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2 years ago
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Alas, summer has come to an end for students. Nevertheless, even though it has come to an end for them, the energy and momentum of progress that took place this year continue to move forward for Art for Progress, its team of professionals and the champion spirit passed on to each student who was part of our program. We built many memories around the program this year, seeing that it was our first face-to-face since the pandemic hit in March 2020.
Kid Crew, AFP 2022
From having guest speakers like Bill Claps, to enjoying live music sessions with Dezron Douglas, to viewing Gabriel Bullion's star-studded portfolio of clients ranging from Jay-Z to North Face (a special edition puffer jacket designed exclusively for TNF). The line-up was electric, and every guest could share their retrospective of work and speak authentically from the heart. Their lived experiences- success or failure- were shared via storytelling and were a golden opportunity for the students to receive such heartfelt insight. It was extremely comforting to hear every professional speak earnestly of their mishaps and victories, making the pedagogical experience so close, personal, and authentic. I remember being an art student and sitting through talks where art professionals and designers seemed egocentric, chatting away about their successes but never delving deep into their failures and how they paved the way for success. Failures are the most prominent markers we tend to remember in life. We wanted th[...]
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2 years ago
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Barry Komitor addressing students at orientation.
It is a great moment to witness the progress we’ve made over the last two years. When the pandemic hit in 2020, Art for Progress (AFP) transitioned its summer program to a virtual platform, as did most folks, institutions, and non-profit organizations at the time. But this year, our in-person comeback is even more solid as we offer an amazing assortment of workshops ranging from pattern-making to music theory, and New York’s young art enthusiasts are soaking it all in.
Although we are running traditional-style workshops, the program is running slightly differently. AFP’s summer program starts every week off with open arts on Mondays. Open arts was devised as an interdisciplinary lab where every student is encouraged to float between workshops or work on specific skills requested by the student. The arrangement was conceived to assist students in taking on a more fluid approach in their practice and garner inspiration from one genre to the next. By providing them with an allowance of space and fluidity to experiment with mediums and engage in collaborative discussions with one another, all possibilities to spark the creative mind, commence exploration, and conceptualize innovative ideas begin. We want to motivate our children to play again. Playing is where genius is born.
Ayden and La Vie working on their collaborative preliminary sketch.
During one of the music composition workshops led by Barry Komitor,[...]
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2 years ago
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Courtesy of Obscured Pictures
It's probably safe to say that Jono McLeod’s documentary My Old School isn’t quite like anything we’ve seen before, both in subject and format. This inventive and charmingly told tale about a renowned Scottish hoax is probably not familiar to most Americans, all the better for us to watch it unfold and deliver its surprises. Using current interviews, old footage and news reports, and many animated sequences, McLeod puts together a fascinating portrait of Brandon Lee (not the late actor), his former classmate at the posh Bearsden Academy in Glasgow. Though Lee agreed to be interviewed, he declined to appear on camera, resulting in one of the film’s most interesting elements: venerable Scots actor Alan Cumming “stars” as Lee, expertly lip-synching his story. (All of the other film’s characters appear as themselves, as animated versions of themselves, or both.)
The tale begins in 1993, when Lee enters fifth form at Bearsden Academy, located in one of Glasgow's fancier neighborhoods. Tall and somewhat odd-looking, he stands out from his 16-year-old classmates in several ways, including his deep voice , unplaceable accent, and formal clothes.
Courtesy of Obscured Pictures
His fellow classmates soon find out that Lee had previously lived in Canada with his late opera-singer mother, toured with her extensively, and had been privately tutored, which explained his accent and advanced age. His ”mask-like” appearance was due to plastic surgery[...]
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2 years ago
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Photo courtesy of Kino Lorber
Olga, a timely film directed and co-written by Elie Grappe, uses the 2014 Euro-Maidan Revolution in Ukraine as the setting for a coming-of-age story about a teenage gymnast who is torn between countries and allegiances. Written in 2016 and completed in early 2021, the film predates the recent Russian invasion, effectively shedding light on events that led up to the current war. Mainly, though, it is a tension-filled portrait of the title gymnast (portrayed with sensitivity by Anastasia Budyashkina, former member of the Ukraine national reserve team), who at age 15 relocates from Kiiv to Switzerland to train for the European Championship with the Swiss national team.
The move is is not easy for Olga, whose late father was Swiss, but it is for her own safety. In an early scene, she and her mother, Ilona (Tanya Mikhina)—a journalist who is investigating the corrupt administration of then President Viktor Yanukovych—are targets of pro-government violence. Despite concern for her mother and ambivalence about leaving home, Olga moves to the pristine alpine countryside to live with her grandfather and other paternal relatives.
In order to compete with the Swiss team, Olga must become a citizen; since Ukraine doesn’t permit joint citizenship, she is forced to choose between the only home she's known and the opportunity to pursue her Olympic dreams. This is another tough decision, complicated by the wide culture and language gap between Olga and[...]
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2 years ago
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We are a little sad that next week will be our last week of the program and of course, summer is also winding down. We are fortunate and thankful that we can provide this program for NYC public school students. It was great getting to know many of our students. They were eager for the opportunity to learn from professional artists and find out more about careers in the arts.
LOCATION: Bayard Rustin Education Complex, 351 West 18th Street, Room 341, New York, NY. CONTACT: Barry Komitor (347) 661- 2469
The program will offer some workshops that will be ongoing while others will be one-offs. Each week we'll post the schedule for the various workshops that will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mondays will be open arts day where students can work on music, visual arts and fashion design in an open, fun learning environment. Collaborations are encouraged! Special guest artists and speakers will also join us on Mondays.
Our main teaching artists for 2022 are Barry Komitor (music) and Beláxis Buil (visual art, fashion). We are planning to have many guest artist teachers and speakers this year as well.
Week 6: August 8th - August 12th
Monday, August 8th - 12:00PM - 3:30PM - Open Arts
Open Arts happens each week and gives students the opportunity to choose what they want to work on. Our teachers and special guest teachers will offer guidance and assistance.
*This weeks special guest artist speaker is fashion designer Gabe Pa[...]
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2 years ago
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Art for Progress Summer Arts Program
Thanks to a generous grant from the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, we are pleased to announce the summer arts program is funded for the next 3 years! We are looking forward to an exciting, enriching program for 2022.
We are very pleased to announce, the program will be in person in 2022 (unless NYC changes the current pandemic protocol)! The location is yet to be determined, but it will be a location that is accessible from all 5 NYC boroughs.
Also, the program will expand this year to offer workshops for younger students ages 10-13. Plus, the program which has been for a 4 week period in previous years, will now run 6 weeks. To coincide with NYC's summer school program, the dates are July 5th - August 12th with afternoon sessions beginning at 1:00PM weekdays and some weekend dates as well.
Workshops will be offered in visual arts, music and other art disciplines with special guest teaching artists and weekly speakers.
You can sign up here: https://forms.gle/7cW1i8ak7dt7Qs8X8
Any questions, please email admin@artforprogress.org.
Stay tuned for many more details.
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2 years ago
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It was a warm Spring evening in the East Village as we approached the legendary nightclub Webster Hall. It brought me back to 1996 when Webster Hall was the cool club (weekdays). After many years of transformations and re-openings, Webster Hall seems to have re-established itself as a live music institution. On this night, we've come to hear some local NYC talent, and we did not leave disappointed.
Upon arriving, Mannequin Pussy was deep in their set of indie, psychedelia rock which caught our attention. They've recently become a three piece band, but you wouldn't know it. Their sound was full and strong for the few songs we heard to close their set. Up next, the headline act and NYC based, Sunflower Bean.
We were eager to hear Sunflower Bean and their quite diverse catalog of music including songs from their recently released album, "Headful of Sugar," which has received high praise from critics. The band opened the show with the powerful title track from the album which gave the room a lift with its driving yet rhythmic pumping beat. It definitely set the tone for the show. The second song, "In Flight" was a bit more pop leaning with somewhat of a 90's vibe. I heard some Sheryl Crow and Wallflowers similarities. The band was not afraid to show their diversity early in the set which I could appreciate. There's nothing worse than a flat set of music that all sounds the same! The next song, "twentytwo," which lead singer Julia Cumming explained is a very special son[...]
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2 years ago
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Courtesy of Kino Lorber
Ahed’s Knee, the latest feature from Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, is a visually inventive, emotionally engaging work about an artist’s rage against censorship and a citizen’s frustration over his country’s direction. Told over the course of one day, the film depicts Y (a moodily charismatic Avshalom Pollak), a filmmaker who travels to a remote desert village to promote one of his films. The title refers to Ahed Tamimi, a real-life Palestinian activist who was detained by Israeli authorities after slapping a soldier. The controversial Tamimi is the subject of a video project Y has begun casting; we see some audition clips, including one actor’s rendition of “Welcome to the Jungle.” (Music plays a huge part in Lapid’s film.) Throughout, the camera moves restlessly, swooping, circling and swinging side to side, sometimes mirroring a character’s point of view, sometimes just creating a state of frenetic energy.
The host of the screening in the Arava is an employee from the Ministry of Culture (Nur Fibak), an attractive, flirtatious young woman who is a huge fan of Y's work. They become friendly and she casually mentions a form he must sign in order to get paid for the appearance. The form, which limits the topics he can discuss, becomes a symbol of everything Y detests about his country.
Courtesy of Kino Lorber
Though the story is about Y’s despair over what he believes is the crumbling state of Israel, Lapid’s film is a tour de fo[...]
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2 years ago
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Courtesy of Cohen Media Group
Gagarine, a fresh and poignant feature debut by Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh (co-written with Benjamin Charbit), is about the beauty and strength of community, embodied here by the residents of the Cité Gagarine housing project on the outskirts of Paris.
Filmed just prior to the demolition of Gagarine in 2019 and with the participation of its residents, the movie follows one young tenant, Youri (Alséni Bathily, making his screen debut) – named for the complex’s namesake, Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin – as he fights to preserve his home and community. The filmmakers combine stark realism with dreamy fantasy to portray the world of Gagarine and the imagination of Youri, a serious, science-minded teen who dreams of being an astronaut. His apartment is full of hi-tech devices fashioned from scavenged materials, including a tricked-out telescope through which he scans the heavens.
Courtesy of Cohen Media Group
Along with his intrepid, enterprising friends Houssam (Jamil McCraven) and fellow gearhead Diana (the luminous Lyna Khoudri), Youri rummages for electrical parts to fix the building’s wiring prior to an inspection. He hopes to forestall Gagarine's imminent destruction and the relocation of residents, who come from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. A valued member of the community, Youri creates a special canopy through which his neighbors come together to watch a solar eclipse; it's a particularly lovely scene underscor[...]
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2 years ago
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Courtesy of Cohen Media Group
An inspiring and visually delightful film, Beth Elise Hawk’s Breaking Bread features the founder of Israel’s annual A-Sham food Festival, as well as several participants, along with myriad mouth-watering depictions of Mediterranean cuisine. Founded in Haifa in 2015 by Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, the first Israeli Arab to win Israel’s MasterChef, the festival brings together Arab and Jewish chefs to collaborate on new iterations of Arabic dishes. Foremost a food documentary with some light social commentary, Breaking Bread begins with a quote from Anthony Bourdain: “Food may not be the answer to world peace, but it’s a start.” By the end of this feel-good film, even the most cynical among us may feel optimistic about that claim.
Presiding over the festival is the ever upbeat Atamna-Ismaeel, who declares that being an Israeli Arab is difficult—not completely accepted by either side—but “Stuck in the middle is the best thing because you get to enjoy both worlds.” Her belief that there’s no room for politics in the kitchen is echoed by others throughout the film. The sentiment rings true here, as it does with other creative collaborations, be it music, dance or art.
Courtesy of Cohen Media Group
Hawk introduces us to several chefs who have participated in A-Sham, including the loquacious Shlomi, who took over the Polish-inspired restaurant his grandfather founded; and his festival cooking partner, Ali, manager of a restaurant in his pictures[...]
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2 years ago
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Dance Dancers Performance Art
Virtual Education and the Arts
Higher education has significantly trailed behind other industries in moving forward into digitally focused learning. One factor contributing to this could be that pre-pandemic, colleges were assigning less than 5% of their budgets to IT spending. We have been somewhat pushed to reimagine learning methods in response to the temporary closure of schools over potions of the past two years, however, with distance learning being the only option available in many cases. And now there is increasingly widespread belief that remote learning could endure; just this past April, The New York Times discussed how the remote programs developed to manage the crisis are now poised to remain. While remote programs have been successful in certain respects though, how does the idea of ongoing virtual learning stand to affect the arts? Performing arts programs in particular rely heavily upon physical presence and contact, which has prompted many schools and students to find innovative ways to avoid disruption. While transition in other areas is easy enough, with teachers conducting lectures over Zoom and similar programs, the practical learning aspects of performing arts present more challenges. But because it does seem probable that some digital and remote learning practices will remain in place, we’ve examined the advantages and disadvantages of online learning within the film and performing arts sector.
Pros One appeali[...]
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2 years ago
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French filmmaker Bruno Dumont has never played by any movie-making rules, which has resulted in a fascinating career of provocative and unsettling work, most of which can be classed as art films. A former philosophy professor, Dumont has clearly relished exploring themes of good and evil, incorporating gritty realism, extreme violence and sexuality (La Vie de Jesus, Twentynine Palms), as well as unexpected humor (the charmingly offbeat P'tit Quinquin).
Dumont's latest, France, starring Léa Seydoux as the title character, is slicker looking than previous efforts, which makes it more confounding in some ways. A satirical exploration of celebrity and television journalism, France is uneven in tone, veering from wildly unsubtle to inscrutable, its deliberate pace elongating scenes that sometimes seem like they should be more revelatory.
It’s also quite watchable, thanks mainly to Seydoux, who plays France de Meurs, a famous Parisian TV journalist who hosts a talk show. Early in the film, she is recognized and besieged for autographs on the street, which she seems to enjoy. Dumont digitally inserts France into footage of an actual press conference with President Emmanuel Macron, where she asks a tough question and mocks the event via a series of silent but expressive exchanges with her assistant Lou (comedian Blanche Gardin). Lou, a near slapstick character, fawns over her boss and treats TV journalism like a fame game.
In one drawn-out scene, France takes charge du[...]
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