Should we call it an end of an era or just a natural flow of life?
Norte Maar, a decade old non-profit arts organization that played an integral role in creating Bushwick arts scene while gaining recognition well beyond its borders, has announced its relocation to the Cypress Hills area of East New York.
“East New York is Brooklyn in the raw and Cypress Hills has the same sense of potential as we once saw in Bushwick ten years ago,” Norte Maar’s director and cofounder, Jason Andrew explained, “here we will once again have room to experiment and create.”
“We see in East New York the same underserved and neglected community that Bushwick was ten years ago. Bushwick hasn’t always been known for its arts scene,” Andrew explains. “When we first began programing in Bushwick the crime rate was much higher than the number of coffee shops, bars and galleries!”
Jason Andrew ran Norte Maar from his apartment-cum-gallery on 83 Wyckoff Avenue where he lived with his husband, Norman Jabaut. “Every year it was harder and harder to negotiate the lease,” Jason told us. The husband and husband duo have decided to leave the rented apartment behind and to become homeowners of a two-family residence in East New York in partnership with Norte Maar co-founder and choreographer Julia Gleich, and Gleich’s British husband who will continue to divide their time between New York and London.
While Norte Maar refocuses the energy on its new community, they promised to maintain their signature programs especially Norte Maar’s Dance at Socrates, and particularly popular biannual Bushwick art walk, BeatNite and CounterPointe, including children’s program Artists and Authors.
e
