Although 4W Circle isn’t actually located in Harlem, this bit of news might be of interest to Harlem residents who first served a stint in the people’s republic of Brooklyn.
For the Bed-Stuy/Fort Greene/Clinton Hill transplants, 4W Circle was basically a predecessor to the vision of a renewed and revitalized Harlem. U.F. thanks the owners for having such an uplifting space available to inspire and nurture artists and admirers. We wish them the best of luck in their future ventures and hope they will serve the community as well as 4W Circle.
To read the letter from the owner click below.
A message from Selma Jackson
THANKS TO OUR CUSTOMERS:Ever since I made the announcement December 16, 2007, there has been a whirlwind of responses and speculation about why 4W Circle of Art & Enterprise, Inc. (4W) is closing on January 31, 2008. The most evident and direct response is gentrification and Laurie Cumbo, founder and director of MoCADA Museum, passionately expressed this in an open letter. As in life, that is too simplistic a response and the reasons have many facets. “Everything on Earth has its own time and its own season” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (CEV)
Many of you view 4W as your community store, as a meeting place, as the center of the Black community, as a place where culture is celebrated. As such, the community identified themselves as the primary customer. The primary purpose and intention of 4W Circle has always been to provide space and services to local artisans so that the artisans can develop and open their own establishment. In the process the community (our secondary customer) got to know, appreciate, and support the artisans. Our dream and vision has come true. Many artisans have moved on to open their own establishments. Since 2000 the artisans that came to 4W Circle did not use the space in the same way. They needed a location to create and show their work, but they were not necessarily interested in opening their own establishment. So in 2001 and 2004 I renewed my lease out of a love and commitment to the community. When the lease became due again in 2007, the issue of how the space was used did not go away. The space is not large enough for light manufacturing and product design. How do we address that need? It was time to pull back, regroup, and reinvent 4W Circle. It was a difficult decision, but when I recognized the accomplishments that we made I was at peace with the decision. In that regard we view the closing as a celebration of our service to the community and we invite you to celebrate on Sunday, January 27 from 4pm – 9pm at 704 Fulton Street in Brooklyn, NY (see more details below).Another aspect is having more time for my family and myself. My grandchildren live in Texas and every Christmas I am here serving the community and missing out on grandma time!! Many of you will remember my granddaughter’s visits when she was an infant (when some folks thought she was my baby!!). Well that granddaughter will be 11 years old and my other two grandchildren are 7 and 8.
Additionally, during the last two years I have been working with women business owners in Rwanda through my church and an NGO organization. We have been coaching the women and assisting them in growing their businesses. I would like to do more of that outreach to other communities both regionally and globally.As I hear your many expressions of concern and feelings of loss, I am looking ahead at what a reinvention may include. One aspect of that is to write a book about the experience—leaving a history of our 17 years and how 4W Circle of Art & Enterprise, Inc. began with a vision and made business opportunities available for local artisans. The other consideration is to explore how can we offer relevant, supportive services to local artisans that serve the artisans and the community. I welcome your comments and feedback on how to continue 4W Circle. I also want you to know that I have heard your voices about loss and during 2008 I will have special events periodically and will keep you informed of upcoming 4W Circle events. Our first special event, a book signing for Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant, is scheduled for Saturday, March 8. Please stop by and sign our guest book so that we may keep in touch with you or visit our website www.4wcircle.org and find out what’s happening.In closing, I want you to think of the importance of special places in our community and what our role and responsibility is in ensuring that they remain. We must actively support our services, we must actively ensure that change does not affect the places that we hold near and dear to our hearts, and we need to be concerned about community wealth building: passing on our history and ownership of community spaces.
“People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime…” from Acts of Faith by Iyanla Vanzant
Sincerely,
Selma Jackson
Proprietor
4W Circle of Art & Enterprise, Inc.
selma4w@earthlink.net
Posted on January 25, 2008 by D. Bell