Art All Around Us — 5.21.25
The Ben Shahn exhibit; Theatre in Pelham Bay Park & City Island; Art Openings at Lehman and Longwood; & Much More!
Hey Everyone!
For starters, I’ll just reiterate what I shared in the last edition, as it is an art exhibition so relevant to the Bronx and the entire world …
Last summer I wrote an article for The Forward about the murals a famous 20th century artist, Ben Shahn, created in the former General Post Office on the Grand Concourse back in the 1930s. I’m a huge fan of his artwork, as its stunning intensity can pull the viewer into past battles over injustice that are so relevant to right now.
Though the Shahn murals in the Bronx’s former post office are currently inaccessible to the public (a private developer owns the structure and currently has it up for sale) there is a significant upcoming Shahn exhibition — “Ben Shahn, on Nonconformity” — at The Jewish Museum in Manhattan. It’s a follow-up to a very large exhibition last year at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain. (Dr. Laura Katzman, the curator of both exhibits, was incredibly helpful when I interviewed her for The Forward article.) The shows come at such a critical time, alerting us to an emerging dictatorship in the United States. Art is critical, as are we all, in strengthening our democracy. It cannot exist without our participation. I feel that Shahn’s work, and art in general, can play a critical role in bringing us together to, well, fight the power. The exhibit is on from May 23 to Oct. 12. Hope you can check it out! And if you do go I would love to get your thoughts!
OK, here we go …
EXHIBIT OPENINGS, ETC.
Ever been to Pelham Art Center in Pelham, NY? (Metro North stops right there.) It’s just a bit north of the northeast Bronx and Metro North stops right nearby. If you’re able to make it, check out its next opening reception, on Thurs., May 29: “13th Biennial Alexander Rutsch Award Winner: ransome.” “The artwork of ransome (see photo above) centers on his African American lineage, which is traced back to sharecroppers of the American South who migrated to Northern cities along the East Coast. His pictorial narratives are personal, yet the symbols he uses are universal and interplay with larger social, racial, ancestral, economic, and political histories that inform our nation to this day.” The exhibit is on through July 13. FREE!
Bronx Documentary Center hasn’t had an exhibition for a bit, but it’s just on a brief pause exhibit-wise and returns with an opening reception for the “8th Annual Latin American Foto Fetsival,” on Thurs., July 10, from 6 to 9 PM. If you’ve never been to BDC, this would be a great chance to check it out. It’s FREE and it’s always top-notch photography and crowded with photo lovers of all ages and backgrounds and the work of great photographers from the Bronx and beyond! It’s on through July 20. All the info here.
I really love seeing children’s/teens art exhibits, so I look forward to checking out the show at the Lehman Art Gallery, where the artwork of students from K to 12 will be open to all. It’s just one day (I wish it was longer) on Thurs., June 5, from 10 AM to 4 PM. More info here. FREE!
Longwood Art Gallery, at the Bronx Council on the Arts’ headquarters in Westchester Square, will have an opening reception on Wed., May 28, 6 to 8 PM for “Transformative Impact,” an exhibit that “explores how the production of contemporary artists can impact their communities when addressing social justice and environmental issues that matter most.” The exhibit is on through July 2. All the details here. FREE!
“Van Gogh’s Flowers,” opens at New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx on Sat., May 24 and goes on through Oct. 21. And there’s a members only preview on May 23. All the info here. Photo below. (By the way, Bronx residents can get free access to see most of NYBG. Learn more here.)
THEATRE
At Bartow-Pell Mansion in Pelham Bay Park, there will be seven performances of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” June 8 through June 15. All the info here.
And City Island Theatre Group, right across the little bridge from Pelham Bay Park, presents the play, “Ripcord,” by David Lindsay-Abaire and directed by James Mohn, on June 6 through June 14. All the details here.
Check out this Pregones/PRTT happening at their mid-town Manhattan theatre (they also have an active theatre in the South Bronx): “‘Parrots at the Pagoda,’ inspired by the life of iconic vocalist and prolific trio musician Johnny Rodríguez, takes audiences into the world and music of this legendary Puerto Rican composer, drag artist, and impresario.’” It’ll be on through May 25. All the info here.
Upcoming theatre at Riverdale Y includes “Seussical,” May 25 to 29. All the info here.
And details on Riverdale Children’s Theatre summer session for third to tenth graders are right here.
MUSIC
This Thurs., May 22, the relatively new — and beautiful — Bronx Music Hall (near Boricua College on East 163rd Street) features Bochinchando: Bronx Vaudeville. “Peaches Rodriguez is back this May to host, and we’re bringing: Ruperto Vanderpool, Pork Chopz and DJ KS360.” Tickets $10.
Also at Bronx Music Hall: On Sat., June 7, at 8 PM, as a part of the series “Bronx Rising! The South Bronx Experience,” join host Randy Cohen at Bronx Music Hall for “a special live taping of Person Place Thing featuring multi-Grammy-nominated Latin jazz icon Bobby Sanabria & Ascensión. Through stories and music, Sanabria shares the person, place, and thing that shaped his journey — from the heart of the South Bronx to the global stage.” Tickets are $15, and all the info here.
Several music and dance performances at Wave Hill this summer. Check it all out.
On Sat., May 31, at 8 PM, Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture in the South Bronx features the performance of “Los Rivera Destino (Witty Satire with Music!)” All the info here.
Bronx Arts Ensemble presents “Windscapes” at Christ Church in Riverdale on Sun., May 25 from 2 to 3 PM. It’s a “concert that travels through time and place featuring the BAE Woodwind Quintet. ‘Windscapes’ traces the roots of rhythm — from folk traditions to modern reinventions.” All the info here. FREE!
The first Sunday of every month you can see the Bronx Music Podcast interview of Bronx musicians, hosted by Gary Axelbank, live at The Artist, on City Island.
As usual, there is a lot of great live music, as well as art and theatre, to check out at An Beal Bocht Café in Riverdale. Open mics, with Eric Sullivan are every Tuesday at 9 PM. Writers/Poetry Night with Melinda Wilson & Erin Lynn is on the 2nd Wednesday of every month. Yet there’s so much more. Check it all out here.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in Bedford Park presents Fernando Villalona on Sat., May 31 at 8 PM. All the info here, and a video performance of his here.
FILM
The Bronx Filmmakers Collective, in partnership with Bronx River Art Center (BRAC) and Bronx River Alliance, presents The Bronx River Film Diaries, an experimental documentary workshop and film challenge celebrating Earth Day 2025. Inspired by this year’s global Earth Day theme, “Our Power, Our Planet,” the project centers on the local theme “Our Power, Our River,” inviting Bronx residents to explore their relationship with the Bronx River through personal, poetic filmmaking. It’s on through May 31 at the Bronx River Art Center. All the info here. FREE!
Inwood Art Works announces its tenth year of the Inwood Film Festival, to be held at Columbia University’s Campbell Sports Center in Inwood from May 29 to June 1 just across the Bridge from Broadway in Marble Hill/Kingsbridge. All the info here.
PHOTOGRAPHY
En Foco and Kreate Hub Bronx present the photo exhibit Shifting In Place through Sept. 1 at Kreate Hub in the South Bronx. The exhibition features a curated selection of photographs by artists previously featured with Nueva Luz or the En Foco Archives and Study Center. (Photography exhibit openings in Exhibit Openings, Etc. section above.)
AAAU readers may already know I’m a photographer with a bit of an obsession with peeling paint. Here’s a photo I just took of a fire alarm in Kingsbridge. Do you see a face in it? I saw one after I took the shot.
ART EXHIBITS
Wilfredo BIO Feliciano’s solo exhibition, “king of hearts” at WALLWORKS, NY (now based at Inspiration Point in Hunts Point) is on through June 13. FREE!
The new exhibit at Bronx Museum on the Grand Concourse (part of which is currently being renovated and enlarged) is “Working Knowledge: Shared Imaginings, New Futures.” It’s on through July 6. (All visits to Bronx Museum are FREE!) I was just there on Sunday for a tour/discussion. The art is incredibly interactive, so I bet kids would love it, too. I hope a lot of school classes make a trip there.
Through May 31, the Van Cortlandt House Museum in Van Cortlandt Park features the exhibit, “History Stitched Together: Bronx Bicentennial Quilts.” All the info here. FREE!
Here are all the upcoming art exhibits at Wave Hill in Riverdale.
“Form and Abstraction: A Retrospective” is the current exhibit at the Riverfront Art Gallery, a beautiful space at Yonkers Public Library in downtown Yonkers. It is on through May 23. All the info here. FREE!
BronxArtSpace features the group exhibit, ¡Te Amo Porque S.O.S. Pueblo!, through May 25. All the info here. FREE!
At the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, there are several exhibits to go see, including “It Takes Two: Unexpected Pairings,” through June 1, and “Collection Spotlight: Cityscapes,” which is ongoing. All current exhibits listed here.
Casita Maria Gallery in Hunts Point presents “You CAN Sit Here,” a multimedia solo exhibition by Bronx native Tiffany ‘Tiff McFierce’ McPherson, on through Aug. 16. More details here. FREE!
Riverdale Art Association hosts member exhibits, and its website shares members’ artwork. It also gathers artists to share and discuss their work in person. Check out all it offers right here. And you can see works of members here.
The exhibit “Beyond the Feminist Mystique,” at Blue Door Art Center in downtown Yonkers, is open through June 14. All the info here. FREE! By the way, BDAC is a nonprofit where you can apply to take art in group exhibits. I’ve been part of several shows there and the staff are very welcoming and encouraging to artists of all ages!
Through November, Bronx County Historical Society presents the exhibit “Uptown Rumble: Heavy Music in the Bronx,” Here’s what the show is all about: “While The Bronx is universally recognized as an epicenter for hip hop, salsa, doo-wop, jazz, reggaeton, and many other popular music genres, our borough is ignored in popular narratives about hard rock, heavy metal, and punk rock.” The show, at the Bronx History Museum in Norwood, features photos, flyerz, fanzines, clippings, memorabilia, oral history and more. FREE!
At the Derfner Judaica Museum in Riverdale, the exhibit “Nature’s Persistence: Recent Work by Shelley Haven,” is running through June 29. FREE! All the info and photos here. And here’s Haven with one of her works at YOHO Studios in Yonkers, which just had a wonderful weekend of open studios.
OK, I hope you can find an event or two above to enjoy in the coming week.
Peace, Salaam, Shalom, Paz, etc.
Jordan
P.S. If you want to send me an email, it’s aaaubronx@gmail.com. I also post my own photography and artwork on IG @jordanmossbx.