Happenings – Page 15 – Artists Without Walls

ARTISTS WITHOUT WALLS: MEMBERS' UPCOMING EVENTS

Antoinette Montague will be performing with Jazzmobile on August 6, 2014, 7-9pm at Grant’s Tomb, W122nd St & Riverside Drive, NYC. 212 666-1640. Joining Antoinette will be Winard Harper and Jeli Posse. 212 666-1640

Honor Finnegan will be performing in NJ at the Montclair Center Stage Presents Outpost in the Burbs, Saturday, August 9th, 5:30pm, Church Street at the corner of South Fullerton, Montclair, NJ. It’s an evening of free live music in the heart of Montclair’s Downtown! The Outpost goes outdoors on Church Street for an evening of FREE music in collaboration with Montclair Center Stage! Bring a folding chair/ stop in to one of the local restaurants for dinner or dessert or just come out to enjoy the music!

Tara O’Grady’s band will be performing on Friday, August 15 at Brasserie Magritte. They’re throwing a party to celebrate the Belgian artist Rene Magritte. Reservations highly encouraged, as is vintage apparel from 1920s-60s during the artist’s lifetime. (Men will be given bowler hats). $10 admission – no cover for diners. Tara’s band performs 10pm-1am, but the all day party begins at 11am with a surrealist painting lesson for children. More details here http://brasseriemagritte.com/events/ 1463 Third Avenue , New York City 10028 Phone 646 449 0606

"Home Front: The Collection" by Martin Kleinman — **“Home Front: The Collection” by Martin Kleinman**

Author and native Bronxite Martin Kleinman will be making a special presentation of his book Home Front: The Collection, this Saturday, August 16th, 4-6pm at the Bronx Writers Center, 2700 E Tremont Avenue, Bronx 10461 (#6 train to Westchester Square). Home Front is a short story collection that takes the reader from New York City to Belgium to New England and beyond. Described by author Jennifer Cody Epstein (“The Gods of Heavenly Punishment”) as “diverse, irreverent and grittily lyrical” these tales represent urban street realism with honest lingo and tone, introducing us to a cast of characters both shocking and familiar. The presentation will close with a Q&A where participants can ask the author questions about writing and the publishing process. Books will be available for purchase/signing by the author… No admission. Tickets at Eventbrite

This months Artists Without Walls’ Showcase will be on Tuesday, Augusts 26, 7pm at The Cell Theatre, 338 W 23rd St.

Singer/songwriter Martina Fiserova will be be performing at Rockwood Music Hall (Stage 1) on Sunday August 31st at 6pm. 196 Allen Street, Lower East Side, no cover

ARTISTS WITHOUT WALLS HONORS HANORA O'DEA KILKENNY

The members of Artists Without Walls honored Hanora O’Dea Kilkenny last week for her commitment to the arts, multiculturalism and Artists Without Walls. She and her husband, Noel Kilkenny, Consul General of Ireland, will be greatly missed. Our loss is Athens, Greece’s gain. We wish them all the best.

The following article appeared in this week’s Irish Echo. To read, click on the article below.

MY GRANDMOTHER FROM DUBLIN: A BEAUTIFUL STORY ACCOMPANIED by the PERFECT SONG

STORY: MY GRANDMOTHER FROM DUBLIN: Written by MARTHA PINSON

SONG: ASHOKAN FAREWELL, written by JAY UNGAR, and performed by Doc and the Lady. I urge you to read and listen simultaneously. You can listen by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page.

RHYMES WITH TIME

Someone who loved order must have spared the twin maples twenty paces in front of the old, clapboard farmhouse. They lent a symmetry otherwise lacking and graciously shaded the lawn. The bank dropped sharply to a dirt road and a swampy pasture where weeping willows concealed the Dead River but not the fields rising beyond. All this, common birds and butterflies, a rusty cultivator, and whatever else was carelessly left, formed my Grandma’s view from the long, weathered porch where she worked on summer days. “How can a river be dead?” I wondered.

It was all tangles of green and, like they say in wordy books, “dazzling sunny patches interwoven with deep shades.” The atmosphere was languid, though alive with peepers. High winds and high tensions passed over the tops of surrounding hills.

She sat rather still, did Ellen Marie Kilaren Deeny. (Right, age 16) Tired, I guess, with 77 years behind her by 1951. A hungry child in Dublin, at thirteen she’d crossed the Atlantic where she said, “many brave hearts are asleep in the deep.” Here in New Jersey, she became a dairy farmer’s wife. I later learned of 13 pregnancies in 20 years, two miscarriages, three dead in their first year, seven raised, one dead at 37 from a heart infection. Now, her oldest daughter, also Ellen Marie, my mother, (Below with author) who moved back home after college to help her parents, was ill and (no one dared to think) dying from the same disease.

Grandpa was dead. The only person he could stand was my father, and vice versa. Daddy was good with him, gave him a shave every morning. His father had died some 20 years prior and I guess he thought a crazy old man was better than none. Old Hughie wasn’t suited to his fate. A skilled cabinetmaker, he remembered dancers and teachers among the Deeny’s in Donegal. He was a pretty good farmer anyway, but not good enough against the Farm Depression of the late 20’s and 30’s. Nevertheless, he sent his brilliant children to college, Radcliffe and such.

But somehow, Grandma Deeny accepted all things in life. She loved her children, did what she could, and left the rest to Providence. Daddy said she was the only good Catholic he knew (he loved to exaggerate) and drove her to Mass every Sunday. I watched her, comfortably stooped in a straight chair, wearing an old cotton dress, shelling peas. The soft wind just lifted her wisps of hair. She split the pods, gave me that melancholy smile, and said nothing. I said nothing, too. A child respects a reverie sometimes, I’ve discovered.

Swiped peas are the sweetest, warm as the day as they rolled off her thumb and dropped in the kettle ather feet. I don’t think she minded, though they were to be cooked for supper and many people were entitled. They were mine after all. My mother and father had planted and picked them and so on, and on and on spun my simple universe.

What was she thinking? Did I remind her of herself as a girl of three and make her long for her most green home? Did she wonder where the hungry tow-headed elf with her eyes would find her strength in adversity? Was she recalling her life in the light of the Immortality of the Soul and the Forgiveness of Sins? I don’t know. She was lost to me in the secret ecstasy of woman’s work so rhythmic and expert the mind is free to exult or pine, the eye to be caught by a butterfly. And she stays with me that way.

Still I strain to hear her voice, to find her words. “I’m sorry, Miss, it’s impossible. No records were kept.”

“But I want to know and there’s nowhere else to look.”

“Well, that’s not very good, is it?” says the complacent bureaucrat with finality. Furious, I walk away, but soon silently singing of Ellen Marie.

–Martha Pinson, summer 1982, edited 2011

New York City

Click here for more about the very talented Martha Pinson.

STELLAR LINEUP for AWoW'S SHOWCASE at THE CELL THEATRE, Tuesday 7/22 7pm

Why attend Tuesday’s Artists Without Walls’ Showcase at the Cell Theatre? Here’s what singer/songwriter Jenai Huff said about a recent Showcase: “What an extraordinary night. I feel blessed to have been a witness and a participant to the magic.” Jenai Huff

Here’s the cast of performers:

Russian born actress and model Alessia Sushko and screen and TV actor Sedly Bloomfeld will be performing the death scene from Othello. “I am thrilled to be performing at AWoW again,” Alessia said. “Being able to expand my craft and exercise my performance muscles with the beauty and the complexity of Shakespeare’s language is a gift.”

Jack Feldstein will be presenting his neon animation films, Manhatta (by Walt Whitman and The Atomic Adventures of Jack Kerouac. Originally from Sydney, Australia and now based in NYC, Jack Feldstein is an award-winning scriptwriter and neon animation filmmaker. His scripts “A House Like Any Other” and “Three Months with Pook” have won prizes in Australia and Britain. His neon animations have been screened and won awards worldwide from Lincoln Center in NYC to Rotterdam, The Netherlands. His philosophy is “search for an interesting life.”

Actress/playwright Maura Knowles will be presenting a scene from her new play Insult to Injury, which examines why we should never give up on angels or anyone with broken wings. The piece is inspired by actual events drawn from Maura’s life. Nathania Wibowo is her composer.

Vinnie Nauheimer, a long time advocate for children and a voice against abuse, will be reading two poems that deal with current events related to the abuse of children. The first poem concerns the three hundred abducted Nigerian girls and the second deals with the events recently disclosed about an unwed mother home in Tuam, Ireland. Though thousands of miles and years apart, the stories are very much connected through the apathy shown to the plight of these children.

Serena Jost is a Swiss-American singer/songwriter/cellist whose music invokes vivid emotional landscapes. Serena’s new album, A Bird Will Sing, was exquisitely produced by the legendary Anton Fier (Golden Palominos) and was named one of the Top 50 Albums of 2013 by New York Music Daily. Serena can be seen at some of NYC’s top venues including Brooklyn’s Barbès and Joe’s Pub, and tonight performs both songs from the album and new material.

Rounding out the lineup will be long time AWoW fav Honor Molloy, who will present a segment from Prisoner’s Cinema–the book for a new music-theatre work about three patients held in a long-term psychiatric facility who believe they are Christ and their psychiatrist; John Moran, whose scene from his play “A Cancelled Note,” a story of mystery and forgiving will be directed by Tess Howsam and stars Lorin Partalis and Larry Fleishman, and Steven Silver’s film “The Watchtower” a film about the Westies of Hell’s Kitchen. which stars Steve and AWoW member David Sharp.

Tuesday’s Showcase at The Cell Theatre, 338 W23rd St, NYC begins at 7pm. We hope to see you there. This is a free event.

ARTISTS WITHOUT WALLS' MEMBERS ON THE TOWN: WEEK of 7/20/14

Artists Without Walls presents its “Showcase at The Cell Theatre” on Tuesday, July 22nd, 7pm, 338 W23rd St. Join NYC’s most welcoming art group for a great lineup of entertainment and conviviality. There is no charge.

Tara O’Grady and her trio will be performing at the IBO Summer Party, Thursday, July 24, 2014, 7pm, at The Manhattan Club: 800 Seventh Ave., New York, NY. (212) 582-2975. Join Tara for a special evening featuring great music, a full buffet dinner and an open bar. There will also be two very special guests: Mr. Noel Kilkenny, Irish Consul General and Mr. Peter Ryan, Irish Deputy Consul General. Both men are leaving New York this year to move on to diplomatic appointments in Greece and Hong Kong, respectively. They have been great friends to the IBO, so this is a perfect opportunity for IBO members to personally wish them well on their new appointments.

Members & non-members alike are welcome. IBO Members will receive the discounted price of $40 per person. Non-member are welcome at $50 per person. Price includes 2 hour open bar (7-9pm), live music and a deluxe buffet. Tickets & information available on the IBO website.

Honor Finnegan will be performing in the Schoolhouse Songwriter Series at the Old Franklin Schoolhouse Saturday, July 26at 7:30pm – 10:00pm, 491 Middlesex Ave, Metuchen, New Jersey. Tickets $10

Featuring Honor, Rich Deans, Shayfer James. Hosted by Sharon Goldman Sponsored by the Metuchen Arts Council

And down the road…Antoinette Montague has a busy August and September schedule. Here it is:

August 6, 2014 Guest of Winard Harper Grants Tomb, Jazzmobile

August 10, 2014 10 am-12 noon Bethany Baptist Church
275 W Market St. Newark NJ

August 15, 2014 7 pm Hudson Valley Jazz Fest guest of Chris Persad August 16, 2014 Morristown Jazz Fest. Winard Harper, feat Antoinette

September 3, 2014 12 noon -1 pm WBGO Jazz Series
at the Hilton Gateway 2, Newark, NJ

September 26, 2014 Jazz at Kitano
66 Park Av. at 38th St., NYC

Booking: 203-820-8819 Booking Gwen Evans 973-763-2143

JACK O'CONNELL in the DEREK JETER "RE2PECT" COMMERCIAL

Who’s the doorman in the Jordan/Derek Jeter “Re2pect” commercial? None other than friend and Artists Without Walls’ member Jack O’Connell.

VINCENT CROSS: A NIGHT of BLUEGRASS and AMERICANA in BROOKLYN

This Saturday night, July 12th, 9-11PM, singer/songwriter and Artists Without Walls’ member Vincent Cross will be appearing with EuroGrass at the Jalopy Theater, 315 Columbia St, Brooklyn.

**Shane Kerwin, Vincent Cross, and Billy Failing**

” I’m very excited to be bringing this one-off show to NYC with the incredible Mala & FyrMoon and my colorful troupe of musicians,” said Vincent. “This may be my only show this year with a full-band line up!”

Check out our short little teaser film below that shows the boys working up a tune.

New York friends can join the Facebook invite, and spread the news!. You can purchase your tickets in advance to guarantee a seat.

ARTISTS WITHOUT WALLS: MEMBERS "ON THE TOWN" the WEEK of 6/29/14

Today, from 12 noon-3pm, Deborah Monlux’s Catahoula Cajun Band will be playing at Superfine, a converted warehouse space with open kitchen, live music, bar and restaurant. Located at 126 Front Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, in the Dumbo neighborhood between Pearl and Jay Street.

Take the F train to York Street and walk one block to Front. Make your day complete by walking after brunch to John Street , located between the Adams and Pearl Street waterfront, to see John Street Pasture, an art installation waterfront lot covered with beautiful crimson clover! For reservations or tables near stage, call 718-243 9005 Directions

Singer/songwriter Martina Fiserova is performing at the Way Station, located at 683 Washington Ave btw Prospect and St. Marks, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, June 30th, Monday, at 11pm. Suggested donation for all shows is $5.

Don Creedon’s play, The Lobby will be given a reading on Monday night, June 30th, at 7:00pm. The New Jersey Repertory Company, 179 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ, is hosting the reading, which is directed by Adam Fitzgerald. Tom O’Keefe heads up a wonderful cast, including veteran Irish actors John Keating, Ciaran Byrne, Michael Mellamphy, Rachel Pickup, Matt Golden, Pepper Binkley, Dee Nelson, Orlagh Cassidy, and last but not least, fellow AWoW member, Honor Finnegan, as special musical guest!

The Lobby is an Irish immigrant story, a modern American comedy, and an old-school farce all wrapped up in one terrific new play. A group of Irish ne’r-do-wells do whatever it takes to get ahead in New York. The result is one big, elaborate and extremely hilarious hoax.

BRILLIANT EVENING OF PERFORMANCES at AWoW's SHOWCASE at THE CELL 6/24/14

“How many more amazing things can I say about Artists Without Walls? It’s an amazing community and an incredible lineup of diverse artists. Thank you for the plug on my show and for the major hugs of support. I love these people.” Erin Layton

“Yes! Last night’s Artists Without Walls Showcase was exhilarating as was evidenced by the energy and smiles at The Cell . Thanks for putting together another evening of performances for the memory book.” Marty Plevel

—–

Honor Molloy began the evening by reading “What’s Taken,” an expressionistic segment that was dropped from her novel Smarty Girl – Dublin Savage. This piece features Noleen O’Feeney and her father trapped in the ruins of her childhood home. Afterwards, someone asked Honor why it was taken out of the book. “Because it was far too abstract for the audience I wanted…but not too abstract for the gang at AWoW.”

: Honor Molloy

The silvery voice of Jenai Huff combined with the critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Eugene Ruffolo in a performance of two original tunes written by Jenai and one by Eugene. Eugene followed with a song written in Italian, which will be part of his next CD scheduled to be released in the fall. His beautiful timbre and romantic language delighted the audience.

From the moment Yvonne Cassidy began to read from her latest novel How Many Letters Are in Goodbye? she held the audience spellbound. Cassidy read the first letter from the novel title, a letter from seventeen-year old Rhea Farrell to her mother, Allison who died when Rhea was only three. Writing from Penn Station, Rhea begins to share with her mother her homeless experience but quickly lapses into questions she has always had, questions she wants her mother to answer. Judging by the book sales at the intermission, the audience members too, were keen to find out the answers to these questions! For anyone who didn’t get their hands on a copy, click here.

A delightful new presence on the music scene in New York has arrived from the heart of Europe, the city of Prague. Martina Fiserova’s humor and energy shone through her music and lit up the room. Her soulful authentic approach delivered an emotional urgency; even a melancholic story felt uplifting. The exciting chord work she does sets her apart from being “just another girl with a guitar.” We need more of these European invasions.

: Martina Fiserova

Dan Yurkofsky premiered two song compositions from his new CD, Hoverhill. The songs, titled “The Time Zone” and “Walking” featured Mr. Yurkofsky’s melodic singing voice and contemplative lyrics. He was deftly accompanied by two fine musicians, Matt Turk on acoustic guitar and Noah Hoffeld on cello . To learn more about Hoverhill, and to hear listening examples from the CD you can click here.

First time performer, Kathleen Bennett Bastis’, opened the second half of the show with an hilarious and “spot on” perspective of internet dating. Kathleen claimed that this was the first time she had been on stage since she performed in Scheherazade in fifth grade; hard to believe given her poise, charm and insouciance. “As always, a terrific evening of great entertainment and talent,” Kathleen said after the show.

Ashley Bell was next and she dazzled all with a stirring rendition of the opera staple, “O Mio Babbino Caro.” She followed up the showstopper with an original composition, which showcased her lower register and displayed another level of her vocal instrument.

: Ashley Bell

Digital poet and recent NYU grad, Allison Fichtelberg dazzled the audience with a spellbinding performance of her epic poem “Scroll.” I am honored to have performed for such a receptive audience and to share the space with such talented artists. That was the first performance I’ve done where I summoned the appropriate chutzpah to make the concluding sword trick work.” (You’ll have to see her perform live to understand that comment.) An absolutely mesmerizing performance.

But Allison wasn’t done for the night. Lyndon Achee, steel drummer and percussionist began with a piece dedicated to his sister Beatrice who died of breast cancer. Lyndon than circulated a bag of instruments—tambourines, maracas, drumsticks and bells–through the audience who accompanied Lyndon in an upbeat tune, which ended with Allison coming back on stage and dancing to the sweet sounds of a steel drum. A wonderful, highly spirited, ending to a great night.

The next Artists Without Walls’ Showcase at The Cell will be on July 22nd at The Cell Theatre, 338 W 23rd St., NYC. For more info on Artists Without Walls write to info@artistswithoutwalls.com

Photos by Mitch Traphagen.

FIRST STREET GALLERY'S "NATIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION" BEGINNING JUNE 26

From Artists Without Walls’ member Kathleen Bennett Bastis: “I am a member of the First Street Gallery and we’re pleased to announce that our annual exhibition, which is comprised of non-member artists from all over the country, presents its 2014 National Juried Exhibition, June 26 – July 19.” There will be a reception on Saturday, June 28, 3-5 PM, 526, W26th St., Suite 209, NYC.”

Click here to see the artists and their work.

The exhibit will be juried by Jed Perl, the art critic for The New Republic, author of numerous articles, essays, and books. The exhibition includes paintings, photography, drawings, mixed media, and sculpture by 45 artists from all parts of the country, working in diverse styles.