The story of an extraordinary community museum for music, art, science, dance, poetry, and Black history in Brooklyn that most people have never heard of.
Crown Heights in the 1970s: As New York City navigated economic disaster, and America at large grappled with the aftermath of the many sociopolitical movements and events of the 1960s—civil rights, women’s rights, gay rights, anti-war protests, environmental awareness, sexual and drug liberation, busing, and the assassinations of our leaders and citizens—jazz musicians in New York City were creating their own reality of tradition, invention, and human connection in the essentially underground jazz lofts and places like MUSE. This exhibition situates MUSE as a historically specific but instructive example of self-organized cultural infrastructure, and considers its relevance to contemporary questions of artistic labor, collective practice, and cultural sustainability.
An important yet relatively unknown piece of NYC music history, Muse operated in Crown Heights from 1968 to the early 1980s. Legendary musicians such as Max Roach, Archie Shepp, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Sam Rivers and many others came to MUSE, which became a hub for musicians. It provided affordable lessons, concerts, resources for musicians, AND community services – supporting tenants’ rights, the Crows Hill Festival and much more. MUSE also created publications such as “Black Contributions to the Development of Brooklyn” and had exhibits on Jazz history, New Guinea, and many other offerings for their younger visitors, who were the original focus of the site as an annex of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Through the years of regular concerts, jam sessions, classes and exhibits, MUSE, which separated from the Children’s Museum in 1975, as the New MUSE, served thousands of people in the Brooklyn area.
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The final MUSE exhibit is scheduled for Sept 19th & 20th at Shapeshifter at 837 Union St., Brooklyn, with live performances by the MUSE Alumni Band led by Craig Harris and special guests TBA. Focused largely on MUSE as a music center, the exhibit will include live music, artifacts, and a panel discussion. Please join our mailing list to get updates on project dates and performers. Preview exhibits tentatively scheduled at Medgar Evers and the Center for Brooklyn History prior to the final exhibit.
“Revisiting MUSE: a museum for the people” is still gathering memories and artifacts from the community that help tell the story of MUSE. If you have a story, memory or artifact from MUSE, we would love to include it in this exhibit. Please submit your contribution through the link or by scanning the QR code at the bottom of this page or clicking on any of the images below.
This MOMENT NYC project is part of the Municipal Arts Society of NY’s Enduring Culture Initiative, made possible in part with additional funding from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council.
