National Black Theatre, ArtBridge, Ray & LMXD Unveil 500-Foot-Long Public Art Exhibition in Harlem with Artist, Xenobia Bailey

 

 

 

Image credit: Jon Souza (ArtBridge)

The National Black Theatre, in partnership with ArtBridge, RAY, and LMXD, is pleased to announce Steal Away, a public art exhibition created by renowned artist Xenobia Bailey. This 500-foot long exhibition is installed on the construction fencing surrounding the future home of the longest-running Black theater in New York City. In addition to NBT’s multi-floor space, the 21-story project, designed by Frida Escobedo Architects and Handel Architects under the direction of Ray, will include 222 units of mixed-income apartments and substantial commercial space along 125th Street. The project is Ray’s flagship location and first foray into building residential spaces that center daily engagement with art and design.

Continue reading “National Black Theatre, ArtBridge, Ray & LMXD Unveil 500-Foot-Long Public Art Exhibition in Harlem with Artist, Xenobia Bailey”

Taller Boricua Kicks-Off Fall 2023 Season with Rafael (Chafo) Villamil: Caribbean Trilogy/Trilogia del Caribe

 

 

 

El Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte (Universidad de Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras). In 1961. Image courtesy Taller Boricua

Taller Boricua is proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in conjunction with its “Inaugural Fall 2023 Exhibition Season,” with the exclusive NYC exhibit and opening reception of architect and visual artist Rafael (Chafo) Villamil’s “Caribbean Trilogy/Trilogia del Caribe” Friday, September 15, 2023, from 6 to 9 pm. It will be on view at the Taller Boricua Galleries through October 29, 2023.

Continue reading “Taller Boricua Kicks-Off Fall 2023 Season with Rafael (Chafo) Villamil: Caribbean Trilogy/Trilogia del Caribe”

NYCEDC + HABG Initiative Announce Next Phase of Archaeological Work at Harlem African Burial Ground

 

 

 

A view of the former site of the first Harlem burying ground/African Burial Ground in 1903, viewed from 127th Street near the Willis Avenue Bridge. At that time the site was part of the Sulzer’s Harlem River Park. Image via nycemetery.wordpress.com

In the summer of 2017, the Harlem African Burial Ground Task Force unveiled ten presentation boards in the lobby of the State Office Building on West 125th Street. The boards told an incredible story of a burial ground located on East 126th Street, under the current bus depot, with history dating back to the 1660s ~ and exhumations continuing to this day.

This August, 2023, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and the Harlem African Burial Ground Initiative (HAGBI) announced the beginning of a new phase of archaeological work at the historic footprint of the Harlem African Burial Ground, located within the site of the decommissioned 126th Street Bus Depot in East Harlem on 126th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues.

Continue reading “NYCEDC + HABG Initiative Announce Next Phase of Archaeological Work at Harlem African Burial Ground”

Open Streets 2023 in El Barrio at Restaurant Row + La Marqueta All Summer

 

 

 

Cocotazo at La Marqueta. Image courtesy Uptown Grand Central

This summer, head Uptown with the family for a diversity of dining options — plus a welcoming schedule of weekend fun — at the Open Streets in El Barrio.

Every weekend through Labor Day, the Open Streets at Restaurant Row and the Open Streets at La Marqueta are programmed with street furniture for outdoor dining, games and sidewalk chalk, plus water play when the temps are high. Each street also features a daily schedule of Storytime in partnership with Harlem4Kids, Craft Time with local artisans and Live Music featuring sounds ranging from jazz to Latin to funk and more.

Continue reading “Open Streets 2023 in El Barrio at Restaurant Row + La Marqueta All Summer”

Culture, Creativity & Care Initiative Unveiled in Marcus Garvey Park ~ Sankofa

 

 

 

 

A work in progress, visiting Jerome Haferd’s ‘Sakofa’ with Connie Lee, President, Art Lives Here, Inc., June 16th in Marcus Garvey Park.

Marcus Garvey Park, which is adjacent to both Harlem and East Harlem, was the lucky recipient of a Mellon Foundation Humanities in Place Initiative, with a focus on fostering creativity and care in essential public space.

Administered through Harlem Grown, The Culture, Creativity & Care Initiative will be a two-year project, amplifying Harlem’s rich history and culture, along with its plethora of talented residents, from visual and performing arts to culture and food Programming, unveiling on June 18, 2023 with a ribbon cutting ceremony and artist talks from 2-5pm.

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Artists on Artists, Studio Museum in Harlem Celebrates the Historic Smokehouse Associates ~ August 5, 2023

 

 

 

 

Neighborhood children and Smokehouse’s founding member William T. Williams are drawn to the completed mural site at Sylvan Place (now Harlem Art Park at E. 120th St. between Lexington and 3rd Aves.). Artwork created by Smokehouse Associates. Courtesy William T. Williams Archives

The Studio Museum in Harlem presents the culminating event in celebration of the Smokehouse Associates publication.

Join The Studio Museum in Harlem in Harlem Art Park, the site of one of the Smokehouse Associates’ first painted walls, for a multimedia program featuring sonia louise davis, David L. Johnson, and Shamel Pitts. Through participatory activities and insightful conversation, visitors will be guided through reflections on Smokehouse’s collaborative work and will explore their own connections to—and interpretations of—the collective’s ethos to “let the message be the change.”

Continue reading “Artists on Artists, Studio Museum in Harlem Celebrates the Historic Smokehouse Associates ~ August 5, 2023”

‘Something Beautiful: Reframing La Colección’ at El Museo del Barrio ~ an Ambitious Presentation of its Permanent Collection

 

 

 

Augusto Marín, 1873-1973, 1973. Collection of El Museo del Barrio. Image courtesy of El Museo del Barrio.

El Museo del Barrio is proud to announce Something Beautiful: Reframing La Colección, the Museum’s most ambitious presentation of its unique, complex, and culturally diverse permanent collection in over two decades. Organized by Rodrigo Moura, Chief Curator; Susanna V. Temkin, Curator; and Lee Sessions, Permanent Collection Associate Curator, the exhibition will present approximately 500 artworks, including new acquisitions and artist commissions, through rotating displays over the course of one year. Something Beautiful cuts across traditional chronological, geographic, and media-specific categories, reconsidering the Collection through new interdisciplinary approaches rooted in El Museo del Barrio’s foundational history and legacy. This forward-thinking model focuses on the contribution of Amerindian, African, and European cultures as the basis of visual production in the Americas and the Caribbean.  See list of participating artists.

Continue reading “‘Something Beautiful: Reframing La Colección’ at El Museo del Barrio ~ an Ambitious Presentation of its Permanent Collection”

Celebrating Record Store Day at CCCADI with DJ Sets Spinning, Film Screening + a Pop-Up Shop Selling Vinyl!

 

 

 

Photo credit: Mario Carrion from his film “Record Shop”. Courtesy CCCADI

East Harlem’s Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute will celebrate Record Store Day at 120 E 125th Street with DJ sets spinning a variety of genres on vinyl, a film screening, and a pop-up shop.

This free event, entitled RnBnP Record Store Day: Diggin’ Through Crates, features sets by DJs Hard Hittin Harry (African/Caribbean) and DJ Kamala (Jazz/House). The event’s pop-up shop with vinyl records and roller skates available for purchase will be hosted by The Shop NYC on Saturday, April 22nd from Noon to 6:00pm.

Continue reading “Celebrating Record Store Day at CCCADI with DJ Sets Spinning, Film Screening + a Pop-Up Shop Selling Vinyl!”

Dates Set for East Harlem Open Studio Tour ~ April 22-23

 

 

 

Over the years, we’ve trekked all over the five boroughs viewing works created by artists living and working Uptown. On Saturday, April 22nd and Sunday, April 23rd, local artists will be opening their studio doors for an East Harlem Open Studios Tour from 1:00 to 6:00pm ~ a chance for the public to not only see the artwork, but spend time with the artists.

Continue reading “Dates Set for East Harlem Open Studio Tour ~ April 22-23”

As Part of 50th Anniversary, CENTRO Presents ‘Ida y Vuelta: Experiencias de la migración en el arte puertorriqueño contemporáneo’ at Hunter East Harlem Gallery

 

 

 

John Betancourt, La fuga, 2015, digital print with pigment-based ink on paper, 22” x 33”, Artist’s collection ~ John Betancourt, La fuga, 2015, impresión digital con tintas pigmentadas sobre papel, 22” x 33” Colección del artista

 The Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO) in partnership with Hunter College East Harlem Gallery, has announced the opening of the exhibition, Ida y Vuelta: Experiencias de la migración en el arte puertorriqueño contemporáneo (Arrivals and Departures: Migration Experiences in Contemporary Puerto Rican Art), from March 30th, 2023 through September 30th. The exhibition, a major show featuring 19 artists whose works respond to the processes, causes, and consequences of traveling and living away from their place of origin, will mark the first time in ten years that CENTRO will be partnering with the Hunter East Harlem Gallery, neighbor to the CENTRO Library & Archives, as part of their 50th Anniversary celebrations.

Continue reading “As Part of 50th Anniversary, CENTRO Presents ‘Ida y Vuelta: Experiencias de la migración en el arte puertorriqueño contemporáneo’ at Hunter East Harlem Gallery”

Getting Ready for Summer 2023, Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem is in the News

 

 

 

Marcus Garvey Park w/view of the Acropolis & historic Harlem Fire Watchtower in the background, the current art installation by Art Lives Here on the great lawn, artist Reuben Sinha: Breathing. Madison Ave side near 123rd Street.

Sitting in on the recent CB 11 meeting, Jana La Sorte, the Administrator of Historic Harlem Parks, gave an update on a plethora of good news happening in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem.

The Park, which runs from 120th Street to 124th Street, and from Madison Avenue to Mount Morris Park West, is the home to the historic Harlem Fire Watchtower, the Harlem Drummers, the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, a swimming pool, and from what we heard in this meeting, it may be the new home of Harlem Eat Up!

Continue reading “Getting Ready for Summer 2023, Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem is in the News”

East 125th Street Library One of Five Original Carnegie Libraries to Receive Full Renovation

 

 

 

In 2021, the New York Public Library enhanced, repaired, and expanded public spaces to the tune of over $335 million in a capital construction program. In addition to the highlighted Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library and upgrades to Gottesman Hall in the iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (including the Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures), the Library spent $37.4 million on 30 other branches serving the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Many of these projects were stalled during the pandemic, and have now been restarted. One such project is a complete renovation for five of the original Carnegie Libraries. And one of those five is located at 224 East 125th Street. Below are a few renderings for the new space, including artwork.

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Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop, CCCADI Launches Film Photography Exhibition

 

 

 

Dancing in the Streets South Bronx 1980 by Joe Condo Jr. Image courtesy of the artist and CCCADI

As the world commemorates Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) launches its latest in-person exhibition entitled, Rhythm, Bass and Place: Through the Lens. Launching on March 17, 2023 with a free public reception at CCCADI (120 E 125th Street, NY, NY 10035), this exhibition, featuring the photographs of New York photographers Joe Conzo Jr. and Malik Yusef Cumbo, explores the moments in which musical styles were created in New York City’s African Diasporic communities. From portrait to photojournalism, this exhibition is a testament to a social movement, a cultural renaissance and a communally crafted sound experience that reverberates worldwide.

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Pier 107 ~ Bobby Wagner Walk Reconstruction Project Wants to Hear From You!

 

 

 

The Esplanade Friends’ years of tireless advocacy is paying off, thanks in large part to your continuing support. The Pier 107 and Bobby Wagner Walk Project is finally moving forward. Community Board 11 and the New York City Economic Development Corporation want to hear from you about whether to rebuild the Pier on 107th or 112th St. Register for the February 9th or 11th visioning meetings now.

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The 46th Annual Three Kings Day Parade by El Museo del Barrio on January 6, 2023

 

 

 

Image courtesy El Museo del Barrio

El Museo del Barrio is delighted to present the 46th Annual Three Kings Day Parade and Celebration! Returning to an in-person experience, the Parade’s theme this year is Entre Familia: Mental Health & Wellness of our Communities, giving space and focus to the importance of mental health and wellness, in light of national political and health occurrences these past few years.

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The Historic La Marqueta Night Market Returns for the Holidays with 50 Local Makers, December 3rd ~ 10th ~ 17th

 

 

 

Harlem Night Market 2019 courtesy Uptown Grand Central

Kick off the holiday season in Harlem with the Harlem Night Market at La Marqueta, created through a partnership between NYC Public Markets (run by NYC EDC), Uptown Grand Central, TBo Harlem & Union Settlement. 

Continue reading “The Historic La Marqueta Night Market Returns for the Holidays with 50 Local Makers, December 3rd ~ 10th ~ 17th”

Kevin Quiles Bonilla & Zaq Landsberg Unveil ‘For Centuries, and Still… (anticipated completion) in Harlem Art Park for 5th Anniversary of Hurricane Maria

 

 

 

artists Kevin Quiles Bonilla and Zaq Landsberg created For centuries, and still… (anticipated completion) for Harlem Art Park. In the background, the art installation ‘Growth’ and behind, the historic Harlem courthouse. Photo credit: Zaq Landsberg
  • Save the Date, Sunday, July 30, 2023 from 1-3, for a collective poster-making learnshop with Kevin Quiles Bonilla and Zaq Landsberg in Harlem Art Park.

150E 121ST

Leaning as if falling into the sea, artists Kevin Quiles Bonilla and Zaq Landsberg reimagined a garita from the historic fortresses of Old San Juan, hammered by hurricanes on the fifth anniversary year of Hurricane Maria.

We were on site at the East Harlem Art Park for the installation of For centuries, and still... (anticipated completion).

Continue reading “Kevin Quiles Bonilla & Zaq Landsberg Unveil ‘For Centuries, and Still… (anticipated completion) in Harlem Art Park for 5th Anniversary of Hurricane Maria”

‘Reuben Sinha: Breathing Without Fear’ to be Installed in Marcus Garvey Park in East Harlem

 

 

 

The artist Reuben Sinha with his sculpture, Breathing Without Fear’ in Marcus Garvey Park

Heads-up for all who love watching the installation of outdoor art sculptures ~ on the heals of the deinstallation of  ‘Thomas J. Price: Witness,’ last week, Breathing Without Fear by Art Lives Here artist-member Reuben Sinha will be installed on Sunday, October 16th from 1:00 ~ 4:00pm as a celebration of public art in Marcus Garvey Park. The new temporary sculpture will be located on the east-side oval lawn at Madison Avenue and 123rd Street in East Harlem.

Continue reading “‘Reuben Sinha: Breathing Without Fear’ to be Installed in Marcus Garvey Park in East Harlem”

Art Lives Here Presents ‘Look This Way’ opening at JVS Project Space

 

 

 

Jose Soto, Terminalia: Sculptures of Light. Image courtesy of the artist and Living With Art.

Art Lives Here is thrilled to be back at JVS Project Space presenting a new exhibition featuring three collaborating artist members. Look This Way is an exhibition that takes photography beyond its expected boundaries with sculptures and assemblages that create an unexpected dialogue. In a culture inundated with images, the artists are exploring how visual art informs our perception of essentially everything. Look This Way opening on Saturday, October 8th.

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El Museo del Barrio Announces Exciting Fall 2022 Lineup with Three Exhibitions

 

 

 

Image courtesy El Museo del Barrio

El Museo del Barrio is proud to announce the opening of three new exhibitions this fall: Juan Francisco Elso: Por América, and Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah, and DOMESTICANX. On view in Las Galerías and Room 110, the exhibitions offer new, contemporary revisions on canonical figures and theories from Latinx, Caribbean, and Latin American art history. Juan Francisco Elso: Por América explores the legacy and de-colonial reverberations of the late Cuban artist Juan Francisco Elso (1956-1988), whose work is presented alongside a multigenerational cohort of more than 30 artists from across the Americas. Commissioned in relation to the Elso exhibition,  Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah is a digital artwork that explores the epic journey of a monarch butterfly from a poignant, and timely transnational perspective. Concurrently, DOMESTICANX brings together the work of seven intergenerational Latinx artists to expand on artist and critic Amalia Mesa-Bains’s theory of domesticana, first originated in the 1990s.

Continue reading “El Museo del Barrio Announces Exciting Fall 2022 Lineup with Three Exhibitions”

Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah to Open at El Museo del Barrio

 

 

 

Reynier Leyva Novo, Methuselah. Image courtesy El Museo del Barrio

El Museo del Barrio is pleased to present Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah, from October 27, 2022 to March 26, 2023. Conceived by the Cuban-born and Houston based artist Reynier Levya Novo, the digital artwork virtually reproduces the 5000-kilometer transnational migratory journey of a single monarch butterfly, tracking its travel from southern Canada across the United States to Mexico. Embodied through the life of a virtual avatar, the epic journey is hosted and reproduced in real time on a specially designed, open-access, dedicated website. Commissioned by El Museo del Barrio with the support of VIA Art Fund, the in-person mixed-reality presentation at El Museo debuts in conjunction with the upcoming Fall exhibition, Juan Francisco Elso: Por América.

RSVP for the Public Program & Virtual Project Launch on Thursday, September 22, 2022 at 7:00pm Here.

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CCCADI Announces Date for the Annual AFRIBEMBÉ FESTIVAL: Sankofa to be Held in Harlem Art Park ~ August 13th

 

 

 

 The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI), in partnership with the Friends of Harlem Art Park Alliance (FAPA), is hosting its 4th annual AFRIBEMBÉ FESTIVAL: Sankofa! on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. The free, daylong celebration of Pan-African artistry, intellectuality, and musicality will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Harlem Art Park and throughout East 120th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues.

Continue reading “CCCADI Announces Date for the Annual AFRIBEMBÉ FESTIVAL: Sankofa to be Held in Harlem Art Park ~ August 13th”

The East Harlem Giglio Society Prepares to Celebrate The Feast of the Giglio 2022

 

 

 

Image courtesy East Harlem Giglio

The Giglio Society of East Harlem will hold its annual event from Thursday, August 4th through Sunday, August 7th. Established in East Harlem in 1908 by Italian immigrants from the town of Brusciano, Italy, this is a tradition that has been carried out in what use to be known as Italian Harlem.

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The Historic Casa Latina Music Shop in El Barrio ~ Closing

 

 

 

Casa Latina Music Shop, 151 East 116th Street in El Barrio. This building is currently for sale, along with the three adjacent buildings to the west.

We have sad news to post. Vicente Barreiro passed away on June 5, 2023 at the age of 77 at his home in Queens, NY.

Cristina Barreiro, age 56, passed away on August 31, 2023.

Vicente and Cristina Barreiro have owned and operated Casa Latina Music Shop on 116th Street in El Barrio for more than half a century. We were sad to hear that this historic shop will be closing its doors.

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Task Force Update on Historic Site of African Burial Ground in East Harlem at CB11 Meeting in May, 2022

 

 

 

Image of Church and Farmlands in 1820. The yellow is the historical boundary of the Harlem African Burial Ground. The blue is the historical boundary of the Cemetery for persons of European decent.

In the summer of 2017, the Harlem African Burial Ground Task Force unveiled ten presentation boards in the lobby of the State Office Building on West 125th Street. The boards told an incredible story of a burial ground located on East 126th Street, under the current bus depot, with history dating back to the 1660s ~ and exhumations continuing to this day. This month, The African Burial Ground Task Force updated the community at at CB11 meeting.

Continue reading “Task Force Update on Historic Site of African Burial Ground in East Harlem at CB11 Meeting in May, 2022”

The Annual East Harlem Street Games Set for Saturday, April 30, 2022

 

 

 


Street Games in Thomas Jefferson Park, April 30, 2022. Image credit: Malcolm Pinckney/NYC Parks

NYC Parks celebrated its 13th annual Street Games in Thomas Jefferson Park on Saturday, April 30, 2022.! This FREE family-friendly event featured classic games, including double dutch, pogo sticks, hula hoops, a boxcar derby, and more.

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Katherine Earle, Carol Paik ~ Miscreant Matter Curated by Connie Lee at JVS Project Space

 

 

 

The Exhibition, M from L-R, Artist Katherine Earle, Curator Connie Lee, Artist Carol Paik. Image courtesy Connie Lee and the gallery

With the exhibition Miscreant Matter, artists Katherine Earle and Carol Paik pose the question, “Can we capture all the discarded, rejected, degenerate, degraded and miscreant matter and repurpose it through these small acts of creation?” It appears so ~ today, Earth Day, is the perfect day for this post.

Continue reading “Katherine Earle, Carol Paik ~ Miscreant Matter Curated by Connie Lee at JVS Project Space”

‘Center Focus’ to Spotlight Black Women Photographers at El Barrio’s Artspace PS109

 

 

 Hi-ARTS has joined forces with Black Women Photographers (BWP) for Center Focus. BWP’s inaugural group exhibition, which showcases the work of seven of its acclaimed and emerging members, will run from April 11 to April 29 at Hi-ARTS.

Continue reading “‘Center Focus’ to Spotlight Black Women Photographers at El Barrio’s Artspace PS109”

One East Harlem to be Home to Local Non-Profits including CCCADI

 

 

 

One East Harlem ~ 201 East 125th Street, NYC

The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) announced the signing of a 49-year lease at the organization’s newest location, where they will continue to foster space for cultural equity and racial and social justice in New York City’s arts and culture community. Located at One East Harlem, 201 East 125th Street, the new cultural center will expand CCCADI’s footprint and provide a space where African descendants with diverse cultural expressions and contributions can gather to exchange, search, and affirm their roots.

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‘The Abyss of the Ocean: Cuban Women Photographers, Migrations, and the Question of Race’ Presented by CCCADI in April, 2022

 

 

 

Marta María Pérez Bravo. No son míos, 2008-2010. © Marta María Pérez Bravo. Courtesy of the artist.

The Abyss of the Ocean: Cuban Women Photographers, Migrations, and the Question of Race focuses on identity and resistance through the creative practices of five artists living and working in the United States, Mexico, and Spain. The exhibition reveals the experiences and strategies of survival of María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Coco Fusco, Marta María Pérez Bravo, Gertrudis Rivalta, and Juana Valdés within the matrix of Latinx Art. Through their work, these artists challenge the concept of Latinidad and its relationship to Blackness in the modern/colonial project. Unsettling the totalizing definitions of Cuban, Latin American, and Latinx Art, The Abyss of the Ocean presents key photographic series produced since the 1990s. These photographs lay bare the nuance of the artists’ multiple Diasporic identities while confronting racist and colonialist stereotypes of women’s bodies.

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Raphael Montañez Ortiz: A Contextual Retrospective to Open at El Museo del Barrio on View to September 11, 2022

 

 

 

Raphael Montañez Ortiz with Archaeological Find #22, 1961. Image courtesy El Museo del Barrio

El Museo del Barrio is pleased to present Raphael Montañez Ortiz: A Contextual Retrospective, from April 14 to September 11, 2022, the first large-scale exhibition dedicated to the artist, activist, educator, and founder of El Museo del Barrio, since 1988. Curated by El Museo’s chief curator, Rodrigo Moura, and guest curator  Julieta González, the exhibition spans several decades of his production, from the 1950s to the early-2020s, in different media such as film, painting, photography, video installations, documents, and assemblages. This is the largest exhibition-to-date dedicated to the artist.

RSVP for Exhibition Tours of Raphael Montañez Ortiz: A Contextual Retrospective on Saturdays and Sunday at 1pm and 2:30pm until September 11th.

RSVP for Raphael Montañez Ortiz: Panel Discussion and Performance on Saturday, September 10th from 3-6pm.

Continue reading “Raphael Montañez Ortiz: A Contextual Retrospective to Open at El Museo del Barrio on View to September 11, 2022”

Hi-Arts Announces 2022 Resident Artists. First up ~ Friday Lynton on February 10th

 

 

 

Artist Friday Lynton. Image courtesy Hi-Arts

Hi-ARTS, New York City’s premiere incubator for urban art, recently announced its new cohort of artists-in-residence. The East Harlem nonprofit helps artists — like Radha Blank, Ebony Noelle Golden, Nona Hendryx, Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Dominique Morisseau — develop their works of art into masterpieces, whether they be theater, music dance, visual arts or multi-media. Other artists who have performed or been involved with Hi-ARTS include the late Chadwick Boseman, Yasiin Bey/Mos Def and Sarah Jones.

First up is Friday Lynton, a Brooklyn-based Guyanese-American metal artisan known for her amazing sculptures. Lynton is a resident of SKY LAB, Hi-ARTS’ program that supports socially engaged artists who center community in the development and research of their work, including practitioners who create outside of the traditional studio or theater.

Continue reading “Hi-Arts Announces 2022 Resident Artists. First up ~ Friday Lynton on February 10th”

‘African/American: Making the Nation’s Table’ to Open at The Africa Center in Harlem

 

 

 

The Africa Center and Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) will kick-off Black History Month  with the opening of African/American: Making the Nation’s Table. This exhibition will highlight the many ways African culture has influenced African American Cuisine, and how those traditions have blended to create the foundation for American food.

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10-Story Mixed-Use Building to Rise at 1638 Park Ave at 116th Street in East Harlem

 

 

 

Empty lot at 1638 Park Avenue and 116th Street.. Image via Google Maps.

Yimby gave a glimpse into the future of the empty lot located on the corner of Park Avenue and 116th Street, announcing that permits have been filed for a ten-story mixed-use building with affordable housing at 1638 Park Avenue. The lot is one block west of the 116 Street subway station, serviced by the 6 train. Bernard McNamee, Managing Director of Affect Property Group is listed as the owner behind the applications. Marin Architects is listed as the architect of record.

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El Museo del Barrio’s 45th Annual Three Kings Day (Hybrid) Celebration!

 

 

 

Three Kings Day Poster Illustration by artist Daniel DelValle. Image via El Museo del Barrio.

The 45th Annual Three Kings Day will be celebrated virtually, with some in-person programs in El Barrio this year, with the fitting theme: Samos el Cambio: Protecting the Environment for Future Generations, honoring the work of those who call on us to sustainably steward our environment, and help foster cultural transformation through community empowerment and artistic expression. The Event also takes into consideration the health and safety of the community by celebrating on-line, and presenting a series of activities spread out over several weeks.

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The Harlem Night Market Returns to the Historic La Marqueta!

 

 

 

Harlem Night Market 2019 courtesy Uptown Grand Central

From tamales to coquito, sorrel to sweet potato pie: The Harlem Night Market at La Marqueta is back for the 2021 holiday season, to celebrate the diversity of cultures that make up East, Central and West Harlem. 

Launched to great success two years ago, the market was suspended last season due to the pandemic, but is back in action this December thanks to creators Uptown Grand Central, TBo Harlem, Union Settlement and NYC Public Markets (operated by the NYC Economic Development Corporation). 

Continue reading “The Harlem Night Market Returns to the Historic La Marqueta!”

East Harlem’s ‘Harlem Fresh’ to Reopen After Renovation in January, 2022

 

 

 

Harlem Fresh, East Harlem

After the loss of Serengeti Tea and Rite Aid on 125th Street, we were sorry to see all the empty shelves at Harlem Fresh, suspecting the worst ~ But delighted to hear that the market will close in late November for a complete renovation, to reopen in January, 2022.

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Arnaldo Pomodoro: La Sfera Grande on the Cummings Plaza at Guggenheim Pavilion of Mt. Sinai Hospital

 

 

 

Did you know that an Arnaldo Pomodoro sculpture is on the Nathan Cummings Plaza on the Fifth Avenue side of the Guggenheim Pavilion of Mount Sinai Hospital? We were intrigued and found the following information on this commissioned piece in the Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine.

Continue reading “Arnaldo Pomodoro: La Sfera Grande on the Cummings Plaza at Guggenheim Pavilion of Mt. Sinai Hospital”

El Museo del Barrio Announces an Exciting Fall 2021 Exhibition

 

 

Préfète Duffaut (1923-2012) | Vue de Jacmel avec le pont de Noël | 1968 | Oil on canvas | 33 x 49 inches (83.8 x 124.5 cm) | Collection of El Museo del Barrio, New York | Gift from Gale Simmons, Craig Duncan and Lynn Tarbox in memory of Barbara Duncan, 2007 | emdb acc#: 2007.6.41 | Artwork © [Estate of the artist Préfète Duffaut] | Image © El Museo del Barrio, New York | Photography: Jason Mandella
El Museo del Barrio will open its doors to two new exhibitions this fall: Popular Painters and Other Visionaries and En Foco: The New York Puerto Rican Experience, 1973–74. Expanding on last year’s virtual presentation, Popular Painters and Other Visionaries examines the practices of 42 artists working on the margins of modernism and the mainstream art world in different parts of the Americas around the mid-20th century. Concurrently, El Museo will present En Foco: The New York Puerto Rican Experience, 1973–74, which centers on a single portfolio of 79 photographs by the Bronx-based photographic collective, En Foco. Opening simultaneously, both shows are organized by El Museo’s curatorial department and reflect core values of the institution from its formative Nuyorican formative roots to its continued commitment to expand the art historical canon in the Americas. Each will be accompanied by fully illustrated catalogues, forthcoming in Winter 2021.

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Karen Fitzgerald & Jaynie Gillman Crimmins: Matter and Spirit at JVS Project Space

 

 

 

Artists, Karen Fitzgerald & Jaynie Gillman Crimmins. Image courtesy of the artists.

We first came upon the work of Jaynie Gillman Crimmins last year in the group exhibition ‘Form, Paper, Scissors, at Living With Art Salon. In that exhibition, Crimmins displayed creations from two of her major series ~ ‘In Search of Beauty’ and ‘A Field Guide to Getting Lost.’ Beautiful and thoughtful pieces. So when we heard that she had an exhibition opening this month ~ we were all ears.

The name of the current exhibition is Matter and Spirit. These two entities have a long history of being deeply intertwined, and for good reason. As we engage with the world around us, we also sense something more than what our eyes can see. What that other dimension is has been the subject of many explorations in verbal language – poetry, philosophy, metaphysics – as well as in the visual language of art.

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‘Thomas J. Price: Witness’ an inHarlem Installation in Marcus Garvey Park by Studio Museum in Harlem

 

 

 

Thomas J. Price: Witness in Marcus Garvey Park

The Studio Museum in Harlem announced its fall programming, kicking-off the season with Thomas J. Price: Witness, the artist’s first solo museum presentation in the United States. As part of the Studio Museum’s ongoing inHarlem initiative, the nine-foot-tall bronze sculpture entitled The Distance Within (2021) will depict a young Black man looking down at his cell phone. The large-scale artwork celebrates a familiar form rarely monumentalized within a public setting and continues the artist’s exploration of blackness and Black masculinity as it relates to presence, movement, and freedom.

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Naomi Lawrence: Flowers of Turtle Island Arrive in East Harlem

 

 

 

We knew there had to be a story behind an installation named ‘Flowers of Turtle Island‘, and so it is that artist, Naomi Lawrence, created her large-scale floral installation based on the folkloric tales told by the Lenape and other tribes of indigenous Americans, passed down verbally from generation to generation.

Flowers of Turtle Island becomes the 4th temporary public art installation that appeared in the neighborhoods of Harlem this Summer. Installed at Eugene McCabe Field, the Fiber Art mural completes the public art gallery curated by Connie Lee that begins in Harlem Art Park with Capucine Bourcart’s Plastic Fantastic!, winds through Marcus Garvey park with Susan Stair’s Ascending the Mountain, and ends at Collyer Brothers Park with Julio Valdez’s I Can’t Breathe. An additional art installation will be added this fall.

Beginning with the first of three panels along 121st Street, the image above (corner of Park Avenue) begins with the Black-Eyed Susan; Aster Blue Violets; Echinacea Coneflowers; and Cow Parsley.

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Concrete Safaris Hits the Streets in East Harlem Beginning this Weekend!

 

 

 

Concrete Safaris in East Harlem is hitting the streets this month with three dates for kids to save. Friday, August 6th and Friday, August 13th, get ready for Youth Host Jungle Gym 2021; On Friday, August 13th explore the Youth Host Photo Expo and Streetscape Garden Tour.

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Celebrate Art Kane Harlem 1958 Place ~ a Co-Street Naming on August 12th

 

 

 

Art Kane: A Great Day in Harlem
  • Update ~ This event has been cancelled for August 12th due to safety precautions related to the heat index.

As we approach August, and the return of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, Summerstage, and Jazzmobile’s Summerfest, ~ Uptown Grand Central and Jazzmobile announced the August 12th commemorative street co-naming of East 126th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues. Art Kane Harlem 1958 Place will be named on the 63rd anniversary of the gathering of the 57 jazz luminaries in the iconic East Harlem photograph taken by Art Kane ~ A Great Day in Harlem.

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Logan Hicks: Tunnel Vision comes to East Harlem

 

 

 

Logan Hicks: Tunnel Vision in East Harlem. Images via Taglialatella Galleries

The largest stenciled mural in the world was completed this week by (who else would you expect to do it?) artist, Logan Hicks, located within the East River Plaza complex on 117th Street in East Harlem. How cool is that!

“This started with a vision of going beyond making just a mural. I wanted to make an environment where people could forget they were in the middle of the city  – even if only for a minute.”    ~ Logan Hicks

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CB 11 Presents an El Barrio Park Tour of 14 Parks!

 

 

The Manhattan Community Board 11 Environment, Open Space & Parks Committee present an El Barrio Parks Tour, exploring 14 parks in northern East Harlem!

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Miguel Luciano: Cemi-Libre Block Party Celebration & Exhibition in East Harlem

 

 

 

Zemi Cohoba Stand, creative sculptural expression for the Taino peoples. Image via The MET

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Civic Practice Partnership Artist-in-Residence, Miguel Luciano, is having a party and we’re all invited! The block party is a celebration of his new exhibition, on view at Hope Community Inc.’s Galeria del Barrio, and it is also a celebration of the culmination of Luciano’s there-year residency at The Met.

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Capucine Bourcart: Plastic Fantastic! Arrives in Harlem Art Park

 

 

 

Capucine Bourcart: Plastic Fantastic! at Harlem Art Park. Image courtesy of the artist

Harlem Art Park unveiled its latest temporary public art installation, Plastic Fantastic! With a kaleidoscope of color, artist Capucine Bourcart encourages the viewer to evaluate their own environmental footprint. The large-scale installation measures over 66-feet wide and 7-feet high, demonstrating the abundance of single use plastics and its impact on our public spaces and our environment. Plastic Fantastic! interacts with Jorge Luis Rodriguez’s permanent sculpture, Growth, installed in 1985, along with the unique architectural elements that make this park a hidden gem in East Harlem.

Join artist Capucine Bourcart for Opening Reception and Preview, Thursday, July 8, 2021 from 5-7pm at Harlem Art Park ~ CANCELLED due to weather.

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It’s Back! The Annual Giglio Festival 2021 in East Harlem Scheduled for August 5th ~ 8th

 

 

 

Image courtesy of East Harlem Giglio

It’s back! The Giglio Society of East Harlem announced this week that the annual celebration will take place this from August 5-8, with a free Freestyle music concert on Friday night, and a Children’s Giglio lift on Saturday, followed by a Sausage & Peppers Eating Contest sponsored by Premio Sausage ~ and Sunday, August 8th,The Giglio Lift! Donations will be collected for the American Cancer Society for Breast Cancer and for the Alzheimer’s Association.

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The Ginjan Cafe’ in the Historic Harlem Corn Exchange Building

 

 

Lunch at Ginjan Cafe’ in the historic Harlem Corn Exchange Building, East Harlem

In 2019, Mohammed and Ibrahima Diallo ~ also known as the Ginjan Brothers opened the popular Ginjan Cafe’ in the historic Corn Exchange Building in East Harlem. Opening early every day, they were the place to go for your morning coffee/cappuccino, pastries and Crepes. You may also know them from their popular cold-pressed West African juices (that, by the way, can now be found in all 145 Whole Food Stores in the North East).

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