# Rasu Jilani

Rasu Jilani is an arts advocate and community organizer based in Brooklyn, New York. A self-described "social sculptor," Jilani focuses on relational works that foster interactions between the art world and a more general audience. His educational programming emphasizes ideals of cultural awareness and aesthetic literary through exhibitions, public lectures, community dialogues, and festivals.
As of March 2023, he is the Executive Director of the Brooklyn Arts Council.

## Influence

Jilani's social consciousness finds its roots in the 1980s hip hop scene in New York and in the emerging racial tensions following the the death of Yusef Hawkins. Public Enemy's “Fight The Power” video, created in response to Spike Lee’s film “Do The Right Thing,” was a major influence for its direct explication of political themes
More broadly, hip hop has influenced his approach to incorporating communities as a key aspect of his work as a community organizer and art producer.

## Career

Before joining the Brooklyn Arts Council, Jilani served as the Cultural Network Curator at the Lambent Foundation. From 2016 to 2019, Jilani held the position of Director of Recruiting and Community Engagement for NEW INC, the art-tech-entrepreneurship incubator at the New Museum. From 2013 to 2016, he served as the director at MAPP International Productions as the Director of Community Programs.
Jilani was an artist-in-residence for the Laundromat Project in 2015. During his residency, he developed the project "Griots in the Stuy," which utilized the West African oral tradition of griots to create a narrative of residents' personal stories and photography, alongside a parallel narrative about gentrification in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
From 2011 to 2013, Jilani was a Senior Fellow of Arts, Culture, and Sustainability at the Pratt Center for Community Development, a community planning organization affiliated with Pratt Institute. As part of his fellowship, he collaborated with organizations such as Arts East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, and Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation to develop cultural, arts, media, and organizing strategies with the goal of engaging neighborhood residents and artists in promoting sustainable environmental action. These projects included collaborations with Arts East New York, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, and Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation.
Jilani co-founded Coup d'État Art Collective, a Brooklyn-based group of artists that produces art-related events throughout New York City.

## Exhibitions

| Apr, 2012 | Amplify Action: "Sustainability Through The Arts" |
| Apr, 2012 | Skylight Gallery, Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation |
| Nov, 2009 | Live To Change Something Through Art |
| Nov, 2009 | Skylight Gallery, Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation |
| Jun, 2009 | We’ve Gotta Have It!: Art Inspired by Spike Lee |
| Jun, 2009 | Long Island University, Salena Gallery, Flatbush Campus |
| Nov, 2008 | Coup d'etat Artshow |
| Nov, 2008 | SlyArt & Robot City |
| Jun, 2007 | Afropunk Festival Mural |
| Jun, 2007 | Brooklyn Academy of Music |

## Recent projects

* Brooklyn Greens Sustainability Leadership Conference: “Greening from the Ground Up!”, 2012
* Cypress Hills Verde Summit – Youth Arts Workshop, Fall 2011
* Restoration Rocks, 2011 – “Live Healthy, Live Green, Live Well”
* Bed-Stuy Restoration – Youth Arts Program, Summer 2011
* Cypress Hills Energy Block Party, Summer 2011
* Coup d’etat Art Show – “ Live to change something Through Art”, Fall 2009
* Afropunk Festival, Art Production, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012

## Venues curated

* Skylight Gallery, Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
* Long Island University, Salena Gallery, Flatbush Campus
* SlyArt & Robot City
* Brooklyn Academy of Music