Category archives: Art for Progress
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10 years ago
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Right from the start, it’s clear that Stephen Bradley’s Noble is not a small nor subtle depiction of Christina Noble, the Irishwoman who has devoted her life to helping orphaned and abandoned children in Southeast Asia. The score’s swelling strings and the characters’ obvious intentions create an old-fashioned TV-movie vibe. Yet, this film version of Noble’s (literally) incredible story packs a significant punch anyway, due to strong acting, beautiful cinematography and the palpable spirit of its indomitable subject.
Early in the film, we see Christina as a child (played by the wonderfully sharp Gloria Cramer Curtis) singing in a pub in 1955 Dublin; her Dickensian childhood is marked by a charming but drunkenly abusive father and gravely sick mother, along with a brood of equally destitute siblings. Christina prays fervently in church for things to get better, to no avail; a theme that will recur many times throughout the movie.
Next we see grownup Christina (Deirdre O’Kane) arriving in Ho Chi Minh City in 1989, walking around and taking in the sights, which include many impoverished street children whose plight she relates to and resolves to alleviate. She has an easy way with people, singing for government officials and joking around with a sourpuss hotel receptionist who we know will become an ally by the end of the film. Soon she begins caring for local street urchins, obtains a temporary work visa, and struggles to raise money for a social and medical center for thes[...]
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10 years ago
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This year in honor of Earth Day, Art For Progress put on the "Music Saves the Planet” show at The Bowery Electric. With the tag line "Creative Culture Accelerating Social Change”, the event was meant to "celebrate Earth Day and to raise awareness.” Ticket proceeds went towards the NYC non profit's arts programs. Door prizes from the event ranged from a Gibson guitar to tickets to The American Museum of Natural History.
The evening began with Blythe Gruda. The singer was accompanied by guitarist Graham Norwood and violinist Claudia Chopek. Together the trio started the evening off with that can only be described as genuine, awe-inspiring talent. The opening slot isn’t an easy place to play. The audience is still filing in and/or hasn’t really arrived yet, but you’re still expected to put on a show as if it were a packed house. Gruda seemed utterly unphased and absolutely appreciative of the healthy showing that welcomed her warmly to the stage.
Idgy Dean (Lindsay Sanwald) took the stage second at 9:00. She carried her floor tom on stage with no rock star airs. In a pair of black over alls, she seemed more roadie than rock band. Where was the rest of the band? She IS the band. In fact Dean performs as a one-woman psychedelic rock band. She employs tUnE-yArDs-esque loops and drum beats to create multilayered garage rock that without her trusty pedal board would take a good half-dozen band members to recreate. Throughout her set Dean swapped her drumsticks for her [...]
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10 years ago
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My cousin, Carmela Cirilli Mattson, is a real food chef, teaching probiotic workshops, near her home in New York's Hudson Valley selling cultures for kefir, kombucha and more, and creating delicious Paleo meals for delivery.
Lacto-Fermentation Workshop
Carmela loves the magic that happens with fermented foods---watching raw ingredients transform into amazing, flavorful food is adventurous and fun for her.
Sourdough Starter
But, as she stands committed to reviving "the lost cultured food traditions," sharing her "knowledge to help build a strong real food community," she's also doing it nine months pregnant, simultaneously minding a three-year-old daughter. Yikes!
Ladybug Apple Snack
"Juggling work while parenting hasn't been easy," she shares, including her daughter in her kitchen adventures, teaching her healthy eating habits. "It's been tough working with ferments during pregnancy because I had terrible nausea for the first two trimesters;" Carmela admits. "I had to put my ferments on hold because I couldn't tolerate the smell and taste."
Some "Kombucha" Humor
Luckily, she won't have long to wait before jumping back into fermented foods.
Kefir Milk and Kombucha
In the meantime, she and her filmmaker husband, Tim, are busy preparing for a new addition in their household. While on prescribed bed rest, Carmela took some time out to share her three favorite maternity items.
Jacqueline Colette Prosper, @yummicoco
Deni[...]
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10 years ago
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Art for Progress is proud to announce their upcoming production of Much Ado About Nothing. One of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies, Much Ado also takes a complex look at love, relationships and searching for "self," This production will use the classic language of Shakespeare in a modern setting - demonstrating the relevance of the writer's work in present day. This incredible show will also feature some of NYC's finest actors, comedians and public servants all on stage for a good cause. After production costs - all profits will go to Art for Progress's Education Program - helping young people tap into their artistic abilities.
Soho Playhouse (15 Vandam Street), (212) 691-1555
SHOWS:
Friday, May 29th - 8:00 pm
Saturday, May 30th - 8:00 pm
Sunday, May 31st - 7:00 pmFriday, June 5th - 8:00 pm
Saturday, June 6th - 8:00 pm
Sunday, June 7th - 7:00 pm
To purchase tickets for $25
Director: Alexis Confer
Producers: Frank Jackson (Art for Progress), Jennifer Park, Erin Marsz, Demetri Kofinas
Stage Manager: Angelica Katz
Cast: Erin Marsz, Jerrod Bogard, John Purdy, Kevin Bartini, Langston Belton, Clio Contogenis, David Shakopi, Sam Parrott, Eric Ryan Swanson, Ellen Cheney, Chablis Quarterman, Natalie Hoy, Matt Mykityshyn, Cecilia Faraut, Allison Guerra, Anders Adams, Kezia Tyson, Xiomara Rolon, and Conrad Cohen.
"Creative Culture Accelerating Social Change"
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10 years ago
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Patrik-Ian Polk, creator of the LOGO series Noah’s Arc and subsequent film Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom, as well as Punks (2001) and The Skinny (2012) is one of the few filmmakers around portraying the lives of gay African Americans. His new movie Blackbird, based on the novel by Larry Duplechan, is a coming of age story that is both melodramatic and charmingly offbeat. Shot in Polk’s hometown of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, the film is unusual for several reasons, not least of which is its main character’s plight: a small-town, devoutly Southern Baptist teen heavily conflicted about his homosexuality. It isn't an issue often explored in popular media.
The movie stars sweet-faced, angelic-voiced Julian Walker as charismatic choirboy Randy, who wants desperately to be a good Christian, yet keeps having disturbing (to him) sexual dreams about his schoolmate and friend Todd, on whom he clearly has a crush. This attraction is obvious to everyone but him, especially his coterie of open-minded friends and fellow drama students, including the wisecracking, openly gay Efrem (Gary LeRoi Gray, who has the movie’s funniest lines), football player Todd (Torrey Laamar), who is dating rebellious preacher’s daughter Leslie (D. Woods), and Crystal (Nikki Jane), who wants to lose her virginity to someone she actually likes, i.e., Randy. The kids come up with the idea of putting on a male version of Romeo and Juliet, starring Julian and the incredibly game Todd. Though Randy’s friends are[...]
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10 years ago
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Radio has made a strange sort-of come back. Streaming services, apps, iTunes and the seemingly endless potential of the internet has helped radio transition rather gracefully into the digital age. You can still turn on a radio, flip to a certain channel and find stations, but it's the ability or perhaps the willingness to adapt that has helped bring the other older model radio shows into the future. They have been joined by countless podcast and live streams all of which are as accessible as wifi.
One thing hasn't changed. Whether a show is being beamed to you through your car stereo or through your phone via your Stitcher account, there's still one common factor: sound. Radio is still something you just listen to. It hasn't added another sense or dimension. You just listen. The same way you just listen to an album. It's a simple interaction, but can leave such an impression. A good song can make you cry, laugh or turn off your iPod. The same goes for radio. Here are a couple good shows worth a listen:
+1
Hosts of NPR’s All Songs Considered Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton also record smaller segments, the most recent being about Record Store Day. They two covered what releases to keep an eye out for. Their longest, more regular series All Songs Considered is also worth checking out. It's a good resource when trying to sort of the week's essential listens.
The Mike Herrera Hour
Idobi Radio airs a segment of MXPX’s Mike Herrera podcast, The Mike Herrera Podcast, on F[...]
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10 years ago
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Barcelona-born Brooklynite, pianist Eva Novoa has produced two cds, her debut Trio (with Masa Kamaguchi on bass and Marc Lohr on drums), and Quartet (with Ernesto Aurignac on alto saxophone, Masa Kamaguchi on bass and André Sumelius on drums), both released on the label Fresh Sound New Talent. Before moving to Brooklyn, she lived many years The Hague, Netherlands, studying, and eventually teaching at Koninklijk Conservatorium.
It was in Holland, that she not only learned Dutch curse words, she also how to live in shitty weather: "It's much worse than New York. It may rain 6 days out of 7, she says while chatting in her kitchen, over espresso and Spanish shortbread cookies. "Wherever you go, you're soaked, shoes are dripping water."
Find out about her beloved fashion accessories after the jump, and learn more about this gifted musician at EvaNovoa.com.
Jacqueline Colette Prosper, @yummicoco
Floral Infinity Scarf
I found this floral scarf on my way to work at a musical theatre in Holland. In a country where there's so much wind, and you're on your bike, your scarf eventually flies away.
So you just do this [EVA MAKES A DOUBLE LOOP WITH THE CLOSED-LOOPED FABRIC], and you don't lose it. It's really warm! In Holland, you always have to wear a scarf. even in the summer. The weather sucks, and you have to wear something [warm], or else you'll get sick.
Vintage Little Black Dress From Grandma
For the anniversary of the mus[...]
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10 years ago
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NYC non-profit Art for Progress hosts this special event Wednesday, April 22nd at The Bowery Electric to celebrate Earth Day and to raise awareness. The night will feature an outstanding line up of artists with local pop rockers Wyland headlining the night. The amazing Blythe Gruda will open the show and feature some very special guests followed by a one woman psychedelic rock performance from Brooklyn's Idgy Dean. Indie rockers Polyvox will close out the night with a set of synth driven beats. Tickets are $10 and include the chance to win amazing door prizes from Gibson Guitars and tickets to The Museum of Natural History.
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10 years ago
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Teaching beat making and digital music production is always as much of a learning experience for me as it is an opportunity to share my techniques and skills with my students. This semester at the James Baldwin School, I have been working with a great group of kids with a very eclectic set of sensibilities. Some already have experience using Fruity Loops, FL Studio, Ableton or other production software on their laptops and tablets at home to make beats or tracks. Some are completely new to the process music making. Still others have experience playing traditional analog instruments, and are interested in expanding their musical palettes. The key guiding principle for me as I work to guide each student toward their own personal music making goals is to instill in them an ethic of making music from intention. By this I don't mean that that they need to decide in advance what their music means, or what experience the end listener will eventually have; although that is another, very interesting conversation. I simply mean that I encourage them to develop the skill of hearing the music in their heads, and having a vision of the ultimate result before setting ideas down. This is especially challenging at the present moment, because many production tools, and especially software based production methods enable us to bypass that step by using pre-existing loops and samples, and automatically time syncing them. Some even put them in tune with one another. While this allows for a n[...]
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10 years ago
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https://vimeo.com/124425796
I am sometimes asked to describe my music teaching methodology. Having done this frequently, I have distilled my basic philosophy to a few key themes, which accentuate the contrast between how I approach music education with Art for Progress, and how music is traditionally taught in public schools. There are clear differences in goals, in repertoire, and in what information is considered important to convey.
First, the goals are different at their essence. Traditional music instruction involves learning the mechanics of an instrument and the written language of music notation in order to reproduce pieces of music that have earned their place in the vocabulary of music educators, often, though not always, centuries or decades ago. There is little explanation of the relationships between the elements of music, or consideration of building skills toward creating original music. Traditionally trained players are often discouraged from improvising, and develop an aversion to it and even a fear of hitting wrong notes if they dare explore uncharted territory.
On the other hand, many untrained musicians, often referred to as self-taught, are undeterred by the pitfalls of exploration because they know it to be the path toward discovery. These include many folk, blues, rock, reggae, indie, pop and hip-hop musicians. Rather than learning music note for note from transcriptions, they develop a modular understanding of chords, scales, and riffs, which [...]
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10 years ago
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The greatest reward a teacher can receive from his students is that they exceed his expectations and do work that is inspired, inspiring, and truly reverses the student/teacher dynamic by teaching the teacher something new. I am exceptionally fortunate to have had that experience many times over as a teaching artist for Art for Progress. Two examples that stand out in my mind are: the band Statik Vision and Humanities Prep junior and chanteuse April T.
The members of Statik Vision have been studying with me for almost four years, beginning while I was at Bronxdale High in the Bronx. When I left Bronxdale and came to Humanities Prep in Chelsea, it was important to me and to AFP to continue to provide opportunities for learning to former AFP program participants who wanted to further develop their musical education. Jason McFarlane and Ramond Moreta were students in the same building as Bronxdale (Christopher Columbus HS Campus) who gravitated to the Bronxdale after school program when principal John Chase asked that the program be made open to the entire campus. Upon setting up shop at Humanities Prep the following year, I invited them and a number of other former AFP students to make the trek to Manhattan to attend sessions after-after school. They began to come regularly, and to bring friends who were both talented and eager to learn, and formed a band, T-10. I helped coach the band’s rehearsals, while also allotting time to give lessons in guitar and bass technique, jazz[...]
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10 years ago
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It’s tempting to wonder what Kurt Cobain would have thought about Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the much buzzed-about new documentary by Brett Morgen. On the one hand, he probably would have appreciated the unorthodox visuals, much of it dark, unsettling animation that builds on the musician’s own drawings. He would probably have been OK with Morgen’s use of Cobain himself as the main narrator, through interviews, home movies and notebook entries. But being an easily humiliated soul (one of the film’s revelations) who both craved attention and hated fame, Kurt might have had a hard time digesting such a raw, unflinching portrayal of himself, or really, any portrayal of himself. As the film shows again and again, Cobain was tormented by his own contradictory nature – he both wanted and despised normalcy, success, maybe life itself.
Like Morgen’s The Kid Stays in the Picture (adapted from producer Robert Evans’s autobiography), this is far from a conventional documentary. With its elaborate animation sequences and chaotic audio and video montages culled from films, ads and other sources including Cobain himself, it’s almost an art film – which makes sense given Morgen’s attempt to portray the inside of his subject’s head. It’s not a pretty place.
Montage of Heck (the title comes from one of Kurt’s own audio creations) is the first documentary about the Nirvana frontman that is “fully authorized” by his family. (Daughter Frances Bean Cobain is an executive producer; Ku[...]
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