The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a non-profit cinema and performing arts center founded in 1861 and started operations in 1908. In addition to the more than 200 stage performances the academy presents every year, BAM Caf? Live puts on 75 free stage acts annually.

Today, BAM has a global reputation as a pioneer and leader in artistic innovation and has evolved into a model metropolitan arts center that is focused on both international issues in the arts and local community needs. If you are more of a movie enthusiast, the center has a four-screen cinema that shows new flicks as well as repertory films 365 days a year.

Its resilient purpose is to offer a unique environment in which its audiences - each year, more than half a million people from New York City and beyond - may experience a wide selection of cultural and aesthetic programs. BAM?s activities have been made under the tutelage of Karen Brooks Hopkins, president, and Joseph V. Melillo, executive producer, for more than 25 years. Dating from its first live stage act in 1861, BAM has developed into a thriving urban arts center that brings international performing arts and film to Brooklyn.

The first BAM facility at 176-194 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights was razed to the ground in 1903. The foundation was laid at 30 Lafayette Avenue, and BAM performances resumed in the fall three years later. Since then, BAM has continued to update and expand its facilities. It now includes not only the Howard Gilman Opera House, but also the BAM Harvey Theater, BAM Rose Cinemas, and the Lepercq Space (BAM Caf?).

The Brooklyn Academy of Music is America's oldest performing arts center. During its first one hundred years, BAM hosted political events, rallies and speeches on the significant issues of the day. The BAM Education Center serves up to 24,000 students and 200 New York City schools annually and hosts The Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the largest commemoration event to this human rights icon in New York City.