I am old enough to remember the ruckus created by the exhibition Harlem on my Mind at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1969. A huge controversy erupted in Harlem, as well as in communities throughout the City of New York. The outcry was explosive, based largely on the fact that there were no living Black artists […]
Women’s work is sometimes admired but more often tends to be devalued. This is because it is frequently considered a domestic service. Artist Yohanna Roa wants to change that. In an effort to sort out and applaud the meaning of women’s work, she is installing a work of art in the Janet Langsam Vault Project […]
What is more American than baseball? That is the question I asked myself when I was inspired by an exhibition organized by the African American Men of Westchester with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum called Discover Greatness. ArtsWestchester’s Gallery was filled with portraits of hundreds of players and teams who, in the early part of the 20th […]
Some time ago, ArtsWestchester was asked to weigh in on a selection process of artworks for the $93 million train station renovation at the White Plains train depot. It was quite an occasion, for which we invited Mayor Thomas Roach to join us and give his point of view on the opening selection. We traveled […]
Life can be all about connecting. By that, I mean we all strive to work together with people who are on our own wavelength. The moment I met her, I knew that Rose Luangisa and I had something in common. We both had a passion for fashion. My passion comes from life experiences in the […]
Many artists long for financial success. Their integrity is often a barrier to such a result. Such was the case with Mark Rothko, who received a commission of $35,000, which was unheard of in 1958, to create a series of murals for the Four Seasons restaurant in Manhattan, part of the then-new Seagrams building designed […]
In 17th century England, it was commonplace for a ceiling to be treated as a work of art. Not so much here in the U.S.; however, such practices migrated here and can be found on occasion in places and estates that were meant to reflect wealth. Such an example presented itself when ArtsWestchester purchased its […]
On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I caught up with Mamie Duncan-Gibbs, an actress, dancer and theatrical personality who, for many years, was the artistic director at Youth Theater Interactions – an organization in Yonkers that teaches kids how to use the arts and music to make their lives better. Mamie’s passion now is senior citizens. At 60 […]
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