From Roots to Arts:

Celebrating NYCHA's Cultural Heritage

Beneath the Surface

Beneath the Surface captures the spirit and impact of the From Roots to Arts program—featuring moments of community engagement, artist-led workshops, and the transformation of NYCHA spaces through collaborative art. The video reflects the power of storytelling, cultural expression, and what becomes possible when residents and artists co-create with intention and care.

Director: Kemi Karim 

Cinematography: African Peach Arts Coalition, Sainabou Njai, Quame Beckles, Bintou Baysmore

Culmination Celebration in City Hall

On March 26, 2026, NYCHA residents celebrated the close of From Roots to Arts, a groundbreaking residency program that embedded artists within public housing communities to create art that is theirs.

Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg and the NYC Public Design Commission (PDC) Executive Director Sreoshy Banerjea opened City Hall to NYCHA residents, artists, and community partners to mark the culmination of the program, celebrate the community, and feature the five artists selected through From Roots to Arts, who displayed their works at a NYCHA public housing campus. The artists and communities served include Dominique Robinson at Bronx River Houses in The Bronx, Corey Harrison at King Towers Houses in Manhattan, Crystal Clarity at Bushwick Houses in Brooklyn, Tamra Cosby at Astoria Houses in Queens, and Tina Thompson-Pope at Richmond Terrace Houses on Staten Island. Along with celebrating the creative work, art, and culture of each community, participants experienced a dance performance by Tina Thompson-Pope and learned about the contributions of each artist across all five boroughs, highlighting the unique cultures and mediums explored through the program.

About the From Roots to Arts Program

In 2024, the PDC and Public Housing Community Fund (PHCF) kicked off From Roots to Arts: Celebrating NYCHA’s Cultural Heritage, an artist-in-residency pilot program designed to enrich and expand culture, heritage, and art narratives within public housing. In partnership with the DYCD Cornerstone Program across five NYCHA campuses spanning all five boroughs, this 20-month artist residency offers spaces for art within community centers.

In March and April 2024, PHCF and PDC staff hosted community days at Astoria, Bronx River, Bushwick, King Towers, and Richmond Terrace Houses to hear from NYCHA residents about the types of public art programming they wanted in their communities. These interactive sessions engaged nearly 200 residents, and over 170 surveys were collected to help inform the artist-in-residence open call.

Crafted around the art mediums identified by each community, including creative technology, dance, fashion, music, painting, performance, and visual arts, the open call received interest from over 180 New York City-based artists. In June 2024, PDC staff members led the artist selection process for all five sites, bringing together agency and resident stakeholders and neighborhood arts professionals to select and place five artists, one within each community.

At Astoria Houses, Tamra Cosby, a poet and current resident of Astoria Houses, uses her art to challenge stigmas surrounding residents of public housing, reshaping the narrative and proving that art has the power to transform lives and communities.

At Bronx River Houses, Dominique Robinson, a dancer, choreographer, producer, is leading a mentorship and performance program to mentor youth.

At Bushwick Houses, Crystal Clarity, illustrator, muralist, and teaching artist, is engaging with residents, brainstorming and creating designs for the reimagining of the community center entrance and hallways.

At King Towers Houses, Corey Harrison, a nature conservationist, is expanding the language of art within nature and helping create new gardens and food justice initiatives within the community.

At Richmond Terrace Houses, Tina Thompson Pope, an artistic director, educator, teaching artist, dancer, choreographer, and fitness ambassador, is uplifting the intergenerational legacy of public housing residents, using dance as a powerful tool for self-expression and cultural celebration.

About the Public Housing Community Fund (PHCF)

The Public Housing Community Fund is an independent not-for-profit organization that creates and leverages resources and relationships to enhance the opportunities and quality of life for New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents and their communities while uplifting the importance of public housing in New York City. www.communityfund.nyc.

About the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)     

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the largest public housing authority in North America, was created in 1934 to provide decent, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers. NYCHA is home to 1 in 16 New Yorkers, providing affordable housing to 511,384 authorized residents through public housing and Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) programs as well as Section 8 housing. NYCHA has 177,565 apartments in 2,410 buildings across 335 conventional public housing and PACT developments. In addition, NYCHA connects residents to critical programs and services from external and internal partners, with a focus on economic opportunity, youth, seniors, and social services. With a housing stock that spans all five boroughs, NYCHA is a city within a city.

About the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD)

The NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) invests in a network of community-based organizations to provide services and programs that support New Yorkers and strengthen communities. DYCD’s Cornerstone Program funds year-round programming at community centers located within NYCHA developments across all five boroughs, offering after-school, evening, and weekend programming for youth, adults, seniors, and families. Learn more at nyc.gov/dycd.