August 2023 Grantee Events

TWEED TheaterWorks

Garden Variety
August 1 - August 15, 2023 at 7:00 PM
6&B Garden, corner of East 6th Street and Avenue B

TWEED TheaterWorks presents Garden Variety, a free performance series at historic community space 6&B Garden in the East Village. This summer’s series will include music, dance, and performance by artists including John Kelly, David Greenspan, Unitard, Carol Lipnik, Gordon Beeferman, VickyKristinaBarcelona, and Bergman & Bloustein.

Find more information at https://www.tweedtheater.org/

Grant Program: Creative Engagement

Yasuyo Tanaka

Learning History, Creating Future
August 1- August 24, 2023
Manhattanville Community Center, 530 West 133rd Street, New York, NY 10027

“Learning History, Creating our Future" explores paths to a healthy, peaceful future by learning about the beginnings of the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb in NYC. Using research materials and discussions, participants create a Manhattan Project historic sites map. All classrooms in the Manhattanville Community Center have Hawaii-themed displays. The war between the USA and Japan began with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, followed by the internment of Japanese-Americans, the USA’s development of atomic bombs, and dropping them on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This war ended with the Japanese acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration. Through our classes and our exhibition we learned local history and its connections to the world. We’ll share our information and talk about what we can do to build a sustainable future.

Thursday, August 3, 3-5 pm, Origami Workshop/Presentation of Manhattan Project Historic Sites Map

Thursday, August 10, 3-5 pm, Peace Walk to Manhattan Project Historic Sites/Collaborative Teaching

Thursday, August 17 3-5 pm, US Military Bases in Hawaii and Okinawa by Regina Corpus and Yasuyo Tanaka

Find more information at https://fb.me/e/1p7gGWMub

Grant Program: Creative Learning

Bonita Oliver

Openings
August 5, 2023 at 4:30 PM - 8:30 PM
342 Pleasant Ave (Between 118th and 119th streets) 

Openings is a facilitated workshop followed by a performance exploring the use of words in shaping our being and the impact of the word "black". Inspired by the poems and speeches of Audre Lorde, Openings utilizes sound, movement, film and art installation to create an immersive, interactive experience for attendees of all ages.

Openings was created as a response to gentrification and its impact on communities of color- particularly highlighting how it has impacted the Pleasant Village Community Garden, where the event will primarily take place.

This event begins with a poetry workshop from 4:30 pm-6 pm EST, followed by a performance from 6:00 PM - 7:10 PM, 7:10 PM - 7:15 PM Vocal Parade, 7:15 PM-7:45 PM Community Poetry Slam, Music and Dance, 7:45 PM film screening followed by Q&A reception

Please register in advance to attend on August 5th. Please hold a rain date for August 12th.

Register to attend here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/openings-tickets-661478077737?aff=oddtdtcreator

Find more information at http://www.bonitaoliver.com

Grant Program: Creative Engagement & UMEZ Arts Engagement

Re-Entry Theater of Harlem

Re-Entry Theater of Harlem
Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 4:00 PM
Mt. Zion AME Church, 1765 Madison Avenue, New York,  NY 10029

Reentry Theater of Harlem (RTH) is an independent nonprofit program developed, by and for people who have lived experience in the U.S. penal system. Our mission is to empower and support people in safe and creative spaces as they make the difficult transition from prison back to society and become positive contributors to their families and communities. RTH utilizes art, rituals, and theatrical rites of passage to help individuals address and overcome the shame, stigma, and trauma of incarceration. RTH culminates in a theatrical performance that represents a threshold crossing that is transformative for the participants, and healing for their families and for the wider community.

Find more information at http://www.Reentrytheaterofharlem.org

Grant Program: UMEZ Arts Engagement

Matthew Westerby Company

The Harlem Project
August 8, 2023 at 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Richard Rodgers Amphitheater, Macrus Garvey Park, Harlem

Join us for the Harlem Project! A celebration of dance in the community. 75 performers - professional dancers & young people from across NYC - come together for performance in Marcus Garvey Park. Pre-show activities - Family Zumba, a DJ set and art-making. Free for everyone!

Find more information at https://www.matthewwesterbycompany.org/

Grant Program: Creative Engagement & UMEZ Arts Engagement

Dongshin Chang

Two Takes: The Peony Pavilion
Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM
Frederick Loewe Theatre, Hunter College. 119 East 68th Street, New York, NY, 10065

“Two Takes: The Peony Pavilion” comes to New York City this August juxtaposing a contemporary reimagining (“Bloom”) and a traditional performance (“Dream”) of a revered Chinese classic in one program. In the modern adaptation “Bloom” (written by Liqing Xu, directed by Tianding He, and produced by Yining Cao), a young Asian queer woman, over the course of an evening, encounters a Lover who transforms into the various queer people in her life she never had the courage to pursue, while simultaneously, her mother has her own awakening. In the classical kunqu version “Dream” (presented by the Kunqu Society), Du Liniang, a young maiden of sixteen, visits the deserted back garden of her residence with her maid on a spring day. The visit to the vibrancy of life in springtime lulls her into a daydream in which a young man passionately courts her by the peony pavilion in the garden.

Find more information at https://www.twotakespeonypavilion.com/

Grant Program: Creative Engagement

Taylor Geu

Roxx Populi
August 25, 2023 at 7:00-9:00 PM
NYC LGBTQ+ Center • Rm 301, 208 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011

Join the creative team of "Roxx Populi," an episodic audio drama following the transfeminine master thief Roxx Populi, at the world premiere of the pilot episode, “The Dead Body Makes It Kinda Gay.” Roxxie loves being a supervillain. Sure, all her fights with superheroes are false flag operations created by DARPA, the weapons development firm, but as far as jobs go, this one ain’t bad! But when her bosses betray her, Roxxie goes rogue and decides to get even by stealing the body of deceased superman, Captain Wraythe. But is Roxxie just motivated by petty revenge, or is there a deeper fire driving her? And once she’s accepted it, can the superhero industrial complex survive it?

Find more information at https://www.taylordoddgeu.com/roxxpopuli

Grant Program: Creative Engagement

Elliott McGee Casanova

Arepa Coalition Project
August 25, 2023 at 7:00-9:00 PM
El Barrio's Artspace, Main Gallery : 215 E. 99th St, New York. NY 10029

The making of a Colombian and Venezuelan staple that seeks to highlight a shared story of culture between two Latin Diaspora, each claiming to be the birthplace of arepa.

Arepa Coalition Project is an interactive and choreographic Venezuelan hybrid performance that combines culinary, storytelling and dance; including music with contemporary tunes; fusing modernity and tradition. It will be set in a space that emulates a Colonial Spanish house’s patio. Developed by visionary artistic director and choreographer Elliott Ortiz, in collaboration with choreographer Julieta Valero and playwright Lupe Gehrenbeck, the cast: Laura Bolivar, Laura Petit, Nataly Bravo, Leigh Atwell, Cynthia Cortés, Alessia Secli, Julieta Valero, and Jonathan Colafrancesco. Don't miss this unforgettable journey to the heart of Latin American culture. Experience the Arepa Coalition Project at El Barrio's Artspace on August 25th at 7pm. Visit: www.d10projectnyc.com. Tickets: Eventbrite: Arepa Coalition Project.

Find more information at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/arepa-coalition-project-tickets-665749062367

Grant Program: Creative Engagement

Laura Nova

Plant Wisdom
August 25, 2023 at 7:00-9:00 PM
El Barrio's Artspace, Main Gallery : 215 E. 99th St, New York. NY 10029

Gather for this drop-in hands-on workshop at M'Finda Kalunga, the garden on the edge of the world, to create cyanotype images with plant wisdom from a healing habitat. Contribute to the community quilt to protect the garden's London Plane "Tree Hotel" which provides canopy, nourishment, and food for migrating birds. Together we will identify the flora and fauna, share healing memories and create cyanotypes of ingredients inspired by these stories. This photographic printing process uses a mixture of iron compounds, which when exposed to UV light and washed in water, oxidizes and creates Prussian blue images.

Find more information at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/680176575447

Grant Program: Creative Engagement

Faces of Harlem

August 5 – November 30, 2023
Opening Celebration: Saturday, August 5, 2023 12pm-4pm, Morningside Park (114th St. entrance)
Morningside Dr, New York, NY 10026

FACES OF HARLEM (FOH) is a public art initiative celebrating Harlem through the lens of 10 contemporary photographers. Inspired by the Harlem Renaissance and the neighborhood’s ever-changing diaspora, this outdoor exhibition invites residents and visitors alike to learn about Harlem while uplifting the experiences of local Black, Indigenous and Latinx communities.

For this third edition, Founder and Chief Curator Sade Boyewa El and Co-Curator Madeleine Budd for the youth showcase, continue the mission of inspiring meaningful conversations, fostering connection, and bridging some of the many visible gaps in the community through personal images of our Harlem neighbors. By documenting Harlemites in their intimate spaces, we want to give viewers a deeper look into family life, creativity, faith, relationships, and love within our community. This year again, we're bringing teen perspectives into the mix by inviting 5 Harlem youth photographers to share their work with you.

Find more information at https://www.facesofharlem.com/

Grant Program: Creative Engagement & UMEZ Arts Engagement