Bronx Art with Meaning ...
... as Well as Music, Photography, Books and More!
I’ll begin with an arts organization I knew existed, but had never been to. The Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education in Hunts Point is on the sixth floor of a public school (Casita Maria owns the building) that has many programs for kids and adults. It also has regular art exhibits, and this time it’s the work of Bronx artist Carlos Wilfredo Encarnacion, a Bronxite originally from Puerto Rico, “Naturaleza Mutable” at Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education (which is on through March 1.
As CASA explains: “The exhibition, part of Casita Maria’s CelebARTE / Celebrate Yourself Through Art program, includes artworks that visually explore conflicted identity through food and culture while promising that nature or one’s nature is mutable, capable of change.” His materials for much of his work in the exhibit are acrylic and gouache on paper.
You can see more of Encarcion’s wonderful work on Instagram @carloswilfredoart and on his website.
And last night I went to the closing of “Against the Grain: The Stories We Tell Ourselves” at the Longwood Art Gallery at Hostos Community College in the South Bronx. I wish I could have been at the opening, in which case I would have been better able to encourage you to see it. But I’m glad I had a chance to go and talk to artists there, including Yan Cynthia Chen (photo above). Her piece, Citrus and Lavender, grew from having COVID and losing smell and taste. That meant, for example, eating the same kind of food many times, like chicken for example, and that led to her curiosity of smell, particularly “fleeting” smell, she said. So Chen’s work with a variety of citrus fruits on paper pulp that resembles what holds various fruit and vegetables at farmer’s markets, leads to a change in smell, as does the lavender she uses.
You can see Chen’s work on IG @yan_cynthiachen and on her website, where you’ll immediately see a closeup of the work above and other pieces including a few more works of hers which were also in the exhibit.
Theatre, Photography, Books and More …
Pregones/PRTT Theatre in the South Bronx presents “Barba: A Brazilian Body Percussion Musical,” from Feb. 22 - 25.
Focal Point Gallery, owned and run by photographer/artist Ron Terner, on City Island is accepting submissions for its annual Artist Choice exhibit through March 3. It’s “open to all styles and media” the flier says, and states: “If it can hang on a wall, it can be in exhibition,” which will be from March 9 to March 31.
There’s and open call for artists residencies on Governor’s Island due March 10.
There are still great things to see at Lehman Art Gallery in Bedford Park, Bronx Documentary Center in Melrose, Derfner Judaica Museum in Riverdale and Bronx Museum on Grand Concourse in the South Bronx.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Andrew Boryga, a native Bronxite from Bedford Park who had interned at the Norwood News (where I was editor from 1994 to 2011), has a novel coming out, published by Doubleday, called “Victim.” He’s going to be reading from it on March 18 at Lit Bar bookstore in Mott Haven. And here’s a great interview he did with Gary Axelbank on The Bronx Buzz last week …
Open Mics/Live Music
The whole month of March at Pregones/PRTT in the South Bronx features all kinds of cool concerts. Check it out!
Lots of good music going on at An Beal Bocht in Riverdale as usual. There’s no charge, but of course they encourage folks to “Please be generous!” while bringing around the tip basket. In addition to drink’s there’s dinner (and lunch) at An Beal Bocht, too. And open mics (where anyone can sign up that night and take part) are every Tuesday at 9 P.M. to around 11 P.M.
On Wed., March 6, Riverdale’s Musical Open Mic & Acoustic Jam is at Riverdale Steakhouse. It’s hosted by awesome blues harmonica player Mark the Harper. (I play harmonica too, and plan to be there to play a couple of songs with guitarist pal Michael Lewis.)
Speaking of open mic, there’s one this Sat., Feb. 24 at Starving Artist on City Island at 8 P.M.
This Saturday, Feb. 24, at 4 P.M. at the Juneteenth Legacy Project featuring the group Sterling Strings and percussionist Shirazette Tinin, performs at the Bronx River Art Center (BRAC). (Tickets here.) Here’s a video of Sterling Strings performing “Dream On’ by Aerosmith (!) at a subway station a few years ago. (A group photos of them follows.)
Oh, by the way, BRAC calls it an “interactive concert.” How so? “… if you feel moved to sing and dance, absolutely no one is stopping you!” the art org promises. (Wish I could be there that day. Hope some of you can!)
I’ll end with “Making — and Using — a Point,” which I intend to include in this newsletter going forward…
Making — and Using — a Point: Austin Kleon in “Steal Like an Artist”
I’ve read a lot of books in the past few years regarding creativity and starred many good points the authors make. I find many useful and thought you may as well.
Here’s one from multi-artist Austin Kleon’s book, “Steal Like an Artist.” It’s a short book, but the brief tales he tells about himself and other creative sorts he knows and/or loves, make me think, and sometimes even actually do. Here’s one of them:
“If you have two or three real passions, don’t feel like you have to pick and choose between them. Don’t discard. Keep all your passions in your life. This is something I learned from the playwright Steven Tomlinson. Tomlinson suggests that if you love different things, you just keep spending time with them. ‘Let them talk to each other. Something will begin to happen.’ The thing is, you can cut off a couple passions and only focus on one, but after a while, you’ll start to feel phantom limb pain.”
Before reading this, I remember wondering a good few times: “Isn’t it too much to be interested in art, photography, writing, and playing the harmonica all at the same time? Shouldn’t I drop one of them?” Kleon’s point here got me thinking that creativity is in us for a reason. So, just damn do it.
Have a great week and weekend, everyone! And please share Art All Around Us with a friend or two. Thanks!
Beautiful pictures and great information about our art community in The Bronx. Thank you for visiting us.