Bronx Summer Blessed With Art of All Kinds
The above is a piece of my own 9x10 in. pastel on paper. I’ve been doing relatively small pastel pieces this summer, leaving my bigger mixed media projects in the hot attic for a bit :-) Pastels (those of my mom, Sabina Moss, who was a lifetime abstract artist) were the way I began doing artwork a decade ago in 2014, when I was 47, less than a couple of years after having had brain cancer surgery. (Another piece of mine is at the end of this newsletter and you can see more of my artwork and photography on Instagram @jordanmossbx.)
OK, as I’ve mentioned in a previous summer edition, I have a bit of a busy summer (including some fun, thankfully), and some editions through August will not have as many happenings as I regularly provide (including events beyond, yet close to the Bronx, including Yonkers.) But here is a list of great events still happening and a good handful of new events I came across. Hope you have time to enjoy one of them!
This Sunday, Aug. 4, you can join the Bronx Council on the Arts for a fun-filled day at Lincoln Center with a FREE concert from legendary band, Steel Pulse! Also catch a FREE roundtrip ride from The Bronx on Lincoln Center’s Summer For The City Shuttle. Enjoy the Lincoln Center Night Market and more (including a $15 voucher). Upon arrival there will be a moment of welcoming guests with swag bags. Enjoy a wellness workshop titled Mindful Bodies & Reflective Practices at 5 PM and a Haint Blu performance by Urban Bush women at 6pm. Steel Pulse begins at 8pm. To attend, email contact@bronxarts.org (today, Friday, if you can, because event is on Sunday, Aug. 4).
On Friday, Aug. 9, Bronx River Art Center will have a 2024 Summer Classes Celebration, and an artist Artist Talk along with a Pot Luck Pow Wow. Includes a special TPS+2.0 Fashion from 10 AM to 3 PM. Artist talk with Aurelio Del Murio at 2 PM. All FREE. More info here.
Bronx Bookworm Book Festival for kids and families is on Saturday, Aug. 10 from 10 AM to 3 PM at Fordham Plaza. It’s FREE and more info here.
“BronxArtsSpace hosts Bronx-based artists in residence on Governors Island this summer with several free open studios and other events, where visitors can meet the artists and learn about their artistic practices.” Bronx Council on the Arts also presents an excellent show there. I saw them both a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed every second. (More info here.)
Derfner Judaica Museum in Riverdale has an excellent photo exhibit: “Leonard Nones: Essential Workers,” which features Nones’s portraits of staff on RiverSpring Living’s Riverdale campus (also known as The Hebrew Home). The exhibit has been extended through Sept. 8. “The series of 18 archival inkjet prints are tributes to the strength, resilience, and compassion of all the people who work with the Hebrew Home’s residents.” And when you leave the building, or before you head inside, make sure you check out the building’s large sculpture garden with a wonderful view of the Hudson River. You can also see all the photos from the exhibit here.
Through Aug. 18, The Bronx Museum presents the exhibit “Making Room: Museum as Space for Self-Expression.” All the details here. The Bronx Museum is always FREE.
Many music performances and other creative happenings at An Beal Bocht Cafe in Riverdale, including “The Cover Collective” on Monday and Open Mic on Tuesday. All the info here.
The Bronx Bookwork Book Festival at Fordham Plaza (near corner of Fordham Road and Webster Avenue) is on Saturday, Aug. 10 from 10 AM to 3 PM. This time it’s for kids, parents and caregivers. “Join Angie Cruz and Luz Batista for a storytime reading of Angélica and la Güira, followed by an illustration demonstration, a brief discussion about the process of creating the book, and a fun interactive activity inspired by the book!”
There’s a Free Summer Concert Series in parks throughout the Bronx this summer. Here’s the most detailed online list I could find.
“Wonderland: Curious Nature,” at The New York Botanical Garden is on through Oct. 27. Back in May, I was there to discover stunning layouts of colorful plants and beyond in the Garden’s 250 acres, with “sights, settings, and scents of the classic story of ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.’” Check it out.
“A Bronx Writers’ History,” at The Museum of Bronx History in Norwood is on through Aug. 31. Curated by STAFF 161 (TED), the show “highlights the stories and ongoing creativity of Bronx pioneers of writing (“graffiti”) from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The exhibit also features street art by high school students from Academy for Scholarship and Entrepreneurship and High School for Contemporary Arts.” More details here.
All summer art exhibits at Wave Hill in Riverdale listed here.
The opening for the Latin American Foto Festival at Bronx Documentary Center is on Saturday, Aug. 10. More info here.
Here are upcoming concerts/events at the brand new Bronx Music Hall. (It’s a truly gorgeous theatre.)
I was at the opening of Alexis Marie Montoya’s wonderful collage exhibit, “leftovers,” at Casita Maria in Hunts Point back in March but it’s still on through August 16. Check it out!
By the way, if you want to see the flyers I post of upcoming events, follow Art All Around Us on Instagram @artallaroundusbx.
And as I already mentioned, my own photography and artwork can be seen on IG @jordanmossbx.
And speaking of that I’ll end with this photo of another recent 9x12 pastel drawing of mine.
