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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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Join us for another excellent night of live music featuring NYC based artists that stretch across all genres of music and style.
This month we're very pleased to have The Tall Pines performing for our HomeGrown series. They've played with the likes of Charlie Louvin, Norah Jones and Justin Townes Earl among other greats, and their first self-titled album was named one of top ten best albums of the year by NPR's Meredith Ochs.
We're equally pleased to have Daughter Vision performing the late set. When they take the stage you can expect a multimedia, theatrical, sexy, philosophical experience. Blythe Sword is a new project featuring the vocals of Blythe Gruda and the music of Anton Sword. The band recently returned from a European tour where they delighted fans with their electronic textured dark ballads. Skunkmello returns to follow up on their great performance at HomeGrown last year. The band will be fresh off their date at SXSW and energized for a top notch set at Bowery Electric.
--March 18th: The Tall Pines, Blythe Sword, Daughter Vision, Skunkmello
8:00pm - Skunkmello, 9:00pm - The Tall Pines, 10:00pm - Blythe Sword, 11:00pm - Daughter Vision
Doors: 7pm, Music: 8pm, Cover: $10
The Bowery Electric, 327 Bowery Street, NY, NY
Hosted by Art for Progress
--April 22nd
We Deliver presents “Mother Earth Jam”
In celebration of Earth Day…
Featuring: Wyland, Polyvox, Blythe Gruda, Idgy Dean
Doors: 7pm, Music: 8pm, Cover: $10[...]
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10 years ago
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It was a cold Saturday afternoon, but I was motivated to trek over to Chelsea to check out the Kitchen Girls & Toy Boys show at Rush Arts Gallery. Artists Sindy Butz and Sol Kjok are participating artists in the show and have both worked with AFP on various projects.
It didn't take long for me to identify Sol's very large piece, "Strings Attached" as I walked into the gallery. Her figurative work bursts off the canvas with great detail and her use of color brings out the emotion in her characters. In this piece the characters are strung together and appear to be grasping and climbing over each other while still maintaining a certain co-dependence.
I was impressed with the overall quality and diversity of the work in the show. The work of Reinhold Gottwald caught my attention. His colorful, small, abstract pieces on wood are hung/arranged as if they are a group of planets sharing the same solar system. I found Markus Fiedler's beeswax sneakers quite intriguing and an interesting piece(s) to be included in the show. I was impressed with the incredible detail he was able to achieve using beeswax.
I noticed Sindy crouched down on the floor, but I didn't realize that her performance had already begun. What is she up to this time? Sindy's not afraid to take on the not so obvious social issues of the day. Her thought provoking work continues to evolve and this performance would not disappoint. The message on the floor read, "The West Tastes like Gold." As Sind[...]
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10 years ago
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Katya Grokhovsky has been climbing up the ladder of success within the art world for the past five years. Most recently the School of the Art Institute of Chicago MFA graduate's work was featured in the Huffington Post in an article entitled “Ten Badass Emerging Female Artists You Should Know.” This coincides with Katya's work in the show Immediate Female is on display through March 8th at Judith Charles Gallery. It is Katya's tremendous work effort and the bold subjet matter of her art that is helping her to make waves.
Currently Katya is the artist in residence and teaching assistant at the New York Studio Residency Program in DUMBO. She is also working with the Philadelphia based gallery and performance space Vox Populi as their curatorial fellow in addition to with her own online platform. I recently spoke with Grokhovsky about her work, feminism and where she thinks the role of interdisciplinary artists fits into today's ever evolving world.
Anni Irish: What do you think it means to be an interdisciplinary artist in today's art world?
Katya Grokhovsky: I am still grappling with the various labels attached to being an artist today. I see the term interdisciplinary even though I use it as a band aid--an explanatory metaphorical bridge for all the various mediums an artist utilizes in their practice. I am more inclined to think of disciplines as fluid, mediums as transitory, ideas as central and genres as limitless.
AI: So do you think that means that labeling [...]
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10 years ago
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My cousin, Carine Williams, a litigation lawyer based in New York, represents people and companies who are under government investigation or prosecution. Her pro bono work has included helping to overturn the convictions of people like Herman Wallace, who spent nearly 42 years in solitary confinement, longer than any other person in the United States, for a crime he didn't commit. "I enjoy working with folks through what can be a very harrowing ordeal--the criminal legal process," Williams shares. Despite her heroic work, Williams remains modest: "There's no single achievement I'm most proud of, but I am especially honored (and humbled) that my clients trust me, value my judgement, and seek my guidance with mammothly difficult decision-making."
Click on link below to find out more about this crusader’s most prized fashion items after the jump.
Black Pants
I love clothes that remind me to feel good in the skin I'm already in. This most often involves figure fitting pieces in stretchy--forgiving--fabrics. I'm also a sucker for any textile that feels rich and smooth to the touch. These pants are perfection. I can wear them anywhere--as fancy as it gets or as grimey. They're completely comfy. The leather patches along the leg are buttery soft. Most often I wear them with a black top, which makes me feel both understated and kind of bad ass.
Lela Rose Dress
My most glamorous aunt--who was with me while I was shopping for work clothes--insisted that I buy favor[...]
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10 years ago
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Yes, we’re almost two weeks into 2015, so please forgive the lateness of this list—we’re just now recovering from a great New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day spent with the Bunker and 718 Sessions crews. But it’s never too late to support the home team, right? In the underground-clubbing realm, the fact that there’s been so much great music created by Gotham artists and/or released on local labels over the past twelve months is another sign of the scene’s strength—and really, we would could have made this a Forty Fave NYC Tracks list without breaking a sweat. But, for now, let’s go with the five below—click on the images to hear the tracks. Enjoy!
Siren
“Gauntlet”
Compost
There’s a windswept feel to “Gauntlet, ”the long-awaited first fruits of a studio partnership between Metro Area’s Darshan Jesrani and the Disques Sinthomme label’s Dennis Kane. It might be the majestic guitar chords, or the wailing vocals (from Apollo Heights’ Daniel Chavis), or the cut’s spacious arrangement and willingness to take its time to get wherever it’s going. Whatever it is, the song is something of an overlooked modern classic. And holy crap, does that pumping bassline hit the spot! There’s a fine remix from London groove machine Ray Mang that tightens up the song’s feel a bit—he basically houses it up, toughening up the rhythm and accentuating the acid bleep, giving it an added sense of urgency. But for our money, the sprawling original does the trick just fine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?[...]
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10 years ago
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For the past couple of weeks, the focus of the AFP Young Adult Music Program has been an in depth study of the basic mechanics of jazz. We have been working on Etta James’ “At Last” for the past couple of months, but we have now begun to break down the chord progression into a series of key changes, and to investigate how we can navigate those changes using scales. We have been breaking down the requisite parts of the chords into the bass movement, the harmonic color notes, and the melody notes, and observing how each note relates to the key, to the chord, and to the function of the chord in the progression.
Jason has been learning to walk the bass, playing the notes that clearly indicate the movement of the chords, while Raymond, Alex and Gabriel have been learning chord voicings on guitar and piano, observing the movement of the functional character notes from chord to chord. We have been identifying which notes change from chord to chord and which ones stay the same. This is helping to elucidate how the flow of the song works. We have also been looking at how the order and character of the chords indicate which key we can play in at any given time, and where to modulate to a new key.
With this knowledge, we can determine exactly what function each note of the melody plays from a diatonic harmony perspective. All of this is very analytical and confusing of course, but with the foundation of knowledge these guys have accumulated over the past four years, it is beginnin[...]
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10 years ago
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In association with Art for Progress (AFP) Déjà vu art exhibition, the group will host three exciting events during the two week show that features 14 international artists.
Following up a fantastic opening night on October 30th, AFP will host an evening of unamplified sounds from its talented stable of musical artists at the space on Thursday, November 6th at 7:00PM.
Barry Komitor, AFP’s Arts Education Program Manager and a teaching artist, will play an acoustic set followed by Jeremy Danneman from Parade of One. Plus, a surprise special guest performance.
On Sunday November 9th, Art for Progress will host a brunch titled, Drones, Donuts and DJ’s from noon to 3pm at NOoSPHERE Arts.
On opening night, artist Essam’s drone installation garnered much attention as people approached the space on Houston Street and experienced the actual sound from an approaching drone.
As guests approach the space on Sunday the 9th, they’ll also hear the rich, full sound of analog beats (vinyl) being spun by DJ’s Bruce Tantum, Gatto (AFP’s founder & director) and Brett Crenshaw.
And let’s not forget the donuts! Other than ice cream, donuts are one of the most loved foods in America! So, join us for brunch and enjoy a prominent topic of conversation, quality analog music and of course, donuts!
Although we’ll be sad to see the exhibition close on November 12th, it will be an exciting evening as we host an artist talk from 6pm-8pm with NYC based artists Essam and gilf!
We [...]
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11 years ago
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As AFP has now launched its new website, I am excited to be the fashion blogger. As the Fashion Director of Art for Progress, I have worked with the organization from our first event over ten years ago. The organization has matured from a small group of local artists and designers, into a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization comprised of an international representation of art and fashion. I look forward to bringing my insight and love of fashion to the AFP blog. I welcome your comments as well.
Here we are in that time of year where fashion has to stand up to the heat. That usually means style comes in at a distant second to comfort and coolness. With trips to the beach and alfresco dining, everyone wants to be free of complicated ensembles. Now that summer is officially here, lets be cool and comfortable with flair! As artists and art lovers convene here at the AFP site, fashion reflects our sense of creativity and individuality. Here are a few images from some interesting designers who manage to combine ease and versatility.
-Allyson Jacobs
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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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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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