City officials, artists, residents, and cultural leaders unveiled a new permanent outdoor heritage walk and community art installation at Kingsborough Houses in Crown Heights on Dec. 5.
Titled “Migration,” the project marks the second phase of a broader cultural initiative that began with the landmark restoration of Harlem Renaissance sculptor Richmond Barthé’s “Exodus and Dance” frieze. The restoration received the 2025 Moses Award for Preservation Projects from the New York Landmarks Conservancy and the 2025 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award from the Preservation League of New York State.
The heritage walk honors the “Great Migration” and features 35 illuminated steel sculptures ranging from six to 12 feet high, spread across the 16-acre campus. The installation amplifies the voices, memories, and aspirations of Kingsborough residents while honoring the recently restored, monumental 8-foot-by-80-foot frieze, installed in 1941.
The design team, led by New York City-based artists Ifeoma Ebo and Jerome Haferd, alongside Pedro Cruz Cruz and Violet Greenberg, sought input from Kingsborough residents, local artists from the Fulton Art Fair — including the late artist-in-residence Larry Weekes — lighting designers, and cultural historians to ensure the work reflected authentic community voices.
Participants shared memories, drawings, and stories, shaping the inscriptions on the sculptures. These include oral histories from residents, historic accounts of Barthé’s life and work, residents’ personal memories of the Exodus and Dance frieze, and quotes on community, extended family, and resilience.
All sculptures, fabricated in Brooklyn, feature illustrations inspired by Egyptian and other diasporic motifs as well as Barthé’s own artistic vocabulary. Some include seating elements to invite engagement and reflection. Each structure has integrated lighting, illuminating pathways and open spaces in the evening and guiding visitors from neighboring streets toward the Exodus and Dance frieze. The open space around the frieze was also transformed with improved lighting and new community-inspired murals on the back wall.
Ebo, principal at Creative Urban Alchemy, said art is most powerful when it amplifies the voices of the community.
“Working alongside Kingsborough residents through months of workshops, the heritage walk became inscribed with their memories, dreams, and deep connection to this place,” Ebo said. “We’ve transformed these outdoor spaces into a celebration where Richmond Barthé’s historic frieze meets the living creativity of present-day Brooklyn, creating pathways that honor both preservation and the voices that make Kingsborough home.”
Angelina Whitaker, president of the Kingsborough Houses Resident Association, said the NYCHA public housing community has always been rich in history and pride.
“Migration honors the generations who came before us and celebrates those who continue to make Kingsborough home today,” Whitaker said. “The stories, art, and light now woven throughout our campus remind us that our community is alive with creativity and resilience.”
The project was funded by the Mellon Foundation and New York City Council. In 2019, NYCHA received $1.8 million for both phases from former City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and former City Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel, and an additional $2 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to the Public Housing Community Fund in 2023. Funding supported the frieze restoration, an artist-in-residency program, an oral history project, and the installation of the heritage walk. Other collaborators included the Kingsborough Houses Stakeholder Advisory Group, Weeksville Heritage Center, African Peach Arts Coalition, the NYC Public Design Commission, and various local cultural institutions and community organizations.
For NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt, the restoration of “The Wall,” as Barthé’s symbol of community pride is often called, underscores the importance of preserving Kingsborough Houses’ cultural identity.
“The Migration heritage walk takes inspiration and builds on the momentum of the frieze restoration, providing residents and community members with an incredibly unique and culturally significant art walk experience right on the Kingsborough campus,” Bova-Hiatt said. “We are deeply appreciative of the Public Housing Community Fund, the Mellon Foundation, artists Jerome Haferd and Ifeoma Ebo, and all the partners involved in this project, which pays homage not only to the original frieze installation but also to the generations of residents who have called Kingsborough Houses home.”
