BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — An outdoor arts festival celebrating Bed-Stuy by putting together performances and exhibits on the front steps of local brownstones is looking for artists.
The second annual StOOps Festival will take over about 20 stoops in the neighborhood to showcase the neighborhood's creativity.
But only artists with a connection to Bed-Stuy need apply, said founder Kendra J. Ross.
"We are thinking about art in the broadest sense so, if someone considers themselves an artist, we do too," Ross said.
"The only thing we're really sticklers about is that we want all of the artists to have some affiliation to Bed-Stuy."
Ross, a dancer who moved to the neighborhood four years ago, started StOOps in order to make a contribution to her new home.
The festival was created as a way for local artists, businesses and residents to meet each other in an interactive art environment, Ross said.
"Bed-Stuy has this incomparable energy of community and I wanted a way to tap into that deeper," Ross said.
"I innately felt the sense of community, but didn't really feel as involved in the community as I could be."
The festival, on June 14, is an all-day event centered around the 375 Stuyvesant Ave. mansion, in which onlookers can walk from house to house celebrating local art right on the stoops of participating Bed-Stuy neighbors.
The event will end with a "culminating performance" at 6 p.m. Last year's culminating artists were French-born Bed-Stuy residents Les Nubians.
Submissions for the 2014 StOOps Festival must be received by April 16. The 2014 StOOps Festival will be held on June 14, from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m., followed by a culminating performance.
