Art All Around Us — 11.20.24
Holiday Craft Sales, Exhibits, Concerts, Art Awards, Mott Haven Restaurant Tour, and Much More ...
Many Bronx trees still have some stunning colorful leaves. Here’s what I saw at the lake in Van Cortlandt Park the other day …
Photography
Teen award-winning photographers from all over the city will have an exhibit called “Por Fin; Paz,” opening at Bronx Documentary Center Thursday, Nov. 21 from 4 to 6 PM. FREE!
En Foco, in partnership with Pregones and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, presents the exhibition “In The Spirit Y En El Espíritu: Works by Mariana Yampolsky” at the Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (575 Walton Ave., Bronx). It runs through March 31, 2025 and features portraits by Mexican photographer Yampolski (1925–2002), and is curated by Xavier Robles Armas.. FREE!
Through Jan. 26, 2025 in Norwood, the Museum of Bronx History presents the group exhibition of Seis del Sur: “HISTORIAS: The Stories Behind the Images.” The museum is open on Saturdays, 10 AM to 4 PM. Private tours via appointment are available throughout the week. All FREE!
Spoken Word/Open Mic
This Thursday, Nov. 21, at 7 PM the new Bronx Music Hall (which I urge you to check out!) presents a spoken word mic called Palabras Abiertas, hosted by Bronx poet Lyrical Bliss. Solo music is welcome too! Just $5. More info here.
Artist Opportunities and Awards
The Bronx River Art Center has an open call for artists who maintain collections of any kind to participate in an upcoming exhibition that explores the intimate relationship between artistic practice and collecting. It is for the exhibit “Between Inspiration and Collecting: The Artist's Cabinet.” The deadline is Dec. 15. More info here.
The deadline to apply for Bronx Council on the Arts’ BRIO Award is Jan. 13, 2025. Each year, BRIO (Bronx Recognizes Its Own) provides direct support to individual Bronx artists who create works in the literary, media, visual, and performing arts with awards of $5,000. BCA provides a few sessions around the borough providing likely applicants info and advice on completing the application. They haven’t announced the dates for those yet but I will let you know as soon as I know. And you can check out BCA’s website on this for more info, and the application itself. BCA also has a listing of additional organizations that provide various “calls for artists.”
Dance
As part of BAAD!’s (Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance) “Dancing Future,” program, Imani Gaudin, an artistic director at the nonprofit dance group, gaudanse, performs this Saturday, Nov 23 at 8 PM. More info on show here. Tickets are $10 to $20.
Art Exhibits/Happenings
BronxArtSpace has an opening for a new exhibit, “See This Country Clearly,” by artists Jonathan Allen and Michael Paul Britto, this Fri., Nov. 22, 6 to 8 PM.
Through this coming Friday, Nov. 22, Within/Without is an exhibit at the Riverfront Art Gallery in the downtown Yonkers Public Library that explores visual storytelling and how what we create reflects deeper underlying personal narratives. FREE! Here’s a piece by artist and art instructor, Elizabeth de Bethune. Click here and you can hear de Bethune speak about the meaning of this particular piece, “Corn Muffins.”
An excellent exhibit at WALLWORKS NEW YORK in Mott Haven,“Yo Soy de Aquí / I am From Here,” features artists Lizzy Alejandro, Alexis Marie Montoya, and Kamille Vargas-Estrella. It’s on through Dec. 6. FREE!
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!
At Lehman College Art Gallery, through Jan. 18, 2025 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. FREE!
The Derfner Judaica Museum, at the Hebrew Home in Riverdale, features “Artfully Arranged: Floral Works from the Collection” through Feb. 2, 2025. FREE!
“FUTURA 2000: BREAKING OUT,” at the Bronx Museum 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.” It runs through March 20, 2025. FREE!
There are a few great 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 one of the exhibits, with photos, in a recent edition.
Holiday Art Markets
Holiday shopping ads for national and international chains began bombarding us back in October. We don’t have to pay attention. There are other options, including buying local, and especially from local artists. Here are a couple to start with (will add more as I learn about more) that are just a bit beyond the Bronx:
There will be local artists sharing cards jewelry, ornaments and more in the 2024 Holiday Bazaar at Blue Door Art Center in downtown Yonkers this Saturday, Nov. 23 from 1 PM to 6 PM. And as Blue Door reports, “Holiday treats will be served, join in on the fun. Meet the artists, mingle with your community. We offer free gift wrapping with purchase.” Of course, it’s FREE to attend! More info here.
And though it’s not in the Bronx (it is in the relatively nearby (by car especially) Long Island City) the BrickHouse Ceramic Art Center presents its Ceramics Holiday Market from Dec. 13 to Dec. 15. It’s FREE! More info here.
Art and … Food!
OK, this might not seem related to art, but the existence of a tasting tour in a particular neighborhood is experiencing creativity nonetheless, in sight and, well, taste. And depending on where you live in the big borough of the Bronx, taking part in a tour of Mott Haven (the most south of South Bronx neighborhoods), might be a bit of a hike from home. So, it’s gonna be helpful to know where you can get lunch or dinner nearby. How? Well, the nonprofit Oyate Group that provides tours to support Taste of Mott Haven, has one more date coming up for a FREE tour — and taste — of restaurants in the area, on Wed., Dec. 11. You can sign up here. (Thanks to the excellent, progressive political writer on Substack, Micah Sifry, for letting me know about this!)
Music
This weekend, Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture features the play “Chain Reaction,” and two concerts: Spanish Harlem Orchestra presenting “Salsa Navidad,” and Papo Vázquez and his band performing the 3rd Annual Holiday Jazz & Latin Jazz Parranda. Info on all three events here.
An Beal Bocht, an artsy Irish pub in Riverdale has live music and other artsy events throughout the week.
Connaughton’s Riverdale Steak House in Riverdale 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.
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.
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). And here’s a link to all the “active” exhibit space and happenings.
Blue Door Art Center in downtown Yonkers offers FREE classes/programs for kids on Saturday mornings.
At the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers there are several exhibits to explore, including “No Bodies: Clothing as Disruptor,” which is on through Jan. 26, 2023.
Just over the bridge from Bronx to Manhattan on Broadway are art happenings in Inwood organized by Inwood Art Works which supports ongoing creative happenings of all kinds. Check it all out here.
In Pelham, very close to the Bronx border’s northeast section, there are many ongoing art exhibits and events at the Pelham Art Center. Check them all out here.
Have a great week and weekend, everyone. I hope you have the time to check out something above!
Peace, Paz, Salaam, Shalom,
Jordan