Arts at Old First carries out our mission to offer hospitality to creative and art-minded community groups. This includes the annual Brooklyn Bluegrass Bash, the annual Park Slope Messiah Sing-along, and various other events supporting the visual, literary, and musical arts.

Arts at Old First events benefit the Old First ceiling restoration fund.

Performing Arts

Join us for any of our annual Arts at Old First events:

• Grace Chorale of Brooklyn
• Baroquelyn
• Brooklyn Community Chorus
• Accord Treble Choir

Literary Arts

Since the launch of Arts at Old First in 2012, Old First, in collaboration with Community Bookstore, has presented a number of dynamic authors including Rick Moody and Darcy Steinke in conversation, Anne Nelson (Suzanne’s Children), Lauren Belfer (And After the Fire), Steven Waldman (Sacred Liberty), Cara Wall (The Dearly Beloved), David Ritz (The God Groove), Mary Gordon in conversation with Father Martin (On Thomas Merton), Carey Wallace (Stories of the Saints), and Father James Martin interviewed by Mary Karr, discussing his 2021 book Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone. We celebrate the power of the written word!

• Jeff Chu and Darnell Moore. Two of our own past seminarians, have also authored books for which we hosted launches.

Does Jesus Really Love Me? A Gay Christian’s Pilgrimage in Search of God in America, by Jeff Chu. From the book jacket, “… part memoir and part investigative analysis that explores the explosive and confusing intersection of faith, politics, and sexuality in Christian America. From Brooklyn to Nashville to California, from Westboro Baptist Church and their “God Hates Fags” protest signs, to the pioneering Episcopalian bishop Mary Glasspool—who proclaims a message of liberation and divine love, Chu captures spiritual snapshots of Christian America at a remarkable moment, when tensions between both sides in the culture wars have rarely been higher.”

Arts at Old First was honored to host author and activist Darnell Moore to present the paperback edition of his book, No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America. Moore, a leading organizer in the Black Lives Matter movement and a former seminary intern at Old First, used his own experience of growing up as a gay black man to give voice to the varied experiences of all those who survive on the edges of the margins, and chart a glorious path toward liberation.

Darnell discussed his story with Assistant Professor at The New School for Social Research and former fellow member at Old First. 

Visual Arts

We also provide hospitality to the visual arts community, including this suggestion to maximize your Lent experience:

• The Stations of the Cross. The ancient practice of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, retracing the final journey of Jesus to the hill where he was crucified, is redeveloped here for those who cannot make the actual journey. Artist Scott Erikson has created a series of images that connect that tradition with the urgent questions people ask today.