especially our youth. For your convenience, please, call the Center in advance to assure the times and dates the exhibition is open before you visit.

A Special Note: As a means for raising much needed funds for the Center, and to help assist us in continuing to put on these special events and programs for the community, there will be original artworks, and prints of Chantal's and Iandry's artwork available to the community, and to the public. The artists are generously giving a portion of the proceeds from their artwork to the Center. We ask that you, please, help support the Center in any way you can. Your generous contributions and donations are needed, and greatly appreciated!

Directions to the Center: By train - J/M/Z to Myrtle Ave/Broadway Station.. By Bus - B15, B46, B47 to Willoughby Ave, B38, B54 to Lewis Ave.. then walk to St. John the Baptist Parish Center. The Center for the Arts & Culture @SJB is located on the 2nd floor of St. John the Baptist Parish Center at 75 Lewis Ave. (between Hart St. and Willoughby Ave.) in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

"Hear the Children Cry" by Glenn Angel

So much despair..
Doesn't anybody care?
Children in the street surrounded by so much poverty
What are we doing, if anything at all?
How much longer do we deny the youth before we fall?

Pain in the world..
Carried by every boy and girl
Lord, help the innocent ones.. the innocent ones..
For those who don't know
Those who refuse to see,
We've allowed something else to rule besides Your Majesty..

Babies in need of love..
What are we thinking of
when we know we could make it better
but we aren't doing it together?
While we worry about money, the crazy rat races,
the times and the places,
we avoid looking at their hungry faces..
God already knows what's in your heart
Whether it's overflowing with love
or it's cold, and torn apart..
It doesn't take much to realize
Somehow, we've got to look inside to hear the children cry..

Next time you face the morning mirror,
Take a good look..
The child within is just a touch away
But we're afraid just like a child, day after day after day..
Just call out and say,
"Help me, Lord. Help me change.. today."

For this, I pray..

Copyright 2004 - Glenn Angel / Crib Poetry

CAC@SJB Mission Statement

The Mission of the Center for the Arts & Culture at St. John the Baptist is to raise public awareness, appreciation, and understanding of art as an effective tool that assists in the growth and empowerment of Afro and Latino (youth and adult) community residents, as well as to enrich the quality of life within the community through the celebration of art, culture, and community activism.

CAC@SJB's main gallery a.k.a. the Danielle Locario Gallery

About the Center for the Arts & Culture @SJB:

Founded in 2002 by community residents and parishioners of St. John the Baptist church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, CAC@SJB is a grassroots, volunteer-driven, holistic, community-based, arts program located inside the Parish Center of historic St. John the Baptist R.C. Church in Brooklyn, NY. It is an interdisciplinary, multi-purpose space for art, thought, and activism. CAC@SJB provides a space where artists and community residents can interact with one another by utilizing the many forms of art as a means for learning, teaching, collaborating, and sharing their gifts for the main purpose of helping foster a deeper appreciation, and understanding of Afro and Latino art, culture, and realities within the community. While focused on being an international forum for the examination and expression of concepts central to Afro and Latino experiences, through the arts, CAC@SJB aims to address issues confronting the community such as education, poverty, drugs, violence, war, race, politics, immigration, housing, family life, and spirituality. The Center continually organizes innovative art exhibitions, presentations, performances, including spoken word / poetry events, and educational activities for all the youth and adult community residents of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick, and the surrounding communities in Brooklyn, NY. All CAC@SJB's special events and presentations are open to the public.

The services provided at CAC@SJB are available to all community residents regardless of race, color, creed, sexual preference, sexual orientation, religious belief, or disability.