Celebrating Two Grammys

Many people ask me “What is an arts council?”. ArtsWestchester is an arts council, one of some six-thousand nationwide, which supports the arts through leadership, funding, programming, education, advocacy, audience cultivation and professional development. “One of the things I love the most about what we do is giving emerging artists and performers opportunities to have their […]

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Miss Saigon Teaches Us

The April 14 opening of Miss Saigon at the White Plains Performing Arts Center reminds us of how wars bring tragic displacement to noncombatants. This musical begins in the former Saigon, and it tells a doomed love story about a bargirl named Kim who falls in love with a U.S. serviceman.  Abandoned by her lover […]

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The Ceiling

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 […]

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A Purposeful Life

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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Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

My granddaughter, as a child, always loved to go for dance lessons at Steffi Nossen School of Dance (SNSD). Not for the lessons necessarily, but she loved to laugh at herself in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors. I always wondered why dance studios had so much “look/see“ space. Shelley Grantham, Executive Director at Steffi Nossen, explained to […]

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Westchester Government Support Results in $1.28 Million Raised for the Arts

This article was previously published in ArtsNews on January 30, but I wanted to share the wonderful news here on my blog, and take the opportunity to thank Westchester County Executive George Latimer and the Westchester Board of Legislators for their ongoing partnership and support. For years, Westchester County Government has matched vital funds for […]

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So, What Are We Celebrating This Thanksgiving?

For many years after my ex-husband Ed and I decided to go our separate ways, his brother Mort would pack his Volkswagen bus with his three children, his ukulele and harmonica, and various Chilean relatives whom he brought here after the fall of the Allende government in Chile. It’s heartfelt to note that back in the 70s, a call from my congressman was sufficient […]

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Does the Devil Wear Prada?

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To be sure, there are many ways to use fabric in the search of artistic meaning. For me, it has been a lifetime journey, starting in my childhood. I was, so to speak, “born to the velvet.” By this I mean to say not that I was a rich kid, but that velvet was an […]

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