Brooklyn-based artist Modesto Flako Jimenez is continuing his acclaimed show, Taxilandia, in Brooklyn. Flako will design and host a series of hybrid salons with local artists Hekima Hapa with Black Girls Sew (BedStuy), Kareem Nemley with Rooted Theatre (East New York), and Najee Omar with BAM (Fort Greene), whose work intersects with gentrification. In-person and streamed live, these participatory salons are open to all and explore our notion of what it means to be a local, an immigrant, or a resident of a place. The salons will challenge us to answer “What is my personal roadmap of home?” and offer creative strategies for confronting gentrification.
Brooklyn Salon Team
Hekima Hapa - Local Salon Artist
Friday, April 10, 2026 at 6pm - 8pm
Sew Green Studio 450 Gates Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11216
Najee Omar - Local Artist
Sunday, April 12, 2026
At Brooklyn Academy of Music (30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217) and Livestreamed
Fashion Designer | Curator | Educator | Community Leader
Hekima Hapa is a Brooklyn-based Textile Artist, Fashion Designer, Cultural educator, and Curator dedicated to sustainability, social justice, and youth empowerment through textile arts. She is the founder of Black Girls Sew Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides fashion education, sewing instruction, and creative entrepreneurship opportunities to girls and gender-expansive youth of color. Through this work, she champions access to creative tools and professional development within historically underserved communities.
Hekima is also the designer behind Harriets by Hekima, a handmade clothing and housewares brand that blends ancestral textile traditions with modern design. Her work is rooted in the belief that making is a form of liberation and that sewing can be a powerful tool for healing, self-expression, and economic independence.
A mother of four and a community builder, Hekima has spent more than two decades creating spaces where intergenerational learning, sustainability, and culture meet. She continues to lead programming at the Sew Green Arts Studio in Bed-Stuy. Hekima is a sought-after facilitator for workshops, artist residencies, and public speaking engagements internationally.
Kareem Nemley - Local Artist
Saturday, April 11, 2026
East New York (Address will be given to ticket holders a day before the event.)
Kareem Nemley is a playwright, theater producer, and community arts leader from East New York, Brooklyn. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Rooted Theater Company, a community-based theater organization dedicated to producing socially relevant work rooted in the lived experiences of the neighborhoods it serves.
Born and raised in the Pink Houses in East New York, Nemley developed a deep connection to storytelling and performance as a way to examine the complexities of community life. He studied English with a concentration in creative writing at the University of North Carolina, where he cultivated his passion for theater and began working with several theatrical ensembles.
In 2013, Nemley co-founded Rooted Theater Company with his husband and collaborator Wilfredo Florentino after recognizing the lack of accessible community theater in East New York. Through Rooted, he has helped create a platform for artists and audiences to explore issues such as race, identity, gender, gentrification, and social justice through performance.
As a playwright and producer, Nemley’s work centers Black and LGBTQ narratives and often emerges directly from community dialogue and lived experience. His writing credits include Linden Park (co-written with Brandice Peltier), along with adaptations and original works developed through Rooted Theater Company’s festivals and productions.
Through his artistic leadership, Nemley has helped Rooted Theater Company engage thousands of community members, building a vibrant space where theater becomes a tool for reflection, conversation, and collective imagination in East Brooklyn.
Social Media Handles
Kareem Nemley on Facebook
Kar_eemNemley_ on Instagram
RootedTheaterCo on Facebook, Instagram and X
Najee Omar is a poet, playwright, and performance artist whose work lives at the crossroads of poetry, theater, and community. Born and raised in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, he creates stories that imagine a world where Black people see themselves fully, love themselves deeply, and dream themselves free. His work blends poetry, movement, and music to explore memory, intimacy, and the beauty of Black queer life.
His debut play Little Black Book, developed through residencies at SPACE on Ryder Farm and Hi-ARTS, recently received a workshop production at 651 ARTS. Najee also appeared as Stephon in Shaun Neblett’s Homage 5: Life After Death at BRIC.
His poetry appears in Poet Lore Magazine and the anthology That’s a Pretty Thing to Call It, and his storytelling projects have partnered with BAM, The Public Theater, Lincoln Center, and The Met. Najee also serves on the board of the Fort Greene Park Conservancy.
When he’s not creating, he’s riding his bike, getting lost in music, or catching up on Real Housewives. Najee lives and loves in Brooklyn.
Social Media: @najeeomar - on all platforms
In partnership with
With support from Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Phase 1: Salon Conversations
With Guest Artists
We design and co-host a series of virtual salons, each with local artists whose work intersects with gentrification. Streamed live, these salons include a Taxilandia documentary on Bushwick, and an interactive portion where the artists and audience are invited to get out and capture five traces of gentrification with their cameras.
Phase 2: Community Activation
Stay Tuned for More Information!