Murals, Music and More ...
...in the Bronx and a Bit Beyond!
I hope you’re having a good summer and having a chance to see, hear, and/or take part in some of the local art of so many kinds happening all around us. Speaking of which, I walked on DeKalb Avenue in Norwood this morning for the first time in a long while, and I came across this gorgeous mural. It’s by Paul Deo (IG @pauldeo), and assisted by artist Shayla Mona’e Russell (IG @theshaymonae). It’s on the side of Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (where my daughter went to pre-school:-). If there’s a mural that you love in your neighborhood, please let me know!
And here are some events of all kinds in the Bronx and a bit beyond:
The new, and exciting, Bronx Music Hall presents a James Baldwin centennial celebration on Saturday, Aug. 17 at 7 PM. (I’ll be out of town, so if you go and can let me know a little bit of what you experienced, I’ll try to include it in future newsletter. Thanks!)
Thanks to the Bronx Arts Ensemble, there are concerts at The Mall in Bay Plaza and Reverend T. Wendell Foster Recreation Center next week. Both are FREE.
“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.)
On Saturday, Aug. 31, from 2 to 4 PM, En Foco presents “Nueva Luz: Open to Discussion,” to learn about the artists' processes, experiences, and challenges using the Nueva Luz Digital Archives to create original projects. Capacity is limited. RSVP here. More info on the exhibit itself 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. FREE.
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. All the 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.
Until Sept. 29 you can see Red Grooms: Drawings at the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers. The exhibit honors Grooms in relation to the 45th anniversary of "The Bookstore," a large creation of Grooms you can walk through. So many more current exhibits and programs there, including one called Summer Saturdays with Pink Floyd!
“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.
At Wave Hill there are two exhibition-related programs coming up: Johny Paleta “will traverse the grounds of Wave Hill, offering a playful and interactive artwork that reflects the beauty of visitors and their communities, and serves as an homage to the street vendor culture of immigrant communities in the Bronx and beyond. And Sunday, Aug 11 is the final day of four spring/summer exhibitions, among them Ruben Natal-San Miguel’s solo Nature Finds a Way (which was extended from Aug 4 to Aug 11).
“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.
The opening for the Latin American Foto Festival at Bronx Documentary Center is on Saturday, Aug. 10. More info here.
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!
Yonkers Public Library in downtown Yonkers has the beautiful Riverfront Art Gallery. Coming up is an Artist Talk this Saturday, Aug. 10 at 2 PM. Artists from the exhibition Radical Joy will be having a discussion and answering questions regarding the show's theme. Next Saturday, Aug. 17 from 1 to 2:30 PM, the gallery presents Poetry of Connection, “a creative journey as we explore the theme of healthy relationships with ourselves, others, things, and the earth through poetry.”
Blue Door Art Center in Yonkers features its annual Members Exhibition “Summer Dreams,” through Aug. 24.
Enjoy the weekend!