Category archives: Community Art
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12 years ago
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Art for Progress is pleased to present its 2nd annual music and arts festival, Artists4Equality which will take place on Friday, June 28th through Sunday 30th at Solar One Park on NYC’s East River (East 23rd Street). Artists4Equality will feature three incredible days of music, performance and installation art from exciting emerging artists and more established headline acts.
Solar One Park is the perfect outdoor summer venue for the festival which will kick off on Friday evening June 28th. The opening night will feature live music performances from some of the most exciting emerging talent in NYC including the super talented Ellis Ashbrook, while Saturday’s focus will shift to DJ and electronic music culture with DJ Hector Romero headlining the evening. On Sunday, NYC Cielo resident DJ Tedd Patterson will headline the night as both live music and DJ’s share the stage.
Cutting edge performance and installation art will be featured all three days as we turn the park into a virtual adult playground of art & music.
Confirmed Artists: Hector Romero, Tedd Patterson, Ellis Ashbrook, Kim Holleman, Idgy Dean, Andy Slate, Gatto, Roxy Cottontail, Kevin Graves, Daniel Maldonado, Cat Del Buono, Berette Macaulay, Dennis Sebayan, Comandante Zero, Sindy Butz, Bonesugar, Atilla the Hun, Sal Leone, Sherri Aliberti, Barry Komito, Chaisley Lussier, Caridad Sola and many more TBA..
Artists4Equality will take place on gay pride weekend in NYC and will feature many artists from the LGBT[...]
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12 years ago
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On Tuesday March 12, the AFP music program at Humanities Preparatory Academy was fortunate to host Jeremy Danneman of ParadeOfOne for a special multimedia presentation to students. Mr. Danneman is a truly unique artist with a poignant social message that made a palpable impact on the students and their perspective on art, music and world events. The presentation involved showing students slides, playing both live and recorded music, and discussing his experiences having visited Rwanda and Cambodia, two countries that have been recently ravaged by genocide. He shared stories about and recordings of musicians he was fortunate to encounter in these locales, and collaborations he performed with them, despite having possessed no other means of communication with them save for an interpreter. His enthusiastic explanations of his motives for doing this type of work and colorful retelling of his experiences illustrated beautifully the potency of music and arts to bridge social divides, and to introduce a new, living meaning to cultural exchange and painful, but important world events. The presentations culminated with live performances by Mr. Danneman on saxophone and clarinet, and in one case included myself playing guitar in an impromptu musical improvisation that tied together the power of all the skills that students have been learning in class for the past semester. AFP would like to thank Mr. Danneman for visiting our classes, and look forward to hosting him again soon along wi[...]
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12 years ago
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This week's update on the Art for Progress art education programs features a brief introduction to some of the students in the AFP music programs, as well as some photographs by Paula Parker from the AFP visual arts programs, including student artwork. Sherif, a senior at Humanities Prep, moved to New York City from Cairo, Egypt last summer, and was always an eager student in my music class throughout the past semester.
Sherif spent most of the first several weeks of the semester playing a D chord rather roughly on the electric guitar. Although I continuously suggested that he learn another chord, he continued to focus on the D chord, lifting one finger at a time to hear the variations. Since he seemed to derive such joy from that one chord, I encouraged him to listen to the tone of the strings and demonstrated to him that there were different sounds that could be evoked coaxing them out of the instrument rather than hacking at the strings. Sherif has since developed his D jam into a more coherent developing piece, and after I lent him one of AFP's classical guitars, he recently exchanged it for an electric guitar and is avidly practicing at home. Sherif fulfilled his arts requirements last semester, but continues to come by the music room at every opportunity and is a regular participant in the Tuesday afternoon student/faculty jam, playing drums, guitar, and occasionally gracing the microphone with his own inimitable brand of freestyle rapping/storytelling. Ever the eager[...]
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12 years ago
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Art for Progress arts education programs have been doing great work this winter, with visual arts programs in place at Landmark High School and Quest 2 Learn NY and music programs at Quest, Humanities Prep, Hudson High School for Learning Technologies, and, most recently, at James Baldwin High School, all in Chelsea.
The Humanities music program, led by teaching artist and musician Barry Komitor, has added an after school student/faculty jam on Tuesday afternoons to two regular classes per day, enabling students to apply the knowledge and skills they develop during school music classes. In a dynamic group environment, they learn an entirely different set of skills and considerations. The group has learned “Zombie” by The Cranberries, and “Twist and Shout”, among other songs, and has regular blues and freestyle jams. Komitor also teaches drums after school at Quest 2 Learn on Mondays, and has begun offering guitar and piano lessons after school three days a week, subsidized by grant monies thanks to the Sansom Foundation. These lessons are to serve students from former AFP programs in the Bronx and Brooklyn, which lost support or funding, including: Christopher Columbus High School Campus in the Bronx (which comprises Bronxdale High School and Pelham Prep as well as the Collegiate Institute for Math and Science [CIMS], all providing students that are participating) and The Academy for Conservation and the Environment in Canarsie, Brooklyn. Lessons are available one of the da[...]
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12 years ago
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HOSTED by: NOoSPHERE Arts, Art for Progress, Amber De Vos, Mike Kronenberg, D'stroy And Rebuild, Joseph Meloy, Moody and many more invite you to a be a part of a positive cause.
Michael Alan will be showing over 20 new and old works, drawings, paintings and prints for Auction in the project space of NOoSPHERE Arts On Saturday, January 19th at 7pm.
The goal of the exhibition is to raise funds to help Alan who has been struggling physically with 2 major injuries in the last year. One of those injuries occurred as a result of a serious car accident in June 2012. Sales on works and donations from friends, family and all attending will be a good starting point to help Alan move on from these hard troubles, and get him the help he needs.
It's been an uphill battle after unsuccessful spinal surgery, dealing with permanent nerve damage and a serious brain injury. This benefit will hopefully allow some relief for Alan by raising money towards his outrageous medical bills, and getting better medical attention than what he has received.
We hope to see you on January 19th. You can help make 2013 a better year for the New York-born and raised, wild child artist Michael Alan. This show is made possible by the help of NOoSPHERE Arts, a fun non-profit artist space in the Lower East Side.
Special Thanks to Klemmens Gasser and Tanja Grunert for their support and concern. Special Thanks to Frames and Framers of Short Hills and Printmor for their help and donations.
This show w[...]
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12 years ago
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Thanks to all who attended our opening at Gallery Bar this past Friday. It was an exceptional night, and we were pleased to have many of the participating artists in attendance. The show will run through January 3rd. If you have the opportunity to check it out, please do. We also have some photos below for your viewing pleasure.
It's been a very busy year for AFP. In March, we leased the Armory on Lexington Avenue in partnership with Fountain Art Fair to produce one of the largest art exhibitions in NYC during Armory Week. This past summer we hosted AFP's first annual 3 day music & art festival- Brooklyn Beat Festival and then launched a 3 month series of music & performance art at the same venue.
In November, we were thrilled to host Michael Alan's "Living Installation" and work with his crew of incredible artists. The show was a great success, and we look forward to working with Michael in the future.
To round out the year as we began, "What's Your Religion" opened on Friday night at Gallery Bar. As mentioned above, the exhibition will run through January 3rd.
AFP's Art Education Program continues to grow and flourish. We are currently working with 5 schools and hundreds of students providing music, visual art and theater classes. We just received this new promotional video that was created by Jewel Fiore, a college level film student.
As of January 1st 2013, AFP will no longer charge a fee for artist memberships. Applications will still need to be approved, [...]
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12 years ago
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We had the opportunity to work with Michael Alan and attend the show on November 9th. It was a great experience to work with Michael and his crew. They really put their hearts and souls into this production, and there is a great sense of community among them. We also used this opportunity to help some of the people in Staten Island who are having a really difficult time. Guests brought food and made donations throughout the evening, and Michael personally delivered the goods to his hometown people in need.
The show itself tells a lot about the man. Given his physical state and the demands of the show, it's clear Michael is a giver and a fighter. The show on November 9th was 8 hours long with a short break after a 4 hour stint. As people came to the door and were greeted by the lovely Caridad Sola, they were asked to pay $20 if they were not on the guest list. There were very few names on the guest list for this show. Many who might have expected to be on the guest list responded, "I'll pay the $20 to support Michael."
To our surprise, Michael contacted us a few days after the show and said he wants to do another show on November 24th. He was so pleased and energized by the last show that he wants to do it again. We're proud to be part of the show again. Below are some great shot's from the show and you can view a fantastic video that captures the essence of the performances.
photos courtesy of Joseph Meloy
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12 years ago
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Art for Progress hosted a student recording project incorporating participants from the 2011-12 Bronxdale High School after school music program, which was open to students from all of the Schools housed in the Christopher Columbus High School campus. The students had written and prepared a song in the weeks before the recording dates, and on August 28th, 29th, and Sept 1, met teaching artist Barry Komitor at Zen Archer Studio in Chinatown. Bassist Jason McFarlane and Guitarist Raymond Moreta were joined by guitarist Randy Rivas, Drummer Jacob Roberts, and vocalists Celeste Pasian and Queen Manson. The group learned about the process of setting up microphones to record all of the instruments, as well as the process of recording a live band.
The group learned firsthand about the level of intensity involved in committing work to a permanent medium. Most importantly, the project focused on the cooperation involved in working as a group with a common goal, including taking initiative and making compromises, and overcoming doubts and fears. The project was a great success and the students each received a CD of a mixed recording of the song to take home and enjoy.
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12 years ago
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New York City Non Profit to host Michael Alan’s “Living Installation” Friday, November 9th at ABC NORIO
Art for Progress (AFP), a NYC 501C (3) nonprofit, is proud to announce its hosting artist Michael Alan’s “Living Installation, Family Misfit Healing” on Friday, November 9th at ABC NORIO in NYC’s Lower East Side.
The epic art performance piece which has been featured in The Huffington Post, Marie Claire, Gothamist, Hyperallergic and many others, is the creative genius of artist Michael Alan. As described by Alan, The Living Installation Project is a human activist art mission. The main goal is reinforcing that humans are living installations by creating a space for people to open up, come together and are all equal through the process of creating art.
After 8 years of creating performance art, Michael Alan was recently severely injured and suffered major spinal damage as well as a concussion. His injuries have affected his ability to walk and perform.
Despite his physical challenges, the Living Installation Project will return November 9th @ ABC NORIO for a special 8 hour healing show.
Family Misfit Healing: No matter how different and odd we all might be we all have the power to heal. Alan while healing after intense spinal surgery will team up with 7 performers to create a world based on acceptance and growth. A strong dynamic family portrait will be born, created from scratch. The 8 hour mega show, a true experience/happening, will be an escape where guests can d[...]
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12 years ago
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Here's some select photos from recent performances.
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