Art Happenings for the Holidays ... and Before & Beyond ...
12.11.24
Holiday Happening & Art Markets
There will be local artists sharing cards, jewelry, ornaments and more in the 2024 Holiday Bazaar at Blue Door Art Center in downtown Yonkers through Dec. 24. More info and schedule details here. 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.
On Dec. 12 and 29 (both Wednesdays) for FREE, you can walk around Wave Hill in Riverdale at night until 7 PM. There are some evening programs or “simply stroll the grounds.”
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.
Music
On Sunday, Dec. 15 at 2 PM at Bartow-Pell Mansion in Pelham Bay Park, Bronx Arts Ensemble presents jazz vocalist Robbie Pate along with Karol Zabka on drums and Soso Gelovani on bass. Starting at $20. Info and tickets here.
The Bronx Arts Ensemble presents “a night of music and poetry at the Bronx Library Center on Tues., Dec. 17 at 7 PM. Featuring the contemporary works of Puerto Rican composers Dan Román and Angélica Negrón, alongside readings by Emmy-Award winning author and poet Noel Quiñones, this program celebrates the artistry and innovation of Puerto Rican culture.” FREE. More info here.
Check this out: On Sat., Sept. 21, at 3 PM you can join the annual Puerto Rican song procession, led by Bronx Music Heritage Center and its Bronx Music Hall. “Join Bobby Sanabria, Jorge Vazquez, Jose Rivera and other pleneros as we sing and walk through the Melrose neighborhood, ending up at Rincon Criollo.” It starts out at the Bronx Commons residence entrance at 442 E. 162nd St. FREE! More info here.
There’s a lot going on this weekend, and on Tuesday, at Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture. Check it out.
An Beal Bocht, an artsy Irish pub in Riverdale has live music and other artsy events throughout the week.
Poetry & More
I wish these weren’t on the same day at sorta the same time, but at least there’s a choice of what to see that night in, and near, Van Cortlandt Park.
Van Cortlandt Park Alliance and Van Cortlandt House Museum present “Poems about Bronx Slavery,” a reading by poet and Bronxite David Mills on Tues., Dec. 17 from 6 to 7:30 PM. “Mills will read from a new, yet-to-be-published poetry collection, “How the Earth Answers,” focused on slavery in the Bronx.” More info here. FREE!
Art in the Basin, a monthly gathering of poets and all kinds of creatives at Mon Amour Café (on W. 238th St. and Broadway in Kingsbridge), features Bronx published poet Sarah Stern, and others on Tues., Dec. 17 from 7 to 8 PM. FREE!
Theatre
In Woodlawn, Riverdale Children’s Theatre presents “Santa Claus: The Musical,” through Dec. 15, at St. Barnabas Elementary School in Woodlawn. More info here and tickets here. Take my word for it: RCT is an incredible youth theatre company that has won all kinds of awards it really deserves. Our daughter was in many performances, and though she’s now in college, we still go see excellent RCT shows which are also at the University of Mount St. Vincent in Riverdale.
Art Exhibits
Bronx River Art Center welcomes all to an open house student show along with open studios this Sat., Dec. 14 from noon to 4 PM. It also includes art making, holiday photos, music, food, cider, and studio tours. It’s all FREE but reserve a spot here.
At BronxArtSpace “See This Country Clearly,” an exhibit by Jonathan Allen and Michael Paul Britto and curated by Sara Reisman is on through Dec. 21. (There is also an Artist Talk there this Sun., Dec., 15 at 3 PM moderated by Reisman.) It features the artists’ “distinct but complementary practices [that] converge around the politics of civic life … Working in collage, text, public address, video, and installation, Allen and Britto question what it means, in this pivotal time, to be on the right side of history, and how to really see our country for what it is, a flawed democracy, the course of which has shifted away from historically democratic safeguards.” More info here. 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!
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!
And this Thursday, Dec. 12, from 1 to 3 PM, the exhibit features “What’s your story?” where you can just “show up to share your memories of the Bronx, inspired by the photographs on display in the Seis del Sur exhibit. More info here. No RSVP necessary and 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!
A Bit Beyond the Bronx
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, 2025.
At Upstream Gallery in Hastings-on-Hudson (Short drive up the Saw Mill from the Boogie Down) is the Winter Group Show through Dec. 29, which I look forward to checking out, as I haven’t been there in a good while, and they often have excellent exhibits. You can click here to learn, and see, more. (It says “upcoming” on that page but it’s happening right now. FREE!
At the Riverfront Art Gallery (in the Riverfront Library) in downtown Yonkers, the exhibit “Windows and Doors” is on through Jan. 3. “In all of our lives we have windows that can be opened, and doors that we may pass through. Making art can provide opportunities to open windows onto new vistas, and walk out of those doors that keep us held inside.” Check it out. FREE! You can take a Metro-North train from Marble Hill or Riverdale to Yonkers and the library is about a block across from the station.
Dance
Los Nutcrackers: A Christmas Carajo through Dec. 14 at BAAD! (Bronx Academy of Art & Dance) $25. Tickets/info here.
Kids/Adults/Families
This Saturday, Dec. 14 at 6 PM, Mind Builders in Wakefield presents a hands-on workshop focused on board and card games exploring the creativity of Kwanzaa with Bronx-based master woodworker and game designer Amurá. It’s for ages 9 and up. It’s FREE but space is limited. More info here.
Following the workshop that same night there will be performances and “cherished” Kwanzaa traditions. That starts at 7:30 PM. Admission is FREE, but $7 donations are suggested to support community programs.
Have you ever checked out the Holiday Train Show at The New York Botanical Garden? Always fun, and stunning, for all ages. It’s on through Jan. 20. All info here.
BxArtsFactory in Melrose provides a useful series of video lessons on their website for families doing art at home.
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. In fact, there’s a children’s art workshop on making “Holiday Puppets with Eddie Grigg this Sat., Dec. 14 at 10 AM. More info here. It’s FREE but donations always welcome.
Just over the bridge from Bronx to Manhattan on Broadway are art happenings in Inwood organized by Inwood Art Works which supports ongoing events of all kinds. Check it all out here.
In Pelham, very close to the Bronx border’s northeast section, there are ongoing art exhibits and events at the Pelham Art Center. Check them all out 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 on-line sessions for likely applicants re: info and advice on completing the application. You can check out BCA’s website for more info, and the application itself.
BCA also has a listing of additional organizations that provide various “calls for artists.”
Photography
The current exhibition, through Dec. 15, at the Bronx Documentary Center (614 Courtlandt Ave. in Melrose) is the Scholastic Awards Exhibition, on view through Dec. 15. FREE! (BDC’s website seems to be down at the moment, but it is open Thursday and Friday, 3 to 7 PM; and on Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 5 PM. You can call (718) 993-3512 for more info. The photo below is one from the exhibit.
Through April 8, 2025, En Foco and Kreate Hub present the curated group photo exhibit “Entre el Silencio: Meditations on Silence” at WallWorks in Mott Haven. “The exhibition is part of En Foco’s mission to uplift, validate, and preserve the culture and legacy of diasporic lens-based artists.” Click here for more information.
In partnership with Pregones, En Foco 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!
OK, I hope you find some time to explore one — or some — of the above. And just to let you know, the week after next, during Christmas and Chanukah, I’ll be taking a break. But I’ll definitely offer some new happenings next week.
Peace, Salaam, Shalom,
Jordan