Brooklyn Art Incubator (BAI)

About us

“I am a sculptress, like my teacher. She thinks I’m good. I know it.” Female, 17yrs

“I just draw a bunch of crazy stuff about how I feel; I don’t care what people think I just put it on the paper. This class needs some more trips to see other kids art work.” Male, 16yrs

“I get to see my friends in art class. We have a lot of fun. I like the art too. Female, 15 yrs

“My father was an artist. He was real good I have some of his drawings. He stopped drawing when he started doing drugs. He is upstate now. My teachers are cool. I think they know ‘wuz up’.” Male, 15 yrs

~Members of BAI’s Youth Artist Program

Mission

A community focused arts-education organization that provides a spectrum of services, engage and empower multiple generations, while providing positive environmental visions.

Vision

Communities that celebrate and nurture the environmentally substantial artistic talents that lead to educational and entrepreneurial success.

History

BAI was founded in 2003, when a local teaching artist developed a program envisioning the use of art to help young people overcome the challenges that make growing up as productive, successful members of the community appear to be an unachievable goal.
Sparked from his experiences as a teacher in New York City public schools and Juvenile Justice Facilities, Hixson’s vision propelled BAI into becoming an institution with a charge to utilize art to empower youth with a creative and entrepreneurial spirit.

Accomplishments

2010 – Contracted with the NYS Office of Child and Family Services to work as a Bridges to Health (B2H), Waiver Service Provider. We support children and families who are involved in foster care. Art is used as a communication and empowerment tool.
2009 – Contracted with the NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation-Community Justice programs. BAI taught Bedford Stuyvesant community residents about hazardous environmental factors. We also captured the visions of residents and wrote a how to create green space in their community manual for all such communities.
Starting as an art education organization that fosters economic development through art by bridging the gap between young artist and seasoned businesses and art professionals, BAI now extends services to multiple generations and professional within the community.
BAI has been successful at implementing several programs in Brooklyn for youth, as well as our Arts with Seniors Programs within local centers.
In 2005, BAI artists were contracted by the United States Defense Department to produce illustrations designed for environmentally conscious community spaces, gathered from community input to help Urban Planners and the Army Corp of Engineers Design develop greener, healthier, more sustainable environments, Although the organization provides services locally, BAI’s demographics have spread with contracts fro the Vision to Action Program in Several cities nationwide.

* Organizational Goals

To support Children and Families while advancing their learning through the arts
To make the arts more widely available in communities
To develop and maintain partnerships that advances the mission of BAI
To encourage and support artistic creativity and preserve cultural heritage of Brooklyn communities