Art All Around Us — 10.11.24

Music, Dance, Art Exhibits, Photography, Theatre, and More in the Bronx and a Bit Beyond!

Oct 11, 2024

Hey Everyone,

Sorry this is a little late this week. But here is a lot of great stuff happening throughout the Bronx and beyond in the coming week. I hope you find something new to check out and enjoy!

Dance

In Pelham Bay Park’s terraced garden, on Oct. 19 from 2 to 3 PM, the Bartow-Pell Mansion hosts “a site- specific dance performance featuring Lori Belilove & The Isadora Duncan Dance Company” (see photo above) followed by a Q & A. Tickets are $40 for members and $50 for non-members with picnic included.
There are three events coming up soon at BAAD! (Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance): On Thurs., Oct. 10, there’s “Performing the Bronx: A Living Archive of New York City’s Most Iconic Borough” where “Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful invites a group of remarkable Bronxites to co-develop actions embedded in the day-to-day of our beloved borough.” On Friday, Oct. 11 at 8 PM, Filmmakers Fernando Vieira and Ronald Hinton (Queer Voices Film Fest co-founder) present their queer/POC short films, including Vieira's Frenetic Journey Toward Muddledness and Hinton's Web series, NATIVES.” And on Saturday, Oct. 12, Rokafella, co-founder of Full Circle hip-hop group, and Retumba!, an all-female Afro-Caribbean dance and percussion ensemble combine for an “electric evening” of dance and music. Tickets for the first two events are $10 and, for the third, $20. For all the info of these performances and more, click here.

Photography

The Bronx Documentary Center’s Women’s Film Series presents four screenings on the evenings of Oct. 10, 18, 19 and 20. All the info here. FREE.
- Speaking of BDC, I was at the Bronx Documentary Center opening for “El Salvador: Legacy of Violence,” by photographers Robert Nickelsberg and Fred Ramos a few weeks ago. It’s a must-see if you’re interested in seeing excellent photography expressing a variety of devastating reality in a way that words cannot. “The two projects define El Salvador’s troubled Cold War history, document today’s political evolution and focus on US complicity and negligence in the small Central American country’s troubled past and present.” The exhibit is open through Oct. 27. FREE.
  - And lastly re: BDC, on Thurs., Oct. 10 at 6 PM, it presents an opening reception for “Ken Light/American Stories,” which showcases three decades of work by Light, a photographer, highlighting significant moments in American history from 1969 to 1995. FREE. .
En Foco, in partnership with Pregones and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, launches the exhibition “In The Spirit Y En El Espíritu: Works by Mariana Yampolsky” with an opening on Thurs., Oct. 24 from 6 to 8 PM at Pregones, 575 Walton Ave. It runs through March 31 and features portraits by Mexican photographer Yampolski (1925–2002), and is curated by Xavier Robles Armas. The exhibition is an initiative of the Nueva Luz Study Center (NLSC) and part of En Foco’s mission to preserve the culture and legacy of diasporic lens-based artists. FREE.

Art

The Casita Maria Gallery, of the Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education in Hunts Point, presents the exhibit “Animal Studies,” by Maria P. Vila, through March 6, 2025. The work of Vila, a teaching artist at Casita Maria, “features a series of watercolor, soft pastel and oil paintings combining animal imagery with poetry and collage as a form of healing.” FREE.
On Wed., Oct. 16, the Bronx River Art Center presents Artistry in Service: A Celebration of Legacy and Dedication, Honoring Executive Director Emeritus Gail Nathan. The celebration includes a group exhibition, gala and silent auction. For tickets and more info, click here. FREE.
At Lehman College Art Gallery, through Jan. 18, 2025 (and at two other CUNY colleges) is “Incandescence: The Chandelier in Contemporary Art Works” by 45 artists exploring “the motif and meaning of the chandelier through sculptural forms, photography, painting, drawing, installation and video.” All the details here and here. Photo from exhibit below. FREE.

Work by Petah Coyne in the Lehman Art Gallery exhibit “Incandescence.”

There are some moving exhibits at Wave Hill right now and there is more info on all of them right here. Admission is FREE on Thursdays. I wrote a bit about of one of the exhibits, with photos, in the last edition.

The current art exhibit (outdoors and indoors) at the New York Botanical Garden is “Wonderland: Curious Nature” through Oct. 27.

Through Oct. 12, BronxArtSpace presents “The Intersectionality of The Taino: Embracing a Cultural Exploration.” FREE.
The Derfner Judaica Museum, at the Hebrew Home in Riverdale, features “Artfully Arranged: Floral Works from the Collection” through Feb. 2, 2025. It’s a “thematic exhibition [that] features 24 prints, paintings, drawings, and mixed media works spanning the mid-20th century to the aughts by 20 artists who use flowers and floral forms to explore the intersection of the natural and urban worlds; formalism; decorative design motifs; symbolism, and mortality.” FREE. You can also see on Derfner’s website many of the paintings and more info on the exhibit.
I went to see this exhibit at Bronx Museum “FUTURA 2000: BREAKING OUT,” which is “a retrospective of this singular artist’s evolution from early graffiti art styles to his current practice of contemporary abstraction. The exhibition is the most comprehensive examination of FUTURA 2000’s five-decade career ever presented in his hometown of New York City.” There is a lot to see, and I’ve included just a couple of shots I enjoyed above and below It runs through March 20, 2025. Always FREE at Bronx Museum.
In Mott Haven, WallWorks New York features never-before-seen original artworks in the exhibit, “The Found Art of Thom Corn,” curated by filmmaker Nancy August. Recently found by the late artist’s landlord, the works showcase classic elements of Corn’s artwork. The exhibit is on through Oct. 18 in Mott Haven. All the info here. FREE.
BxArtsFactory hosts an opening reception for the group art exhibition “VESSELS: Release and Contain,” curated by Ruddy Mejia, this Friday, Oct. 11 from 6 to 8:30 PM, with an artist talk at 7 PM. The exhibit is on through Nov. 8. Opening and exhibit are FREE.
Blue Door Art Center presents “Selfie: Self Portraiture,” a group exhibit through Oct. 26. (I’m in that exhibit — see last edition photo). FREE.

Through Nov. 22, Within/Without is an exhibit at the Riverfront Art Gallery at the Yonkers Public Library in downtown Yonkers that explores visual storytelling and how what we create reflects deeper underlying personal narratives. FREE.
At the Hudson River Museum there are several exhibits to explore, and it’s just a bit beyond north Riverdale. “No Bodies: Clothing as Disruptor,” is one in particular I look forward to seeing. It’s on through Jan. 26, 2025.
Upstream Gallery in Hastings-on-Hudson, features two photographer/artists, Janine Menlove and TB Ward in the “Apertures of Light & Time” through Oct. 27. FREE.
The Bronx Council on the Arts is hosting, via its Bronx Memoir Project, a FREE online four-class workshop series called “Inherited Memorie: A Generative Memoir Writing Workshop,” through Nov. 4. For all the info go here.
Through Jan. 26, 2025 in Norwood, the Museum of Bronx History in Norwood presents the group exhibition of Seis del Sur: “HISTORIAS: The Stories Behind the Images.” “This interactive multimedia exhibition will go below the surface of the collective’s documentary photographs of The Bronx — many never exhibited before — and illuminate the borough’s historical narrative through contextual timelines, meta and personal anecdotes.” The museum adds that the pop-up showcase “will cover a broad range of issues … that have impacted the people of the Bronx over the last four decades.” The museum is open on Saturdays, 10 AM to 4 PM. Private tours via appointment are available throughout the week. All FREE!

Music

On Wed., Oct. 16, at Mind Builders Creative Art Center in Wakefield presents "The East: A Music Legacy,” a panel discussion and performance from 5 to 7 PM. FREE. More info here.
On Saturday, Oct. 12 at 8 PM, the salsa band Puerto Rican Power will be coming to Lehman Center Center for the Performing Arts in Bedford Park for a special 45th anniversary celebration! Tickets here.
Bronx Arts Ensemble’s Woodwind Quintet will perform at The Mall at Bay Plaza this Saturday, Oct. 12 from 2 to 3 PM. FREE. More info here.
There’s a FREE community concert at Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture this Friday, Oct. 11 at 7 PM. The Calidore String Quartet of the Chamber Music performance by the JCFI Music Ensemble, an all-female band from South Africa Society of Lincoln Center will perform Beethoven’s First Three String Quartets. All the info here.

At its brand new Bronx Music Hall on Wed., Oct. 23, Bronx Music Heritage Center presents the return of the Maxine Sullivan Women in Jazz series with the JCFI (Jewish Camp for Female Instrumentalists) Music Ensemble, an all-female band from South Africa. It “brings together the rich sounds of jazz, African music and fusion.” The concert is $10 and for all the information you need, click right here.
Connaughton’s Riverdale Steak House has live music including open mics every other Wednesday eve. You can get more up-to-date details on host and performer Mark Weitzman’s (also known as Mark the Harper) Facebook page.
The Artist (also known as The Starving Artist) on City Island hosts lots of live music and a weekly open mic and a monthly interview with musicians, hosted by Gary Axelbank . More info here.
An Beal Bocht, an artsy Irish pub in Riverdale: has live music and other artsy events throughout the week.

Cartoon Event

Bronx Council on the Arts, the city’s Parks Department, and Bronx Planet Productions are putting together “Comic Culture Powers,” in Williamsbridge Oval Park in Norwood, through Oct. 19. Details here. FREE.

Families/Kids

BxArtsFactory in Melrose provides a useful series of video lessons on their website for families doing art at home. You can learn a lot more about the organization here. DONE
There are various kids’ art workshops at Bronx Children’s Museum, which opened just a little less than a year ago. Info here (scroll down page for listing).
Blue Door Art Center in downtown Yonkers offers FREE classes/programs for kids on Saturday mornings.

Have a great weekend, and week, everyone! Let me know if you see any of above and have something to share about it (jordanmossbx@gmail.com).

-Jordan

Art All Around Us by Jordan Moss

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