Monthly archives:August 2014

  • AFP Music Wraps Up A Great Summer With Some Inspired New Singers!

  • 10 years ago
  • AFP Arts Education Program  had a great summer this year and we look forward to the start of the new school year! The summer music program wrapped up with a great session that included recording a new song, learning more about the recording and mixing process, and vocal instruction. As I mentioned in my last post, each participant was asked to choose a song to work on learning to sing. The selections were very interesting and varied, and we had a lot of fun working them out. AFP is also excited to explore the possibility of partnering with City Kids on some future projects and programs, which could open up some new possibilities. In this summer’s last session of the AFP music program, we recorded “The Cut”, a new song by the band newly formed by the kids, called Static Vision. We set up all of the instruments in the music classroom at Humanities Prep, using tables as gobos to separate the sound sources a little bit. We mic’ed all of the drums and amplifiers, and recorded live together, a technique that is employed less and less these days in the age of overdubbing and “in the box” production. It was a great opportunity for the band to seek to achieve excellence as a group, and to focus on listening to each other, while performing with energy and accuracy. It’s a tall order, but it brought out the best in everyone, and we got a few near perfect takes, which we will be editing and mixing in sessions that will be held during the coming school year. As intense as the recording[...]

  • AFP's Summer Newsletter

  • 10 years ago
  • As we gear up for another school year, we've been hard at work applying for two new grants (Lily Auchincloss, Investors Bank Foundation), developing our new artist blog site, and planning events for the fall. In June, the Sansom Foundation awarded AFP another generous grant for the fourth consecutive year. The funds will help support an expanded effort to market AFP's Arts Education Programs to new schools and partner organizations. We developed a great new brochure and we have been reaching out to many new schools across NYC over the summer. If you're a teacher or school looking for dynamic artistic programming, let us know! We're equally excited about our new artist blog site which was launched in June. We have several great bloggers writing across various art genres. Hooking us up with fresh news, interviews and reviews in visual art, performance and such is Anni Irish. Anni's a Brooklyn based writer & editor and a graduate of NYU. You can check out her new posts in the middle of the month and the end of the month. Heading up our nightlife, parties, clubs blog is none other than former TONY's nightlife editor and all around great guy, Bruce Tantum. Bruce has DJ'ed at many AFP events through the years and when this opportunity came up I couldn't think of someone we would rather have on board. Bruce's blog titled, "We Learn Dances" posts on the first of each month. AFP's super duper, all around volunteer and fashion guru Allyson Jacobs heads up the fashion blog. A[...]

  • Street Art & Graffiti Take Over an Old Police Post

  • 10 years ago
  • When Saturday evening rolled around the lines started to form outside an old police precinct in Gramercy Park, but this wasn't your ordinary art opening. Our friend Robert Aloia and his crew were at it again as they took over the building and invited many great street artists to do their thing. The sprawling 5 floor show features many great artists with an impressive range of work which included several installation pieces. The show runs through next weekend. Here's a list of participating artists. Adam Dare, Al Diaz, Amanda Marie, ASVP, Bad Pedestrian, Ben Angotti,BEAU, Bill Claps, Bishop203, bunny M, Cash4, Chris RWK, Chris Soria, Coby Kennedy, Curb Your Ego, Curtis Kulig, D. Gaja, Danielle Mastrion, Damon Johnson, Dasic, Dizmology, Duel, ELLE, Erasmo, Esteban del Valle, Faust, Ghost, GIZ, Hellbent, Hue, Icy & Sot, Iena Cruz, Jesper Haynes, Joseph Meloy, Justin Carty, Ket, Lexi Bella, Li Hill, Lorenzo Masnah, Matt Siren, Mr. Toll, N. Carlos Jay, Nepo, Net, Never, Nick Tengri, Noxer, Pesu, Phil, Pixote, Queen Andrea, RAE, Rambo, Ricardo Cabret, SAE, Savior Elmundo, Sheryo & The Yok, Shiro, Smells, Tone Tank, URNY (Ski & 2esae), Vexta,VFR, X-O, Zoens Hosted by: Albert Diaz & Frankie Cedeño

  • Art Everywhere US Launches in NYC

  • 10 years ago
  • On August 4th people in Times Square were exposed to a unique art experience--digital billboards were changed from their usual advertisements to iconic American art pieces. This art intervention in a public space won't stop there and will also include a print campaign that will be seen on public transportation and throughout the city and in other locations. This is being done through the efforts of Art Everywhere US a collaboration between five major art museums and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. According to an article in the LA Times, the campaign will run from August 4-31 and will feature fifty eight images which will be displayed in close to 50,000 commercial locations in all fifty states. All the images were voted on by the public and the museums involved include The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Dallas Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. The event was first conceived of by Richard Reed who produced a similar campaign in the United Kingdom in 2013. This included a similar collaboration between the Tate Modern, Art Fund and the UK out of Ihome advertising industry. Artists in the US nation wide campaign include: Andy Warhol, Winslow Homer, Cindy Sherman and John Singer Sargent among others. Art Everywhere U.S. Times Square installation, featuring Winslow Homer’s “The Water Fan” (1898-99, The Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Dorothy A., John A. Jr.[...]

  • AFP Summer Music Jazz and Recording Sessions

  • 10 years ago
  • Art for Progress’ summer music education program has met two more times since my last post, and a lot of great stuff has been going on. We have been exploring jazz theory, analyzing Etta James’ “At Last”, using the solfeggio system to develop ear training, and have delved into some vocal exercises in order to tune up our voices, and to reinforce the ear training work. Participants have each been asked to select a song to work on, and we’ll be applying the new techniques we’ve developed to singing those songs in the upcoming final session. One student, who is originally from Bangladesh, is even working on a song by his favorite Bengali pop band! In addition to all of this subtler harmony work, there’s been some good ol’ rocking out, as well. The group has expanded its original repertoire of rock songs, and has been honing the arrangements to prepare for our final recording session of the summer. We have recorded versions of four original songs thus far, and as we get closer to the perfect take, we have also been studying the various tools used in the recording and mixing process, and learning how to make the tracks pop out of the speakers. “At Last”, by Etta James is a timeless classic, which was revisited a few years ago by Beyonce in the movie “Cadillac Records”. While the melody is arresting and unforgettable in its uniqueness, it also contains some very exemplary chord changes, which are great for illustrating the use of ii-V-I progressions and some other essential jazz[...]

  • Fall 2014: A Fashion Free-for-All

  • 10 years ago
  • There is nothing like mid-August to get us thinking about a fresh start. Maybe it's the long standing habit of buying school clothes, but refreshing one's wardrobe will soon be the order of the day. The interesting thing is that, now more than ever, there really are no rules in fashion. From solids, stripes and color blocking, silhouettes are crossing the spectrum. Even florals were trending in the resort collections this year. What this means for self-expression is all good news. Recent trends and collections feature both Boho and structured looks, along with strong colors and varied skirt lengths. With a full range of both staples and frivolous accents, our options are endless. The best part of having no rules is that we can focus on self-expression and individuality with pieces we already have in our closets. By adding in a few fresh separates or colorful accessories, an entire wardrobe can be revived. So here's to enjoying these last few weeks of summer, while looking forward to getting dressed again. Not to mention NY Fashion Week in September! Fashion and art are always flirting with each other, finding ways to intertwine craft with creativity and function. When it is successful, it allows people the freedom to be creative while maintaining their integrity. The fall 2014 collections showed us how color, functionality and creativity come together. A few standout collections seen on Style.com from Dries Van Noten, Christopher Kane, and Billy Reid menswear.... [...]

  • We Learn Dances: an interview with DJ, producer and label honcho Dennis “Citizen” Kane

  • 10 years ago
  • Welcome to We Learn Dances, an occasional series on the people, parties and (most of all) music that make clubland the wonderful place it is. The focus will be on the slightly more refined, artistically oriented end of the nightlife spectrum—yes, such a thing exists, believe it or not—rather than on the superficial pleasures afforded by either the bottle-service scene or the EDM world. At least, that’s the plan. We’re kicking the series off with a man who’s intimately familiar with the concept of sophisticated dance music, Dennis “Citizen” Kane. He’s been an integral part of NYC’s nightlife since the mid-’90s, when the Philly transplant hit NYC and established himself in the underground scene as one of its most knowledgeable DJs; since then, he’s since played scores of venues across the city and around the world. He’s established a pair of respected record labels: Disques Sinthomme, which has released a wide range of work featuring the likes of Max Essa, the Beat Broker, Liquid Liquid’s Sal Principato and Richard “Padded Cell” Sen, and an edit imprint, Ghost Town, which has seen contributions from Brennan Green and Bicep, among many other notables. He’s a talented producer himself, with material out on such respected labels as Tummy Touch, Ubiquity and Adult Contemporary (track down his mix of Yagya’s “Rigning Sjö” on that last label—it’s killer.) His website, dsgtnyc.com, hosts a rather amazing podcast that’s featured sets from such international stars as DJ Harvey, Prins[...]