Bronx Music Hall to Open!
And Lots of Bronx Openings, Concerts, Theatre and More ...
I thought I’d start with a thank you for the paid subscribers thus far. It is the wind at my back to keep doing what I’m doing and building on it. I am truly grateful. Art All Around Us is welcome to ALL. Paid subscription is not required but if it you value this newsletter, and want to see it continue and grow, I hope you’ll consider becoming a paid subscriber. Thanks!
So, how cool is this? …
Did you know that Bronx Music Heritage Center has new digs right across the street from Boricua College on East 168th Street. It’s called the Bronx Music Center. I knew that from setting up a time to meet with Elena Martinez, BMHC’s co-artistic director (in photo above), who was nice enough to show me around the space and meet a bunch of other cool folks (listed in caption above). But I didn’t know what a beautiful, incredible space it is until I got there. Take a look at the Center’s main theatre that is almost completed.
And there will be a performance at Bronx Music Center Saturday, April 13, with Bobby Sanabria (in first photo above) and the Multiverse Big Band. It starts at 4 PM with panel discussion and the band performs from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. (There’s more info at BMHC’s IG: @bxmusic) And the excitement there is just beginning!
My Exhibit Opening This Weekend …
This Saturday afternoon, April 6, there will be an opening of my solo art/photography exhibit opening at Poe Park Visitor Center from 12 to 3 PM (the time I listed in my last post is incorrect). It’s just a bit south of the corner of Grand Concourse and Kingsbridge Road. (The D-train stops right there and the 4-train is just a few blocks away. Both are Kingsbridge Road stops.) If you can make it I look forward to seeing/meeting you! Here’s a pic of one of my mixed media works in the exhibit, followed by a photo of mine outside the New York Botanical Garden’s conservatory.
Exhibit Openings (Lots of Them!) and Other Art Happenings …
En Foco co-hosts an exhibit with Wallworks NYC and Judith Escalone, called “Phantasmachina,” a showing of works by Tricia McLaughlin, featuring a selection of drawings, paintings, and renditions of creatures in 3D animation. The FREE opening is this Saturday, April 6 from 1 to 4 PM. More info here.
Lehman College Art Gallery, in Bedford Park, has an artist talk, “Latin American Printmaking in the Bronx” on Tuesday, April 16, from 6 to 7 PM. It’s FREE but you need to RSVP here. There’s more info about exhibit on that link as well.
“Bronx Calling: The Sixth AIM Biennial (Part Two),” at the Bronx Museum launches with an exhibit opening party, FREE to all, on Friday, April 12 from 7 to 9 PM. Check out this page and click on any of the artists’ names and you’ll see an impressive variety of works.
There will be an opening reception for “Never Wait! / ¡Nunca Esperes!” next Saturday, April 13 at 5:30 PM at Bronx Rivera Art Center. The “exhibition showcases the Bronx’s visual arts community in a distinctive light that sets it apart from the rest of NYC.” RSVP for the opening here. It runs through June 8. And “Ingenuity: Art & Entrepreneurship of the Bronx,” continues through this Saturday, April 6 at BRAC featuring “photography and film that reveals the diverse Bronx community through the eyes of seven local artists.”
At Gallery 505 in Riverdale, there will be an opening for “Color of an Independence,” by Jose-Luis Tejeda this coming Thursday, April 4 from 7 to 9 PM. The exhibit is on until June 28.
“Puerto Rico,” by Jose-Luiis Tejeda at Gallery 505 in Riverdale. Bronx Documentary Center presents its latest exhibit, named for photographer Anja Niedringhaus, with an opening Thursday, April 4 from 6:30 to 9 PM. It’s a collection of Niedringhaus’ images from Afghanistan and Pakistan. The show continues through May 5.
There’s a phenomenal photo exhibit at “Conzo: A Look Back at the Bronx, 1977-84,” by Joe Conzo, Jr. at the Bronx Documentary Center in Melorose. The exhibit continues until April 21.
Lehman Art Gallery at Lehman College in Bedford Park continues to feature a great group exhibit, “Variations: Selections From the Benefit Print Project,” through May 4.
Bronx Arts Factory presents an opening reception for the exhibit “It’s Never Too Late to Make Art” this Thursday, from 5 to 8 PM at Gallery 13, 240 E. 153 St. Bronx.
At Wave Hill in Riverdale, Session 2 exhibit of Winter Workspace 2024 is on through this coming Sunday, April 7. Here’s info about upcoming exhibits as well. (Admission is FREE on Thursdays.)
The Orchid Show at New York Botanical Garden isn’t just orchids. It also features an event, Florals in Fashion through April 21.
Speaking of NYBG, did you know that Bronx residents can get FREE tickets for ground access?
Derfner Judaica Museum in Riverdale presents “Aspects of Appearance: Portraits from the Collection in Context,” through June 30.
I went to an excellent exhibit opening of “I Stood My Ground,” a group exhibit at Longwood Art Gallery (led by Bronx Council on the Arts) at Hostos Community College on the Grand Concourse, just south of East 149th Street. More info on the exhibit here. It’s open until May 1. And here’s a photo of Jeong Hur with his artwork.
Jeong Hur with his piece, “It goes in one ear and out the other, 2024.”
Music
Manhattan College Performing Arts in Riverdale, presents a FREE spring concert by Manhattan College Singers, Manhattan College Orchestra, and Mannahattones A Capella on Sunday, April 7 at 3:30 in the Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers. The college is located at 4513 Manhattan College Parkway, Bronx.
There are a bunch of FREE concerts, put on by the Bronx Arts Ensemble, coming up all around the Bronx this month. Check them out.
This Sunday, April 7 at 1 PM, at Starving Artist on City island, Gary Axelbank’s Bronx Music Podcast features musicians Bobby Sanabria and Jennifer Jade Ledesna. You could check it out live with an RSVP, or listen to the podcast. And go here to learn about other concerts and Starving Artist’s weekly open mic.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts has several concerts coming up.
Dance
This Saturday, April 6, from 4 to 5:30 PM, BAAD!Ass Women’s Festival at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (in Westchester Square/East Bronx) features “Dancing While Black: Master Classes for the Masses.” It’s anywhere from FREE to $20. Sign up here.
Theatre
Lehman College presents “Facing Our Truth: 10-Minute Short Plays on Trayvon, Race & Privilege,” on Wed., April 10 at 7 PM and Thurs., April 11 at 1:30 PM. The shows are FREE. It’s being performed at the Lehman College Studio and Theatre Building, 250 Bedford Park Blvd., just east of Jerome Avenue.
This Saturday, April 6 at 7 PM and Sunday, April 7 at 2 PM, Poor Mouth Theatre Company at An Beal Bocht Cafe in Riverdale presents “Bumbled,” an “Irish tragicomedy with an eco twist,” by Colin Hamell and Bernard McMullan. Tickets are $20. For more info on this and a bunch of concerts at An Beal Bocht, click here.
Barebones Production from People’s Theatre Project presents “Missing Socks and Line of Coke (or The Baby Theatre Play,” at Pregones/PRTT with four shows from April 12 to April 14. You can get tickets here.
Workshops/Programs for Kids & Teens
Bronx River Art Center, on East Tremont Avenue, provides children’s and teen art classes beginning April 8.
Blue Door Arts Center in downtown Yonkers features many FREE kids’ and teens’ art workshops.
Through its Youth Photo League, Bronx Documentary Center in Melrose offers a “FREE after-school and summer documentary photography programs [that] teach[es] middle and high school Bronx students to use photography, writing, and research to explore social justice issues and prepare them for college and future careers.”
Believe it or not, events above are not every cool creative happening in the Bronx! I put in as much as I can in the time that I have. To learn about even more happenings, though, go to this helpful events page of Bronx Council on the Arts.
And you can always look back at my prior newsletters to learn about other organizations and opportunities that might not be in this edition.
Hope you enjoy something from above in the very near future!
—Jordan
This is a gold mine, Jordan! We’ll be away for two weeks in April, and will have a couple staying in our house to take care of the cats. They’ve asked for ideas of what to do that are off the beaten tourist trail. I look forward to sharing this with them when we meet next week. Thank you!!! (Of course, I’m glad to have it for myself, as well.)