Perhaps I am dating myself…BUT…When I was just a kid growing up in the Rockaways, my mother and I would board the Long Island Railroad every Saturday for an hour trip into Manhattan for ballet classes and for Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s concerts at Carnegie Hall. The closest thing we had to culture was the […]
“Put me on your board.” Those were the surprising words Steven Spielberg offered as he accepted the Vision Award at the Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) 10th anniversary gala. Speaking to a crowd of some 600, Spielberg stunned everyone, including Executive Director Steve Apkon and President Janet Maslin, who invited Spielberg to the party. Sitting […]
It’s not often that someone comes along and changes the face of a town. But it does happen once in a while. And, it did happen in the case of Steve Apkon and the Jacob Burns Film Center. Steve moved to Pleasantville in the late nineties, put down his roots, had a second child, decided […]
Ever ask yourself why the arts matter? Here at ArtsWestchester, we ask everyone we meet that question all the time. It’s not because we don’t know the answer, but more importantly, it helps us frame the importance of the arts in a very personal way. Beyond the answers we’ve received, here are a some responses […]
There we were in Albany, us hearty few who care deeply about the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). It was cold. The streets were icy. The halls were full of advocates for many causes. We were there to talk to legislators about the importance of the arts to New York State. Our […]
Robert Redford describes himself as having been a shy, awkward, angry young man, not much different than many of the young men in our own neighborhoods. So, I wondered: “How did he become the quintessential artistic force in America from such humble beginnings?” Drawing was his salvation, he told an audience of 200 at the […]
ArtsWestchester CEO Janet Langsam shares her memories and encourages you to check out the Humphrey Bogart retrospective at Jacob Burns Film Center in November 2010, which creates the experience of an old movie theater. And, read her commentary on saving the old theatres in the county.
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