Bronx
New York
Bronx River Art Center Newsletter - May 2023
Arts and Entertainment
May 4, 2023
From: Bronx River Art CenterEducation
New Classes Added to the Spring Semester!
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
May 6th to June 24th
Join us for Digital Photography on Saturday mornings from 11am to 1pm, starting on May 6th! Learn the digital techniques involved in creating photographs, from composing your shot to producing your final print. You will learn how to make photos with deep and personal meaning from professional photographer Vicky Azcoitia. Vicky is a NY-based artist skilled in documentary photography focusing on the natural environment and people’s relationships to it.
TEEN PROJECT STUDIO +2.0
A Bronx Tale: Graffiti (Style Writing) to Street Art
May 16th to June 15th
Application for Teen Project Studio +2.0 for Spring 2023 is now open! TPS is a FREE (by application) program limited to 15 students and will meet twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 6pm, starting May 16th. The program is a unique opportunity to experience and learn about visual arts & the creative industries in an interactive and challenging way.
The theme for this semester is A Bronx Tale: Graffiti (Style Writing) to Street Art. This class will cover the history of New York City graffiti, highlighting Bronx "Style Writing" innovators. This is a studio-based course that will be taught by Jonathan "Heavylox" Berry: one of the original Bronx-based graffiti artists of the 1980s who is now commissioned to do wall works around the world.
Exhibitions
ARTIST STUDIO PROGRAM: SPOTLIGHT
Solo Exhibition by David Cavaliero
May 18th to June 17th
At the culmination of the first 2-year residencies of our Artist Studios Program (ASP) in our restored facility, Bronx River Art Center is initiating a new project of solo exhibitions to periodically focus on an individual studio artist’s trajectory in the development of their work. The first of these shows will be a solo exhibition of artist David Cavaliero, surveying 10 years of his work. Please join us on Thursday, May 18th for a wine and cheese reception from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM. The exhibition will run through June 17th.
GALLERY HOURS:
Tuesday - Friday: 2:30 - 6 PM
Saturday: 12 - 5 PM
Gallery hours are only in effect during the exhibition dates.
Public Programs
DEBATE: BALDWIN VS. BUCKLEY
5-Borough NYC Tour of Historic Clash Between James Baldwin and William F Buckley Jr.
Saturday, May 13th, (Two Showtimes) 3pm and 7pm
Bronx River Art Center is proud to present the critically acclaimed production of Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley from the american vicarious. Adapted and directed by founding Artistic Director Christopher McElroen, this staging of the historic clash between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr. stars Teagle F. Bougere (Broadway’s The Tempest with Patrick Stewart, A Raisin In The Sun with Phylicia Rashad, and Ivo van Hove’s The Crucible) as Baldwin, and Eric T. Miller (Mope at the Ensemble Studio Theater) as Buckley, with Spencer Hamp and Charlie O’Rourke. BRAC is thrilled to have been chosen as the site for the Bronx leg of this Five Borough NYC Tour!
Join us for an unforgettable live re-staging of an epic confrontation pitting Baldwin’s call for a moral revolution in race relations against Buckley’s unabashed elitism and implicit commitment to white supremacy. Visit our events page for more information and promo codes. This production is specially discounted for BRAC registered students, as well as for seniors, youth under 18 and SNAP recipients.
Events Page and Ticket Listings
ANN ROGGEN
Viola and Piano Musical Performance
Thursday, May 25th, 7pm
Violist Ann Roggen, alongside pianist Nelson Padgett, present Underrepresented Women Composers - Their Stories and Music. The musical performance will explore the works of Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Jessie Montgomery, and Gabriela Lena Frank.
Florence Price and Margaret Bonds were BIPOC women composers during the 20th century who were tremendously marginalized during their time, and are only now gaining the artistic recognition they deserve; meanwhile, Jessie Montgomery and Gabriela Lena Frank are modern-day composers. With this show, Roggen aims to bring to light the beauty and imagination of these women's compositions and dismiss the notion that classical music is a realm of art reserved for the elite.
Upcoming in June
BRAC's 20th Annual
Bronx River Sounds
Performing Arts Festival
Roots of Rhythms: Celebrating our Caribbean Diversity
Eight Shows Over Four Weekends
June 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24
This June, Bronx River Art Center is pleased to present our 20th Annual
Bronx River Sounds Performing Arts Festival
This year's theme is
Roots of Rhythms: Celebrating Our Caribbean Diversity.
Headlining our opening weekend will be Cuban-American Latin Jazz pianist and composer Elio Villafranca on Saturday, June 3rd, 2023. Headlining the closing weekend on June 22 will be Two-Time Grammy winner and Bronx native Will Colhoun (of Living Color) with his ensemble of Afro-Futurism Jazz.
Additionally, the festival will present performers delivering traditional Puerto Rican Bomba Y Plena, West African dance, Salsa, Reggae, and more.
Check our website by May 13th for more information on the performers and tickets to all shows.
Opportunities
BRAC Artist Studio Program
Now Open for Applications
Deadline Extended to Wednesday, May 17th
The second round of artist studio residencies at the Bronx River Art Center are now available for up to two years, on a year-to-year basis, at less than 50% market rate. Professional artists working in various visual art disciplines including: painting, photography, sculpture, video, installation and new media are welcome to apply.
Selected artists will have the opportunity to produce new work and make use of BRAC’s extensive resources in support of their creative practices including: presenting their work in select exhibitions, connecting with local and international curators, art critics, and other artists from BRAC’s creative network and participating in an annual Open Studios event, which will allow studio artists to engage with the general population of BRAC's students and community.
Application due date is May 17, 2023, with projected occupancy by July 1st. Artists will be selected on the strength of their portfolio of work, statement of intent and an expressed interest to work within the Bronx community. The program is seeking professional artists with a developed studio practice and who are not currently enrolled in a college or university degree-granting program. Sixty percent of the studios will be prioritized for artists living or working in the Bronx.