Experience a wide range of art activities by supporting our Creative Engagement, Creative Learning, and UMEZ Arts Engagement grantees and their events this month.

Gregory Mills
Creating Art from the Heart
May 4, 11, 18, 2024 at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM
Adam C. Powell Building, 163 West 125 Street, New York, NY 10027
June 5, 12, 2024 at 1:00 PM
Abstract Art Exhibition: July 12, 2024 at 1:00 PM

All welcome to create and explore art sessions. Art with curators (prerequisite of basics 1-3). All participants create two art canvases, one to take home and one to donate to the Art Exhibition. Enjoy hands-on learning and create original abstract art on canvases!

Introduction abstract and sewing artmaking
Conceptual Ideas
Paint and Canvas utilizations
Color theory
Design Elements
Textures and canvas appliques
sewing juxtaposing techniques
Creative Conversations
Social Connections
Abstract Art Exhibition

Grant Program: Creative Learning

Barrio Independent Productions
Frenzy Fest 2024
May 1 – 24, 2024
Virtual Screenings
May 17 – 19 & May 24 – 26
Theater Presentations: Friday & Saturday 7:00 PM, Sunday 3:00 PM
El Barrio’s Artspace PS109, 215 East 99 Street, New York, NY 10029

Frenzy-Fest is a Psychological Bilingual Theatrical-Short-Film Festival, intended to raise awareness and reduce stigma on issues of mental health and promote cultural exchange through artistic expression featuring online and at theater. Frenzy-Fest incorporates post-show discussions, giving the audience a voice in creating an empathetic bridge while shifting perceptions.

The films will be running online from May 1st to May 24 (www.bip-nyc.com) and the plays will be presented at El Barrio’s Artspace PS109 on May 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, and 26.

Find more information at: https://www.bip-nyc.com

Grant Program: UMEZ Arts Engagement

The Harlem Stories Project, Inc
HarlemQuest
Thursday, May 2nd, 2024 at 6:30 PM
KIPP Infinity Middle School, 625 West 133rd Street, 2nd floor, Auditorium, New York, NY 10027

HarlemQuest is the very first original production put on by The Harlem Stories Project- where Harlem kids tell Harlem stories. HarlemQuest takes place inside of a video game based in Harlem. All characters (besides Morgan) live within the game itself. The characters and stories and landscape of the world are derived from interviews (conducted in 2023 and early 2024) with the current cast. The show is 30 minutes long with no intermission.

Find more information at https://www.theharlemstoriesproject.org/events

Grant Program: Creative Learning

The Faraway Nearby
From This Blanket
Saturday, May 4, 2024 at 1:30 PM
Print Center New York, 535 West 24th Street, New York, NY 10011

In this collaborative performance inspired by Marie Watt’s sculpture Blanket Stories: Great Grandmother, Pandemic, Daybreak (2021), Kyoung eun Kang and sooim lee will explore cultural heritage, memory, and individual and collective experiences. Kang and Lee—participants in the curatorial project The Faraway Nearby—will use pitch, breath, movement, and silence to weave a narrative that resonates with themes of family, care, and resilience. Organized by Jiyeon Paik.

Find more information at: https://www.printcenternewyork.org/public-programs/calling-back-calling-forward

Grant Program: Creative Engagement

Earth Matter NY
Heritage Farm Cyanotype Workshop Series
May 5, June 16, July 14, and September 15, 2024 at 1:00 PM
Governors Island, Earth Matter NY, 758 Enright Road, New York, NY 10004

This workshop series will teach basic cyanotype printing on paper and fabric, featuring plants and natural pigments cultivated at Earth Matter Soil Start Farms’ Heritage Beds. These four sessions will occur May 5, June 16, July 14, and September 15, 2024, so that a cohort of 15-20 participants of all ages can make art with organic material throughout its life cycle from decomposition to seedling to early growth to maturity to seed again. Take home art every single session! What to expect:

Family-friendly hands-on farming and composting activities including harvesting of fresh and decomposing organic specimens. Digging into the dirt is encouraged in this art-making class!

Hosted at Earth Matter’s Soil Start Farm and Compost Learning Center on Governors Island.

Round-trip ferry tickets are included. Educators:

Bryen Pittner, Farm Artist & Facilitator, Earth Matter

Brian Buckley, Artist & Facilitator

Find more information at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/heritage-farm-cyanotype-workshop-series-tickets-872742725987?aff=oddtdtcreator

Grant program: Creative Learning

24/6: A Jewish Theater Company
TELEPHONE PLAYS 2024
Mondays, May 6 – June 3, 2024 at 12:00 PM
Telephone

Come enjoy a short one-person, uplifting and comedic play followed by a conversation with 24/6: A Jewish Theater Company’s Artistic Director. During COVID, the effects of social isolation have been acutely felt by senior citizens and those who are housebound. In response, 24/6: A Jewish Theater Company has commissioned a diverse group of over 20 playwrights to write 10 minute plays which are performed live over the telephone to seniors and those who are housebound. Each Monday at noon a different play will be performed via DOROT’s University Without Walls.

Find more information at: https://twentyfoursix.weebly.com/

Grant Programs: Creative Engagement and UMEZ Arts Engagement

Washington Heights Community Choir
Washington Heights Community Choir Spring Concert
Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 7:00 PM
Fort Washington Collegiate Church, 729 West 181st Street, New York, NY, 10033

Usher in spring with a free concert featuring living and local composers along with old uncommon works that are sure to become new favorites. Select composers include Rosephanye Powell, Ysaÿe Barnwell, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and local musician Micah Young. The concert will also feature a special guest appearance by student singers from the Washington Heights Choir School! Unable to join in person? The event will also be live-streamed on our YouTube channel. Please visit our website to learn more about the program. Hope to see you there!

Find more information at: https://www.washingtonheightschoir.org/spring-concert-2024/

Grant Program: Creative Engagement

Jermaine Rowe
The Legend of the Rolling Calf
Friday, May 17, 2024 at 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM
LaMama Galleria (47 Great Jones St, 4th floor)

THE LEGEND OF THE ROLLING CALF is a folkloric tale set in Jamaica that follows the souls of the enslaved duppies (ghosts) awaiting a portal to return to life. The reading will be produced by the TEAM and feature Karl Williams*, Oneika Phillips*, Shayne Powell*, Sifiso Mabena*, Remington Allen, Ricardo G. Barrett, Dan’yelle Williamson*, Amanda Bailey*, and Rodney Nelson. Teisha Duncan will be the Director, and Jerome Morris will be the Musical Director. *Appearing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association

Find more information at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSch7ZlWcTtpQnEokvoBXKwzO6i2ZpCMHWxTAr44k1DVSF2HYw/viewform

Grant Program: Creative Engagement

Alexis Mendoza
REALITY OF PLACEMENT
Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 12:00 PM
House #18 Nolan Park, Governors Island, New York

This project is focusing on issues related to geographical displacement and environmental gentrification, two interconnected phenomena that have gained significant attention in recent years due to their profound impact on communities and the environment. Geographical displacement refers to the forced relocation of individuals and communities from their original habitats, often due to various socioeconomic factors. On the other hand, environmental gentrification is the process whereby the improvement of urban environments and amenities inadvertently leads to the displacement of low-income residents as property values and costs of living rise. This photography project explores the intricate relationship between geographical displacement and environmental gentrification, highlighting their causes, effects, and potential solutions. The primary goal of “Reality of Placement” is to bridge the gap between social consciousness and artistic expression.

Grant Program: Creative Engagement

Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum
Greek Jewish Festival
Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 12:00 PM
280 Broome Street, New York, NY 10002

Join the Greek Jewish Festival on Sunday May 19 to celebrate the unique Romaniote and Sephardic heritage of the Jews of Greece! Experience a feast for the senses including authentic kosher Greek foods and homemade Greek pastries, traditional dance performances with live Greek and Sephardic music, an outdoor marketplace full of vendors, arts and educational activities for kids, Sephardic cooking demonstrations, and much more!

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

Grant Program: Creative Engagement

Christopher Bell
East Harlem Historian
Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 6:00 PM
El Barrio’s ArtSpace, 215 East 99th Street New York, NY 10029

Find more information at: https://www.facebook.com/ElBarriosArtspace

Grant Program: Creative Engagement

Michael Jacobsohn
New Plaza Cinema Presents Short Films by New York Filmmakers
Friday, May 24, 2024 at 7:00 PM
New Plaza Cinema, Macaulay Honors College, 35 W 67th St, New York, NY 10023
Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at 1:00 PM

NYC Short Film Showcase at New Plaza Cinema On Friday, May 24 at 7 pm. come and view 9 short films by New York Filmmakers. The screening will be held at New Plaza Cinema, which is located at Macaulay Honors College, 35 W 67th St, New York, NY 10023. Get additional information and order your tickets at: https://newplazacinema.org/coming-soon/ This is a list of the films and the filmmakers who will be screening their films: The Monolith by Angelo J. Guglielmo Jr; The Gallerist by Adam H. Holoubek; Perros Sin Amor/Loveless Dogs by Christina Soto; Nothing Will Ever Be the Same; Lunch Date by Donnie Banks; IMPLOSIONS by Lisa Sherman; We Just Clicked by Mary Wojcik; The Boys Of Late Summer by Roger Hendricks Simon, Pedro Padilla, and Davis Northern.

Find more information at: https://newplazacinema.org/coming-soon/

Grant Program: Creative Engagement

Jesse Obremski
Obremski/Works at Arts on Site
Thursday, May 30, 2024 at 6:30 PM
Friday, May 31, 2024 at 8:30 PM
Arts on Site, 12 St. Marks Place, New York, NY 10003

This inaugural full evening season with FOUR performances at Arts on Site will include the electrifyingly fierce Light-Print, powerfully quiet In-Visible, and the world premiere of GAMAN, all works by Obremski/Works’s award-winningFounder/Director/Choreographer Jesse Obremski. In addition, Obremski/Works 2024 VOYAGER Fellow Hoyori Maruo will showcase a world premiere as well. The works will be performed by an incredibly exciting, deeply grounded, and breathtakingly colorful group of artists of AAPI descent, an artist of indigenous descent, and international artists from Australia, Taiwan, and Japan.

Find more information at: https://www.artsonsite.org/tickets

Grant Program: Creative Engagement