This and That by JL

What does Westchester County have in common with Chicago and Boston?  They are all robust creative centers having more than 5% of their businesses designated as belonging to the creative industry sector.  So says a report from Americans for the Arts (AFTA) which cites all three locations as places where designers, photographers, filmmakers, gallerists, musicians and artistic […]

        When I first met George Yancopoulos, I was dazzled… not by his good looks (although he is handsome by any measure)… not even by his scientific acumen (which is impressive by any measure). The thing I admired most about George is his left brain…his artistic side…his je ne sais quoi side… […]

    The word is out, and it’s good news…for the arts…for a change.  It seems the NEA is here to stay.  At least that’s what we’ve been told by Americans for the Arts (AFTA) as they announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2019 funding increases for a number of federal agencies […]

I am trying to wrap my head around a few newsworthy items. One of these is the number and size of dogs jet-setting on airlines. Now I happen to be a dyed in the wool dog lover.  So I asked myself what I might do if I was offered a free trip to Hawaii with […]

When I think of Romare Bearden, I can actually reproduce in my mind colorful depictions of African American factory workers going about their laborious routines. I am less familiar with the artist’s abstract works, which are at the root of his vision. Now, in part through a $45,000 grant from National Endowment for the Arts […]

This week’s “This and That by JL” is a post by Mary Alice Franklin, ArtsWestchester’s prodigious Communications Manager & ArtsNews Editor, who stayed glued to the TV screen to the bitter end on Oscars night. Seems like Westchester is a county of talent, which Mary Alice has assured us of. Through the blunders and flubs, Westchester […]

It seems that ever since the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) was created, it has been under siege. Although it is a tiny agency, less than 0.006% of the $3.54 Trillion federal budget, it has had enormous impact on the quality, abundance and diversity of the arts in America through its 140,000 grants, totaling […]

There is something so very elegant about Henri Matisse. He can take a line and magically turn it into a portrait so recognizable that only a few strokes of his pen are necessary. This French master was known to have said: “If I trust my drawing hand it is because in training it to serve […]