Harry Bolick is somewhat of a national treasure in that he is one of a handful of fiddlers keeping this tradition alive in our country. The genius of this musician is not just his skill with a fiddle but his pursuit of his roots and musical traditions in his home state Mississippi. On the theory […]
What’s in a name? There’s a new upbeat movement afoot in education circles called Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). It’s a “wishful thinking” piece of legislation in which the expected outcome is right up there in the program’s name. Near as I can tell, it does not carry the baggage of the program it replaced […]
Counting my blessings is a mental exercise I do during the holidays. I don’t plan it. It just seems to pop into my head along with the strains of “Let It Snow.” This year, perhaps triggered by the loss and restoration of county funds for the arts, I began to count our collective blessings as […]
This week, the Westchester County Board of Legislators took a series of non-partisan actions to keep Westchester thriving, by recognizing the importance of the work of the not for profit sector. Democrats and Republicans worked together to restore vital funding for many organizations which support the safety net and quality of life in this county. […]
Some thirty-five years ago, during New York City’s fiscal crisis, a proposal was made to cut the arts. To save them, the chairman of the city’s arts commission likened this foolish notion to the goose that laid the golden eggs. You remember that story: The goose was shot. Disaster. No more golden eggs. Last week, […]
Image: “Peace for Paris” by Jean Jullien It is no coincidence that, in the aftermath of last week’s terrorist attack on Paris, the response heard round the world was one of an original work of art – an image of peaceful protest and compelling unity in the face of tragedy. It was an artist’s original […]
Twenty five years ago, the City of Peekskill announced a new vision. It would boost its revitalization effort by becoming an artistic outpost. At the time, Peekskill hadn’t yet met Livia Straus who, with her husband Marc, established the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in Peekskill. Livia, a force of nature herself, proceeded to pepper the Peekskill landscape […]
In many ways, it’s been all about the people – five decades of forward-thinking arts advocates, civic and business leaders, arts patrons, individual artists, volunteers and arts professionals – coming together to create a one-of-a-kind organization: ArtsWestchester. It began as a conversation among volunteers in a living room in 1965. Now it is a nationally recognized private arts council, the […]
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