Center for Art & Advocacy
The Center for Art and Advocacy is a non-profit organization supporting artists who have served time in prison. The space opened its new home on the ground floor of a recently completed affordable housing development in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in March of 2025.
The 2,600-square-foot space – like many so-called “community spaces” in developer-led projects – was a leftover, poorly laid-out space. A narrow storefront entrance opened into a corridor, interrupted by a second door, and continued into an irregularly shaped interior where restroom doors, office entrances, and code-mandated elements disrupted any sense of cohesion.
Inside the main space, B-KD’s design team implemented a series of strategic interventions to enhance usability and clarity. The office wall was pushed back to conceal visual clutter, while another was extended to provide necessary storage space. These adjustments established a more focused and adaptable gallery environment. Custom, reconfigurable partitions enabled curatorial flexibility for the Center’s wide-ranging public programming which includes exhibitions, lectures, screenings, reading groups, book launches, and educational initiatives.
Photos by Daniel Kukla
Status
Completed in March 2025
Program
Non-profit Multipurpose Space and Offices
Location
New York, NY
Area
2,600 sf
Awards and Publications
In response to the fragmentation of the original space, B-KD reimagined the entry sequence as an inviting and active threshold. A mural by the non-profit’s founder and formerly incarcerated artist, Jesse Krimes, now lines one side of the hallway, while the opposite wall features a continuous piece of custom millwork. This multifunctional installation begins as a flexible display for artwork, books, and merchandise, and transitions into a reading nook and library where a central panel highlights the organization's mission. The entrance space culminates in a reception desk and additional library, transforming what was once a disjointed corridor into a cohesive and participitory arrival experience.
Custom multipurpose millwork elements enable the space to reconfigure easily and to stay dynamic and responsive to the people and environment it interacts with. Rather than treating the walls as static boundaries, B-KD’s design reimagines them as discrete, adaptable components capable of shifting to accommodate changing curatorial and programmatic needs. The new home of the Center for Art and Advocacy is designed with creativity and community at its core, offering a space as responsive and dynamic as the artists, writers, and filmmakers it supports. The space allows for curatorial flexibility for a range of public programming, including exhibitions, lectures, film screenings, reading groups, book launches, and educational programs.
Team
Koray Duman, Caitlin Dippo, Hyunjoo Park