Poster by Keith Haring, also set designer for Secret Pastures, Next Wave Festival, 1984.
Courtesy Keith Haring Foundation and BAM Hamm Archives
…It was a seismic era at BAM, the echos of which are still felt today. Inside the building, everything was cool and hot! I’ve always attributed that to a canny strategy of Harvey Lichtenstein, Joe Melillo, and Karen Brooks Hopkins, who had their hands firmly on the levers of the New cool Brooklyn that was beginning to form.
— BILL T. JONES, Choreographer and Director
Just one word—Harvey—and countless memories flicker and shine in the mind. Much has been written of this exceptional, devoted, inventive, and timeless friend. I only wish to add one precious aspect—Karen Brooks Hopkins. I am so happy that Karen has taken the task upon herself to bring back to life the incredible and amazing story of BAM.
— PETER BROOK, Director
Known around BAM as “signy,” these iconic letters rotate at the intersection of Flatbush and Lafayette Avenues, and are a Brooklyn landmark, 2014. Courtesy BAM Hamm Archives.
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Peter Brook during a rehearsal from The Mahabharata, Next Wave Festival, 1987.
Courtesy BAM Hamm Archives.
The spectacular finale to the Karen Gala with John Turturro, Alan Rickman, the Institutional Radio Choir and a cast of hundreds, 2015. Photo: ©Beowulf Sheehan.
Working at BAM has been a highlight of my theater career, performing for an audience that is representative of our diverse city. Karen Brooks Hopkins and Joe Melillo built upon Harvey Lichtenstein’s legacy to create a special environment for a unique audience. I have been an avid BAM theatergoer since 1983. Doing Endgame and The Master Builder in the Harvey Theater were creative experiences I treasure. Karen is one of those people who generously gives of their energy, humanity, enthusiasm, and intelligence – always encouraging you to think big.
— JOHN TURTURRO, Actor and Director
I was so lucky to be part of an era when Harvey and Karen were creating the center of the New York performing arts world—BAM. The world they brought into being made it possible for me and so many other artists to make work that didn’t fit in the traditional institutions yet was treated with respect and celebration. The New York art world would not be the same without these two wild visionaries.
— LAURIE ANDERSON, Artist, Performer, and Musician
Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed at BAM, 1995
Karen Brooks Hopkins and Isabella Rossellini, 2014
Karen created at BAM a feeling of “family,” of belonging to a community of artists. Belonging is important because, like many other artists, I am also prone to discouragement and insecurity. Karen’s support was the perfect antidote to that awful inner voice that I hear in my head: “Isabella, enough with wanting to be an artist, go get a real job.” When I started to write for theater (on the subject of insects mating, of all things), I called Karen. Without hesitation, she said, “Let’s see what we can do for you,” and she opened a new chapter in my life.
— ISABELLA ROSSELLINI, Actor and Author