Media Advisory | Today at 10:30 am: Community Leaders & City Officials to Celebrate the Opening of Black Haven’s Pop-Up Film Festival, “BITE”
Lenny Speiller
MAYOR JUSTIN M. ELICKER
CITY OF NEW HAVEN
*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***
for January 26, 2023
BITE (Black Haven Independent Theater and Entertainment) is a free, three-day pop-up festival featuring screenings of Black culture films, storytelling discussions and events, and a farewell to the old Stetson Branch library building. Sponsored by the City of New Haven Department of Arts, Culture, and Tourism; ConnCORP; New Haven Free Public Library; and BLOOM.
NEW HAVEN, CT – Black Haven Executive Director Salwa Abdussabur and New Haven Director of Arts, Culture, and Tourism Adriane Jefferson will join city and community leaders on Thursday, January 26 at 10:30 a.m. to officially launch the start of the three-day, pop-up festival BITE (Black Haven Independent Theater and Entertainment), hosted in the former Stetson Branch library building in Dixwell Plaza (200 Dixwell Ave). The festival will showcase Black narratives in film, host storyteller and community discussions, and bid farewell to the historic old Stetson Branch library building, which has been a place of community gatherings for over 50 years.
On Thursday, BITE will feature screenings of Black indie short films from local storytellers. On Friday, BITE will screen Krush Grove, the iconic 1985 culture film, followed by a roundtable conversation on Black representation in film. On Saturday, BITE and the Stetson Branch library will host “Stetson Stories,” a finale event of live performances and open mic storytelling with recollections and goodbyes to the former Stetson Library building. The evening will conclude with a reception.
The old Stetson Branch library building will soon be redeveloped by ConnCORP as part of the new ConnCAT Place on Dixwell as part of the overall restorative economic development of the Dixwell Avenue corridor.
The festival aligns with the goals of New Haven’s first-ever Cultural Equity Plan, which seeks to undo inequities in the arts and ensure equitable investments and opportunities are provided to historically under-supported artists and under-represented neighborhoods. The plan grew out of the national reckoning with structural racism emphasized by the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Salwa Abdussabur, the BITE festival organizer, served on the co-creation team of the Cultural Equity Plan.
Mayor Justin Elicker, who planned on participating in the event, but is unable to due to COVID, said, “BITE promises to be a wonderful event for the community to enjoy and celebrate Black artists and films, and to commemorate the over 50 years of storytelling in the old Dixwell Branch library building. My thanks to Salwa and to all the participants and sponsors for making this event possible for the community.”
For more information about BITE and to RSVP for free tickets, residents can go to www.blckhaven.com/bite.
The event is sponsored by the New Haven Department of Arts, Culture, and Tourism; ConnCORP; New Haven Free Public Library; and BLOOM.
EVENT DETAILS:
WHAT: Opening and ribbon-cutting of Black Haven’s BITE Pop-up Festival
WHEN: January 26, 2023 at 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: Old Stetson Library – 200 Dixwell Avenue, New Haven, CT
WHO:
- Michael Piscitelli, Economic Development Administrator, City of New Haven;
- Adriane Jefferson, Director, New Haven Department of Arts, Culture, and Tourism;
- Salwa Abdussabur, Executive Director, Black Haven;
- Diane Brown, Branch Manager, Stetson Library;
- Kolton Harris, Film Maker, Community Artist, and BITE Workshop Presenter;
- Among others.
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Press Contact:
Lenny H. Speiller (he/him)
Director of Communications
Mayor Justin Elicker | City of New Haven
165 Church Street | New Haven, CT 06511
Phone: 203-725-4249
Email: Lspe...@newhavenct.gov