Numu Arts Collective is a Brooklyn-based grassroots organization for emerging artists who believe in the importance of community and see the infinite possibilities for change through art in our world. Our vision is to establish a group of motivated, passionate, inspired individuals who nurture and challenge each other’s ideas, and collaborate in organizing workshops, artshops, and shows to share our work.
We aim to create an environment that stimulates and supports inspiration, collaboration, and artistic revelation— a place where artists gather to develop their craft while exploring other methods of creation.
What the hell does Numu mean ???
Numu, pronounced nu-MOO, is an Arabic word which means growth in a poetic sense (spiritual, emotion, etc.) Finding and deciding on this name was quite the process with much debate and deliberation. We first compiled a list of words that we felt best represented what we were trying to accomplish with the collective, a list that included words like community, all together, explorers, nurture, and share. We ultimately decided on numu, or growth, because it is what we wish for our collective, its members, and the world around us as a result of our work together. We hope to nuture the creativity in each other and therefore stimulate growth artistically, personally, and even professionally.
How did the Numu Arts Collective get started?
Well, one could say that this has all been in the making since Cass and Greg first met as college freshmen in 2004, and since Cass first met Leila at work in 2008, but that would be annoying. So let’s say it was three friends, three artists, that craved a sense of community. These three artists all had three very different groups of friends, each filled with eccentric and creative minds. After years of working in isolation and/or sometimes not having the motivation to work at all, they found that they each shared a desire for a group of artists that nurture one another, inspire one another, teach one another, learn from one another, and grow with one another. The idea for an “Artist Party” arrived, and within 5 minutes of the first planning meeting for said party, someone uttered the words, “So we’re forming a collective?” “ABSOLUTELY.” Voila! The Numu Arts Collective was born…and has been growing steadily ever since.
