FABnyc

LOWER EAST SIDE HISTORY MONTH is one week away! 🎉 Lower East Side History Month is an annual celebration of the stories and peoples of the LES. This year, over 70 organizations -- including museums, arts nonprofits, community centers, small businesses, and gardens, will host learning opportunities, tours, performances, and public events! 🫂 The LES and Chinatown have deep histories as sites of refuge, community, and mutual aid -- places created by immigrants for immigrants. 💌 At a time when immigrant communities are being targeted and villainized, we encourage everyone this May to celebrate and honor the extraordinary contributions immigrants from all parts of the world have made to the rich, diverse history of our neighborhood. 🗓️ Check out the calendar of Lower East Side History Month events at or in link in bio 🔗 More events TBA - the calendar will be updated throughout May! LES History Month is organized by FABnyc. #LESmonth #LEShistorymonth #PeoplesLES

We’re Celebrating 25 Years!!! FAB began on E 4th Street in 2001 as a coalition of arts and community groups fighting against our own displacement. That beginning held values that continue to shape our work – a belief in the importance of local community, character, culture, and collective organizing. The struggle to secure permanent space for arts and culture in a rapidly changing neighborhood is inherently entwined with other fights – preserving affordable housing, sustaining small businesses, advocating for greater equity, and resisting cultural erasure. FAB evolved from our first success on 4th Street.. to bring artists and arts strategies to collaborate locally on a range of pressing neighborhood concerns. As every organizer knows, the work doesn’t end – yet the secret ingredient to sustaining ourselves is celebrating wins and milestones when we can! Throughout our 25th year, we plan to honor and appreciate the people and actions that shaped FAB – the trailblazers who worked without maps, guided only by a strong sense of what the power of creatively working together could make possible. And on June 17th, three months from today, we invite you to join us for FAB25! A community party and benefit celebrating 25 years of Fourth Arts Block. Save the date – because we’d love to share a moment of joy with you. Dancing included! 💃

🎨 Join us Friday May 15 - Sunday May 17 for "On the ground where we might find" - the final exhibition of work from our 2026 LES Young Artists of Color Fellows! 🌷 "On the ground where we might find" Final exhibition of works from the 2026 LES Young Artists of Color Fellows FREE with RSVP Opening Reception: Friday, May 15 | 6-9pm Gallery hours: Saturday & Sunday, May 16 & 17 | 1-5pm 👥 The exhibition includes works by Benjamin Hsu, Coralis Rivera, Daniel Marte, Jewel Champbell, Kendall Greene, Mei Bock, Natalia Boumatar & Nia Blue. 🔗 RSVP link in bio. RSVP is required for this event, but can be made at any point prior to arrival. ✒ Poster design by Coralis Rivera @coralismrivera

🥳 The third weekend of Lower East Side History Month! 💃 FESTIVALS & OUTDOOR EVENTS - The Peoples Park Celebration presented by LES Yearbook & Council Member Harvey Epstein @lesyearbook @harveyforny - Greek Jewish Festival presented by Kehlia Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum @kkjnyc 👣 WALKING TOURS - The Jewish Gangster of Lower Manhattan presented by Museum at Eldridge Street @museumateldridgestreet - Building on the LES presented by The Tenement Museum @thetenementmuseum - Radical History Walking Tour presented by Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space @morusnyc 🖼️ EXHIBITS, TALKS & LITERARY EVENTS - Preserving Lower East Side Squatting & Environmental Activism History presented by Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space and Tompkins Square Library @morusnyc @tompkins_square_library 🎨 WORKSHOPS - Loisaida through Cyanotypes with Maylyn 'Zero' Iglesia presented by Swiss Institute @swissinstitute #LESmonth #LEShistorymonth #PeoplesLES

#TBT to the 2026 Lower East Side Community Hero Awards last week! We loved celebrating Bill DiPaola, Brian Gonzalez, Destiny Mata, Shaheeda Smith and Eleanor Wong! 🔗 Photos from the night are now up on our Flickr! Link in bio.

🎊 THIS WEEKEND! Come view "On the ground where we might find" - the final exhibition of work from our 2026 LES Young Artists of Color Fellows MAY 15-MAY 17! 🌷 "On the ground where we might find" Final exhibition of works from the 2026 LES Young Artists of Color Fellows FREE with RSVP. Opening Reception: Friday, May 15 | 6-9pm (almost at capacity) Gallery hours: Saturday & Sunday, May 16 & 17 | 1-5pm 👥 The exhibit includes works by Benjamin Hsu, Coralis Rivera, Daniel Marte, Jewel Champbell, Kendall Greene, Mei Bock, Natalia Boumatar & Nia Blue. 💌 In this exhibit, the eight artists experiment with ways of being with others, caring for each other, and remembering together. The pieces are participatory in nature: some are directly inspired by existing community archives, while others attempt to break the ground for one. Anchored in feelings that are meant to be shared: camaraderie, gratitude, nostalgia, and grief, the exhibit explores emotional complexities within a sense of community. 🔗 RSVP link in bio. RSVP is required for this event, but can be made at any point prior to arrival. --- 🌱 FAB’s 2026 Lower East Side Young Artists of Color Fellowship supports early career artists in exploring creative practices centered on community engagement and cross-sector collaboration. This fellowship is supported in part through funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. ✒ Poster design by Coralis Rivera @coralismrivera .

🎉 Celebrating this year's Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and also Lower East Side History Month, we are excited to welcome back Mencius Society for the Arts on MAY 21 for Open Arts LES! 🎶 Mencius Society for the Arts Thursday, May 21 | 5:30–7:30pm East 4th Street Open Street (E 4th between 2nd Ave and Bowery) 🎼 Mencius Society for the Arts presents its very own Cantonese Opera Circle — a sampling of the Chinese music and songs of the Cantonese opera repertoire, showcasing a time-honored tradition of communal music making that remains popular in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Chinatowns all over the world. This program will feature both romantic and vibrant (warrior) musical styles in a distinctive interplay of melody (kookpaai) and rhythmic structure (bonging). 🏠️ Mencius Society for the Arts, a nonprofit arts service organization rooted in Manhattan’s Chinatown and Lower East Side, dedicated to sustaining traditional Chinese arts among immigrant communities. / #OpenArtsLES #OpenArts @menciusny

Lower East Side History Month events this week! 👣 WALKING TOURS - Cultural History of the Lower East Side with James Fuentes, presented by Abrons Arts Center @abronsartscenter - Jewish Lower East Side, presented by @museumateldridgestreet - Foods of the LES, presented by Tenement Museum @thetenementmuseum 🖼️ EXHIBITS, TALKS & LITERARY EVENTS - What Makes a NYC Landmark? presented by Lower East Side Preservation Initiative and Henry Street Settlement @nyc_lespi @henrystreetsettlement - CelebatratEArts 2026: ‘Our Stories, Our Space’ Exhibit Reception, presented by Manny Cantor Center @mannycantornyc - Block by Block: Mapping the Evolution of Chinatown Yiddish New York, presented by Museum at Eldridge Street @museumateldridgestreet 🎭️ PERFORMANCES & WORKSHOPS -Tigers on a Tightrope: Around the World in 50 Years! presented by Bond Street Theatre @bondstreettheatre - Community Quilt, with Relative Arts and Catalyst @relativeartsnyc 🎥 FILM SCREENINGS - Take Over + Whose Neighborhood is it Anyway? presented by Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space @morusnyc 📅 Full calendar of events at /events or through the link in our bio! #LESMonth #LESHistoryMonth #PeoplesLES

🎟️ 🐥 Early bird tickets till May 24th! 25 years ago, FAB began on E 4th Street as a coalition of arts and community groups fighting against our own displacement. The values that shaped that struggle -- a belief in the importance of local community, character, culture, and collective organizing -- continue to center our work today. Please mark your calendar and join us on June 17th when we throw a community party and benefit celebrating 25 years of Fourth Arts Block! 🎫 ticket link in bio

☔️ POSTPONED: May 9 Open Arts LES on Ave B! 📅 Unfortunately, we have to postpone our event on the Avenue B Open Street today (05.09) due to the rain. Stay tuned for a rescheduled date from us! 🎶 In the meantime, check out Duo Chuño @duochuo & Jamile @allthatjazzmile and all their amazing upcoming shows via their IG! #OpenArtsLES #OpenArts

🌸 Join us and the Performance Project at University Settlement at Sarah Roosevelt Park on May 30th, 4:30-7pm for our closing celebration of Lower East Side History Month! 🌞 4:30 - 5:00PM | 'Tongues' by Yibin Wang @yibinbillwang Storytelling and interactive games about native languages 🪘 5:30 - 6:30PM | BombaYo @bombayony A joyous session of bomba, Puerto Rican & African influenced song-drum-dance 💃 6:45 - 7:45PM | DASO @dasomonster @piraguaartspace Brings Loisaida to the dance floor, blending salsa, reggae, bomba, jíbaro, and hip hop. 🎨 & hands-on art-making & community info tables! with... Abrons Arts Center @abronsartscenter 8ball Community @8ballcommunity Chinese Progressive Association @cpa.newyork City Lore @city_lore The Clemente @theclemente FABnyc Henry Street Settelement @henrystreetsettlement Lower East Side Yearbook @lesyearbook M'Finda Kalunga Garden @mkgarden_ New Museum @newmuseum New York State Council on the Arts @nyscouncilonthearts NYC Cultural Affairs @nyculture Office of Council Member Christopher Marte @nycdistrict1 Office of Assembly Member Grace Lee @amgracemlee The Performance Project at University Settlement @performanceproject_us ROAR Sara D. Roosevelt Park Alliance @sdrparkalliance Sara Roosevelt Park Coalition @sararooseveltparkcc The Tenement Museum @thetenementmuseum #LEShistorymonth #PeoplesLES

🎨 ONE WEEK AWAY! Come view "On the ground where we might find" - the final exhibition of work from our 2026 LES Young Artists of Color Fellows MAY 15-MAY 17! 🌷 "On the ground where we might find" Final exhibition of works from the 2026 LES Young Artists of Color Fellows FREE with RSVP. Opening Reception: Friday, May 15 | 6-9pm Gallery hours: Saturday & Sunday, May 16 & 17 | 1-5pm 👥 The exhibit includes works by Benjamin Hsu, Coralis Rivera, Daniel Marte, Jewel Champbell, Kendall Greene, Mei Bock, Natalia Boumatar & Nia Blue. 💌 In this exhibit, the eight artists experiment with ways of being with others, caring for each other, and remembering together. The pieces are participatory in nature: some are directly inspired by existing community archives, while others attempt to break the ground for one. Anchored in feelings that are meant to be shared: camaraderie, gratitude, nostalgia, and grief, the exhibit explores emotional complexities within a sense of community. 🔗 RSVP link in bio. RSVP is required for this event, but can be made at any point prior to arrival. --- 🌱 FAB’s 2026 Lower East Side Young Artists of Color Fellowship supports early career artists in exploring creative practices centered on community engagement and cross-sector collaboration. This fellowship is supported in part through funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. ✒ Poster design by Coralis Rivera @coralismrivera .